The Denver Broncos (7-8) have a 6% chance to make the 2023 NFL playoffs, according to a projection from the New York Times.
A win on Sunday could improve those chances to 9%, and a win the following week would increase it to 20%, according to the NYT. Denver, of course, would need a lot of help from other teams to make it in.
ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index gives the Broncos a 5.6% chance to reach the postseason, projecting an 8-9 final record.
With so much out of the team’s control, Denver will focus on what it can control this week: beating the Los Angeles Chargers (5-10).
“The message [to the team is] about winning this game — our last home game,” coach Sean Payton said Tuesday. “We haven’t played well at home, or at least to the expectations certainly from Broncos fans and then from my experience of playing at home.
“This is our last opportunity to play a home game, and it’s going to be about getting this win. It’s going to be that short-sighted if you will. The next seven days, and then kind of go from there.”
Next week, Denver will shift attention to a regular-season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) in Week 18. We won’t know until after the games this weekend if the Broncos will still be alive in the playoff hunt next week. The first step is getting a win against the Chargers on Sunday.