Kiz: Raise your hand if you had this trip to Houston to play the Texans as the biggest game of 2023 for your Denver Broncos when the NFL schedule came out back in May. And if I see any hands raised in Broncos Country, I have a one-word response: Liar! With C.J. Stroud playing like the best rookie quarterback this league has seen since Andrew Luck, the Texans are legit. On a five-game winning streak, the Broncos are talking playoffs. But can both these 6-5 teams get there from here?
Gabriel: Oh, it’s possible, though I certainly don’t have the math skills to give you the long-hand proof. In the simplest terms, though, whoever loses Sunday at NRG Stadium would perhaps have to win out in order to squeeze themselves in and somebody else out. If you don’t care about looking after your blood pressure and plan to spend the next six weeks scoreboard watching, keep an eye on those pesky 6-5 Indianapolis Colts. They’ve won three straight and are lumped at six wins with Denver, Houston and Buffalo (6-6 and finally, mercifully, into their bye week). But, realistically, Sunday in H-Town is a wrestling match between a couple of down-ballot playoff contenders over the driver’s seat of the down-ballot contender bus.
Kiz: In my eyes, Kansas City, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Miami are near locks to be division winners. So with six other AFC teams huffing and puffing down the stretch in pursuit of three wild-card berths, the Broncos need every head-to-head victory they can get against their fellow playoff dreamers. The W’s against Buffalo and Cleveland are huge, especially with the quarterback-needy Browns ripe for a fall. Beat Houston, and quarterback Russell Wilson is correct: The only thing Denver needs to focus on is its own business the rest of the way.
Gabriel: Which in and of itself would be quite an accomplishment given not only the 1-5 start, but brutal home AFC losses against the likes of Las Vegas and the New York Jets. Have you seen how bad the Jets have been? They rolled to 407 yards against Denver in Week 5 and have only generated more than 289 two other times this year. That one’s going to sting regardless of how the rest of the season goes for the Broncos. Well… unless it ends in February in Las Vegas, I suppose. But that’s a long way off. A really long way.
Kiz: The Denver defense has turned into a cookie monster, devouring interceptions and fumbles like snickerdoodles. Can the Broncos fluster Stroud? Even on the Texans’ turf, I see this game as a coin flip. Win the turnover battle and that 50-50 outcome tilts seriously in Denver’s favor. As thrilling as the winning streak has been, it will be a steep uphill climb to the playoffs if the Broncos don’t extend it to six in a row. The playoffs aren’t big enough for Houston and Denver.
Gabriel: The Broncos can still make the playoffs with a loss, but as you said, Kiz, it’s going to be a real steep climb. To be fair, we’ve seen Sean Payton’s team handle the ropes and big exposure pretty darn well over the past five games, so I wouldn’t entirely put it past this group. Even if we say a 4-2 finish to get to 10-7 puts you in good position, not all 4-2s are created equal. The best 4-2 includes a win over the Texans to build in at least some margin for error down the stretch.
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