AFC West Report: Which teams look like real contenders?

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos… oh boy, what did I tell you?

Last week I decided it was time to make fun of the Donkeys repeatedly because they were absolutely going to lose. I’m basically a fortune teller. The Broncos hosted the Baltimore Ravens in a game I believed would show that Denver just isn’t that good. Their record reflected the fact that they had faced 3 teams that are essentially high school football teams. The Jets aren’t good, the Giants probably aren’t good, and the Jaguars, well, let’s just check in on Urban Meyer to see how functional that team is.

The reality is, it was a soft schedule and they beat the teams they should, but Denver isn’t going to go very far on the back of Teddy Bridgewater. Do they have talent? Yes, but not at the most important position. Bridgewater remains, in my view, a lesser Alex Smith. Is he good? Does he take care of the ball better than Drew Lock? Yes. But he is not going to take them deep into the playoffs—if into the playoffs at all.

We did get a glimpse as to why the Broncos obviously chose Bridgewater as their starting quarterback this season when he was forced to exit after taking a vicious hit to the head that landed him in concussion protocol.

https://twitter.com/LALeBron23/status/1444787625777377282

Probably should have been a penalty, but if you aren’t Tom Brady, you basically have to have your head torn off to get a penalty in the league these days. With Teddy out, we got another taste of the Drew Lock show.

Honestly, the best part of this game came at the end. If you haven’t followed the beef between the Ravens and Broncos over the last play of the game, you are missing out on some super juicy drama.

Man I love it – it’s such a soap opera!

For the Broncos, obviously the injury to Bridgewater is one to watch in the coming days. Concussions are always such a gamble, and you never know when a player will clear protocol, so will we see a Drew Lock start? Could be a fun matchup as the Broncos head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. I have no idea what to think of the Steelers at this point. They clearly need to bench Big Ben, but whether they have the stones to do it remains to be seen.

Honestly, the Broncos could win this one. The Steelers are nothing like they have been in past years, so this could be a fun little match up full of crazy plays and hopefully some more Vic Fangio pettiness.