The Broncos Are a Wildcard Dark Horse No One Is Talking About: Ultimate NFL Power Rankings Week 13

Denver's playoff chances, even with the team at 5-6, are no longer a joke.

November 28, 2018 5:00 am
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 25: Denver Broncos tight end Matt LaCosse #83 and the offense celebrate his touchdown making the score 9-3 during the second quarter. The Denver Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at Broncos Stadium at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 25, 2018. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 25: Denver Broncos tight end Matt LaCosse #83 and the offense celebrate his touchdown making the score 9-3 during the second quarter. The Denver Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at Broncos Stadium at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 25, 2018. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Denver Post via Getty Images

Following his team’s 24-17 home win over the favored Steelers, Denver defensive superstar Von Miller was in a goofy mood when talking about his team’s next opponent, the Bengals.

Doing his best Bill Belichick impression, the Broncos pass-rusher answered questions with short, clipped, monotone sentences that ended with “We’re onto Cincinnati.”

Though Miller was kidding around following his team’s surprise win, Denver’s playoff chances, even with the team at 5-6, are no longer a joke.

The biggest reason for that is, in addition to the Bengals, the Broncos’ remaining games come against the 49ers, Browns, Raiders, and Chargers.

At 8-3, the Chargers are leading Denver in the AFC West and are almost assured of a wildcard playoff spot, but the remaining four teams on Denver’s slate are a combined 13-30-1 and are already playing for next year.

That means Denver should face little to no resistance over the next four weeks and has a legit shot at heading into the final week of the season against the Chargers at 9-6.

While there’s no way to know where the other teams (Ravens, Dolphins, Colts) that are in contention for the sixth and final playoff spot will be at that time, it’s a safe bet that none of them will be any better than 9-6.

Should that be the case, Denver’s chance at the playoffs could come down to that final game against the Chargers, a team they eked out a 23-22 win over in Week 11 on a Brandon McManus field goal as time expired.

Week 17 will be played at Mile High Stadium, where Denver’s defense plays well and kicks carry for days – so there’s no reason to think it couldn’t come down to a McManus yet again. If it does, the odds are pretty good he’ll nail it.

But how do the power rankers from ESPNNFL.com, and USA Today see it?

Find out in the latest edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate NFL Power Rankings, which combine ratings from those three outlets to get a single rank for all 32 teams in NFL and use segmented tiers to arrange them.

Also, for an even greater perspective on how the season has been progressing, check out how each team’s season average ranking compares with where they finished this week and last.

The Best of the Best (1.00-5.33)

No. 1.00, last 1.00, two weeks ago 1.00, season average 3.88: New Orleans Saints (ESPN, 1), (NFL.com, 1), (USA Today, 1)

No. 2.00, last 2.00, two weeks ago 3.00, season average 1.69: Los Angeles Rams (ESPN, 2), (NFL.com, 2), (USA Today, 2)

No. 3.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 2.00, season average 3.22: Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN, 3), (NFL.com, 3), (USA Today, 3)

No. 4.00, last 5.00, two weeks ago 5.66, season average 4.77: New England Patriots (ESPN, 4), (NFL.com, 4), (USA Today, 4)

No. 5.00, last 6.33, two weeks ago 4.33, season average 7.94: Los Angeles Chargers (ESPN, 5), (NFL.com, 5), (USA Today, 5)

The Best of the Rest (5.34-10.66)

No. 6.33, last 4.00, two weeks ago 5.00, season average 8.69: Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN, 7), (NFL.com, 6), (USA Today, 6)

No. 7.00, last 6.66, two weeks ago 8.00, season average 11.88: Chicago Bears (ESPN, 6), (NFL.com, 7), (USA Today, 8)

No. 7.66, last 8.00, two weeks ago 10.66, season average 16.83: Houston Texans (ESPN, 8), (NFL.com, 8), (USA Today, 7)

No. 9.00, last 9.33, two weeks ago 7.66, season average 8.44: Minnesota Vikings (ESPN, 9), (NFL.com, 9), (USA Today, 9)

No. 10.66, last 12.00, two weeks ago 15.00, season average 18.41: Seattle Seahawks (ESPN, 10), (NFL.com, 10), (USA Today, 12)

So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.67-15.99)

No. 11.66, last 12.66, two weeks ago 16.00, season average 11.80: Baltimore Ravens (ESPN, 11), (NFL.com, 11), (USA Today, 13)

No. 12.00, last 13.33, two weeks ago 19.66, season average 22.82: Indianapolis Colts (ESPN, 13), (NFL.com, 13), (USA Today, 10)

No. 13.33, last 15.00, two weeks ago 17.33, season average 19.66: Dallas Cowboys (ESPN, 14), (NFL.com, 12), (USA Today, 14)

No. 14.00, last 9.66, two weeks ago 8.66, season average 9.18: Carolina Panthers (ESPN, 12), (NFL.com, 14), (USA Today, 16)

No. 15.33, last 20.33, two weeks ago 23.33, season average 20.71: Denver Broncos (ESPN, 19), (NFL.com, 16), (USA Today, 11)

No. 15.66, last 14.00, two weeks ago 11.33, season average 14.55: Washington Redskins (ESPN, 15), (NFL.com, 17), (USA Today, 15)

Stuck in the Middle with You (16.00-21.32)

No. 17.00, last 15.66, two weeks ago 11.66, season average 11.96: Green Bay Packers (ESPN, 16), (NFL.com, 15), (USA Today, 20)

No. 18.33, last 17.00, two weeks ago 13.00, season average 18.49: Tennessee Titans (ESPN, 17), (NFL.com, 21), (USA Today, 17)

No. 18.33, last 21.33, two weeks ago 16.33, season average 11.21: Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN, 18), (NFL.com, 19), (USA Today, 18)

No. 20.66, last 23.33, two weeks ago 21.66, season average 22.69: Cleveland Browns (ESPN, 23), (NFL.com, 18), (USA Today, 21)

No. 21.00, last 20.33, two weeks ago 17.66, season average 15.91: Atlanta Falcons (ESPN, 20), (NFL.com, 20), (USA Today, 23)

It’s Probably Not Your Year  (21.33-26.65)

No. 21.66, last 20.66, two weeks ago 25.33, season average 22.72: Detroit Lions (ESPN, 24), (NFL.com, 22), (USA Today, 19)

No. 22.66, last 21.00, two weeks ago 22.00, season average 18.69: Miami Dolphins (ESPN, 21), (NFL.com, 23), (USA Today, 24)

No. 23.00, last 19.00, two weeks ago 17.33, season average 13.91: Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN, 22), (NFL.com, 25), (USA Today, 22)

No. 26.00, last 26.00, two weeks ago 28.33, season average 27.02: New York Giants (ESPN, 27), (NFL.com, 26), (USA Today, 25)

No. 26.33, last 27.00, two weeks ago 25.00, season average 20.85: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN, 26), (NFL.com, 27), (USA Today, 26)

No. 26.33, last 28.00, two weeks ago 26.66, season average 29.10: Buffalo Bills (ESPN, 28), (NFL.com, 24), (USA Today, 27)

See You in 2019  (26.66-32.00)

No. 27.00, last 24.33, two weeks ago 23.66, season average 14.63: Jacksonville Jaguars (ESPN, 25), (NFL.com, 28), (USA Today, 28)

No. 29.66, last 29.66, two weeks ago 28.33, season average 26.38: New York Jets (ESPN, 29), (NFL.com, 31), (USA Today, 29)

No. 29.66, last 29.66, two weeks ago 30.33, season average 28.41: San Francisco 49ers (ESPN, 30), (NFL.com, 29), (USA Today, 30)

No. 30.66, last 30.66, two weeks ago 32.00, season average 30.44: Oakland Raiders (ESPN, 31), (NFL.com, 30), (USA Today, 31)

No. 32.00, last 32.00, two weeks ago 30.00, season average 30.69: Arizona Cardinals (ESPN, 32), (NFL.com, 32), (USA Today, 32)

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.