The Denver Broncos (8-6) can clinch their 11th AFC West title and 18th postseason berth with a win on Sunday in their regular season home finale against the Buffalo Bills (6-8). Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:05 p.m. MST, and the game will be televised on CBS with Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots calling the action.

Denver saw its three-game road winning streak come to an end last week with a 30-10 loss to NFC South-leading Carolina. The Broncos scored on their first two possessions of the game before the Panthers pulled away, breaking a 10-10 first-quarter tie by scoring the game's final 20 points en route to improving to 11-3 on the season.

Similar to last week, the Broncos enter Week 16 with the ability to clinch their division with a win or tie or a San Diego loss or tie in its game at Tampa Bay, which kicks off at 11 a.m. MST on Sunday. Denver's focus, however, remains solely on a Buffalo squad that is coming off a 31-27 loss to the New York Jets. The Bills, who started the season with a 4-0 record and were 5-1 after their first six games, feature one of the NFL's top special-teams units along with a defense that ranks among the league's top 10 in both third down and red zone efficiency.

Winners of their last five games against the Bills, the Broncos enter Sunday's game with a 6-0 record when posting an even or positive turnover ratio this season. Denver joins Arizona (7-0) and Indianapolis (8-0) as one of three clubs in the league with a perfect record when not losing the turnover battle.

The Broncos' roster is one of the youngest in the league and includes an NFL-high six rookies who have appeared in all 14 games. A total of 12 rookies (8 draft picks, 4 college free agents) have combined to play in 135 games for the club this year, including 50 starts at 10 different positions.

Rookie left tackle Ryan Clady, a 14-game starter who has given up only half a sack, and rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal, who ranks sixth in the league in combined yards (1,623), have been key parts of a Broncos offense that ranks second in the NFL in yards per game (385.4). Quarterback Jay Cutler leads the AFC with 3,851 passing yards and is just 239 yards away from setting a Broncos single-season passing record.

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A lot of you have read my stuff on here before, and I'm kind of niche-less, really.  For the most part, I have historically just written about stuff that I was thinking about, but I feel like I should use these last few weeks of the season to establish a new recurring feature.

I'm an offense guy, so I decided that my recurring stuff should be about offense.  I am also a professional (financial) analyst, so I thought that something analytical in tone would be good. Also, I am a big believer in trusting what my eyes see, so I watch past games, and try to divorce myself of any preconceived notions which may taint my evaluation. 

So the idea is this.  I shall write specific thoughts about offensive strategy, and its application in practice against the defense we expect to see.  And I shall call it Lighting Up The Scoreboard.  And if it is well-received, it shall appear every Friday before games.  So let It be written, so let it be done.

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YOUR SOURCE FOR THE VERY BEST

IN DENVER BRONCO PRE-GAME ANALYSIS

MILEHIGHREPORT.COM 

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Just how good is Denver?  Earlier in the season, I wrote that Denver had a shot at anywhere from fourth to second seed in the AFC playoffs.  The bad news is that the loss against Oakland wrecked any reasonable chance of second seed.  The good news is that wins over the Jets and the Chiefs have catapulted Denver to the third seed.

Denver ranks 11th in the League, which is amazing considering the sheer number of injuries the team has faced (6th string RB anyone?).  When factoring in the playoff requirements, Denver ranks third in the AFC, behind only TENN and PITT.  If the playoffs were today, Denver would have a home game against Baltimore.

Is 8-5 anything to be ashamed of?  Some in the media may try to spin it this way.  But a look at other (if held today) playoff teams reveals the Jets, Cowboys, Vikings, and Cards all have the same 8-5 record.  Baltimore, Indy, and TB each have just one more game at 9-4, and we've beaten TB.

Some may be concerned about the loss of Hillis.  I think Hillis is the clear answer at RB for next year.  I love his power running style, his ability to block, his ability to catch out of the backfield, and of course, his Mile High salute.  But as MHR Chief Editor Guru points out, this team was winning without Hillis, and can keep winning behind what is becoming a legendary OL.

Facing the Panthers this week in Carolina, our young, playoff caliber team will face the toughest challenge of the year.  The Panthers are one of four Superbowl Caliber teams, and this game will be an early indication of how deep the Broncos might deserve to go in the playoffs.

(Note: Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, the first former NFL player since George Halas to become a team owner, is in need of a heart transplant and has been placed on a donor waiting list.  All of us at MHR wish Mr. Richardson the very best, and hope a donation match can be made soon)

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I sat down to decide which game to profile for this weeks' Through The Years post when I realized something; no previous match up between these two teams will ever come close to the heroic victory the Broncos will get this very weekend. Let's call this post my Nostradamus moment as I see this weekends game being a trap game for the Panthers and a "Let's find out how good we are game" for the Broncos.

I have been weary of this Bronco team much of the year and nothing from last weeks' victory encouraged me going into this week. Our team floundered early against the Chiefs and had to fight hard the rest of the game to come out with a W. Meanwhile the Panthers are coming off of a dominating performance against a playoff caliber division rival in the Buccaneers. Let me go into detail why I think the Broncos are poised to shock the Panthers back to reality this Sunday.

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Winners of four of their last five games, the Denver Broncos (8-5) put their three-game road winning streak on the line this week when they face the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers (10-3) on Sunday. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is set for 4:15 p.m. EST, and the game will be televised on CBS with Dick Enberg and Randy Cross calling the action.

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Broncos hold a three-game lead atop the AFC West over the Chargers (5-8).  Denver, which is one of just two teams (Tennessee) in the NFL to hold sole possession of first place in their division after every game this year, can clinch its 11th all-time division title with a win/tie against the Panthers or a Chargers loss/tie in their road game against Kansas City on Sunday.

The Broncos are coming off a 24-17 win at home against the Chiefs in a game in which they allowed a season-low 260 yards of offense.  Trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, the Broncos converted eight of their next 10 third-down attempts to overcome the deficit en route to posting their AFC-best sixth 400+yard game (425) this season.

Denver faces a Carolina squad that most recently earned a 38-23 home win against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football that marked its sixth victory in the club's last seven games. The Panthers totaled a franchise-record 299 rushing yards on 37 carries (8.1 avg.) against the Buccaneers, who entered the game ninth in the NFL in run defense.

Owning a 3-0 record against the NFC South this year, the Broncos on Sunday can post only their second 4-0 interconference record in club history with a win against the Panthers. Sunday's game marks Denver's first-ever regular-season road game versus Carolina.

The Broncos visit Charlotte having not surrendered a sack in their last three games, a streak that ties for the longest in franchise annals. Rookie left tackle Ryan Clady (0.5 sacks allowed in 13 starts) and the rest of his offensive linemates have helped Denver lead the NFL in sack percentage per pass play with a 1.6 mark (8-501) that projects to be the second-best season total in NFL history.

• Anyone thinking what I am thinking?  Namely that Nate is going to be put in a position to "put up or shut up", to put it bluntly?  By only switching out ONE component at LB this week, we will get a better feel for the individual LBs within the unit, instead of changing out the whole corp like we did when they all went down with injuries back to back...
• No matter what kind of conspiracy theories we might come up with, it will be nice that DJ and Champ aren't being rushed.  Winning games right now is still important, but the overall strategy needs to be observed as well, and that is to go into a home playoff game with as many healthy players as possible...
• Larsen listed as questionable makes me wonder about the FB gameplan going against KC.  Last week we ran single back sets, and if Larsen isn't better than 50-50, it means we will either see the scheme from last week or Andrew Pinnock, and something tells me that, despite what Shanny is saying right now, Pinnock isn't ready yet....