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The Denver Broncos have gotten back to .500 after winning their third-straight game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. At 6-6, they are right in the thick of things in the AFC.
Head Coach Vance Joseph has seen a reversal of fortune over the last month guiding this team from a 3-6 record to playoff consideration.
“To be back to even in this league, especially after how we started, is definitely a good feeling,” Joseph said after the game on Sunday. “We’re going to get back to work on Monday with a singular focus. Our goal is to win every day, and we approach each game as if we’re 1-0. We need to win every play. I know it sounds kind of boring, but we have a young team and we need to keep our focus. Our leadership guys are carrying us. You know, (have a) small focus. We need big-picture awareness, but overall small focus.”
The emphasis from the coaching staff is for the players to take each week one game at a time. There is no margin for error, which means they cannot afford to take any game for granted.
Which means there will be no talk of playoffs from Joseph.
“I’m not,” Joseph said of talking playoffs. “We’ve won three in a row, and we’ve accomplished this by winning one game at a time. We’re going to take things slow with this young team.”
In overall age, the Broncos are middle of the road, but they do have a young team when you look at their starting rosters with multiple rookies getting significant playing time.
It has also been their rookie class that has turned the tide for the Broncos over the last three games. From Bradley Chubb matching Von Miller sack for sack to Phillip Lindsay taking the NFL world by storm averaging a league-best 6.1 yards per carry and ranking fourth in the NFL in rushing yards.
The rookies are yolo-ing it and the wins are beginning to stack up.
“Our tone has never changed,” Joseph said of the turnaround. “We were playing good football. We weren’t getting blown out of the building. We never had any issues with guys not playing hard or not believing in the process. We played some of the best teams on our schedule very close, and we just didn’t finish those games. We’re not surprised where we’re currently at, and we expect to win every week.”
Expecting to win is a good mentality to have, but now is the time to close the deal. Four wins would put these Broncos at 10-6 and right in the thick of things in the AFC.