The Denver Broncos are 6-9 and have little to play for other than pride in Week 17, while the Los Angeles Chargers are 11-4 and could have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs on the line. Those two facts could make Sunday a difficult day for Broncos Country to watch their favorite team.
Of course, you know what that means right? The Broncos are going to come out and play like they shouldn’t be 6-9 and make us all crazy and confused as to why they are 6-9.
As a group, the pessimism is strong this week and we’ve got a combined 26-14 Chargers road blowout of the Broncos. However, there is one of us who thinks the Broncos will come out on top.
Broncos 23, Chargers 20
For whatever reason, the Broncos make it a clean sweep of the Chargers in 2018 - much to the chagrin of draftniks everywhere. Vance Joseph’s parting gift to Broncos Country will be the 16th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft instead of the 8th pick and ensures the Kansas City Chiefs will have an easy road to a Super Bowl title. Thanks for everything, Vance! - Tim Lynch
Chargers 23, Broncos 17
The Broncos have nothing to play for, and the Chargers could still end up with the number one seed in the division. Denver will probably be looking to get some of the young guys a chance at some NFL snaps, and as I said on the MHR Radio Podcast, this game amounts to little more than a glorified preseason game. Maybe Von Miller and Bradley Chubb get a chance at some positive history on defense chasing some sack records, but there really is no motivation to win. The most interesting aspect of the game will likely be the number of no shows in Denver. How many people will stay home rather than head to the stadium? In the end, the defense keeps it close, but the lack of offensive fire power, and the lack of motivation will result in back-to-back double digit loss seasons for the Broncos for the first time in 50 years. - Adam Malnati
Chargers 24, Broncos 10
The Broncos are so banged up they have nearly an entire starting 11 on the IR and if you have seen Case Keenum’s post game interviews lately, he’s not a spring chicken either. The Chargers have a lot to play for and could vastly improve their seeding with a win and some help from the other AFC playoff teams. In the end, talent is what wins games and L.A has vastly more of it on the field at the moment than Denver. - Kevin Gillikin
Chargers 31, Broncos 17
Since his arrival in Denver, Vance Joseph has made (horrible) history a far too frequent occurrence. Why stop on Sunday versus the Chargers? You thought the back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 46 years was nauseating, how about the first back-to-back double-digit loss seasons in 51? Joseph might as well go out in a blaze of glory to solidify his place in Broncos’ history. - Ian St. Clair
Chargers 31 Broncos 6
The Broncos are missing their two offensive weapons that score points: Emmanuel Sanders and Phillip Lindsay. Without Sanders, our offense sputtered. Without Lindsay, our offense is the Titanic and it’s 2 hour and 40 mins from “Iceburgh Straight Ahead!!!” to sunk. The fans who know this loss is the best for the team will be on the lifeboats. The fans who are clinging to the delusional “never lose no matter what” will be among the 1,500 going down with that ship. You may think it’s admirable, but at the end of the day, the fans in the life boat have a future and you, well, you’re at the bottom of the ocean. To me, this last game is Preseason Game #4. Just get out of it with no injuries and taking an L doesn’t mean squat. If you want to start your young players, this is the game to do it. If you want to rest your superstars, this is the game to do it. Just don’t get anyone injured should be the mantra. - Pete Baron