Broncos, Colts could make NFL playoffs together

The Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts are suddenly making strong pushes towards the NFL playoffs.

Denver has the harder road at 5-6, but the schedule ahead of it is less than daunting. Meanwhile, the Colts have won five straight to climb into a tie with the Baltimore Ravens for the sixth and final seed at 6-5, albeit with Baltimore owning the tiebreak.

However, a look at the schedules tells you that both Denver and Indianapolis have good chances of playing football in January.

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For the Broncos, they catch a break this Sunday with Jeff Driskel playing in place of the injured Andy Dalton. The Bengals would have bene one of the two toughest foes left on the slate. Now, they are a patsy.

Should the Broncos handle business there, the next three games include the Browns, 49ers and Raiders. Denver does get two of those games (San Francisco and Oakland) on the road, but will be favored in all three. After that, it’s a Week 17 showdown with the Chargers at Mile High. More on that game in a minute.

The Colts have a pair of challenging games with a home date against the Cowboys and a road trip to play the Texans, but going 4-1 seems very much in the realm of possibility. The key will be beating up on the Titans, Jaguars and Giants, even with the former two being away from Indianapolis.

Now, imagine this for a moment. The Broncos win their next four games to get to 9-6. The Colts win out save for a game against either the Giants or Cowboys, putting them at 10-6 overall. The Ravens and Dolphins each lose one game.

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In Week 17, Denver and Los Angeles play their aforementioned rematch. If Denver wins, there’s a good chance that the Chargers are also 10-6 having to had played on the road against the Steelers and Chiefs in December.

In this wild (but very plausible) scenario, the Broncos would be the fifth seed, the Colts would be the sixth seed, and the Chargers would be watching the playoffs from home.

This would be a brutal blow to Los Angeles, which some feel might be the darkhorse Super Bowl contender in the AFC. It’s unlikely that the Broncos win out despite having a soft schedule, but if they win their next four contests, Week 17 will be pressure-packed to the hilt as a virtual playoff game.

While it’s not more than a far-off dream yet, the Broncos and Colts have a real chance to not only make it into the NFL playoffs, but to do so together.