The Broncos deserved to be in the playoffs as a No. 7 seed, a reward for their surprising 10-win season. They finished with a better record than the Bengals and were in the playoff race since October. The key word here is deserved.
The reality? The Broncos weren’t one of the seven best teams in the AFC, and that’s okay. The Bengals were a better team than the Broncos, but didn’t make the playoffs because of their slow start to the year. Give credit to the Broncos for standing tall and making the postseason, despite losing to the Bengals as Cincinnati was making a late playoff push.
The Bengals would have given the Bills a better game for four quarters, but the Broncos were the team playing Buffalo — because they deserved to by virtue of having a better record. The Broncos could be better next seaosn and not make the playoffs, much like the Bengals were this year.
Credit to the Broncos for making the playoffs. They weren’t one of the conference’s seven best teams.
