The Denver Broncos made a breakthrough by reaching the playoffs during the 2024 NFL season. It’s a territory they haven’t reached since 2015, when the franchise clinched its third Super Bowl victory. Meanwhile, they only had two winning seasons and one double-digit-win campaign since that Lombardi victory.
For the 2025 season, Fox Sports NFL reporter Henry McKenna has high expectations for the Sean Payton-coached squad. In his playoff predictions for this year, he had the Broncos winning the AFC West and finishing the regular season as the conference’s third seed, behind only the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills.
While McKenna did not include his prediction for the Broncos’ win-loss record, he made an interesting pairing for their Wild Card Round game. McKenna has the Broncos facing the defending AFC West champions Kansas City Chiefs and beating them 13-10.
If this prediction comes true, it would be a historic moment for the Broncos because they haven’t won a playoff game in a decade. While they were a part of the 2024 AFC postseason picture, the Bills dominated them in the Wild Card 31-7.
Giving reason for his prediction, McKenna wrote on May 15, “The Chiefs just put their heart and soul into the three-peat and failed brutally on the biggest stage. And while I think there’s a big-brother complex where Andy Reid lords over both Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh, I don’t think that’s true of Sean Payton, who will bump a fatigued Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce out of the offseason.”
McKenna Sees Same Story, Different Chapter for Denver in the Divisionals
Broncos fans will enjoy McKenna’s prediction about their team winning a playoff game against a division rival. However, he sees the end of Denver’s season at the Bills’ hands once again. Unlike last year’s showdown wherein it was a one-sided affair, McKenna predicts the Bills winning by three, 17-14.
A three-point margin is a significant improvement from the Broncos’ performance against the same team. However, losing to the five-time defending AFC East champions drops Denver’s overall record against them to 17-25-1.
Worst yet, such a result will have the Broncos losing five of their last six games versus Buffalo, per Football Database. Likewise, the Broncos would remain winless against Buffalo in the playoffs after three encounters.
McKenna’s Colleague Predicts Different Outcome for Broncos
As McKenna sees the Broncos taking a small leap forward, fellow Fox Sports reporter Ben Arthur predicts otherwise. Arthur thinks Denver will take a step back by finishing at 9-8.
Arthur wrote on May 15, “But this is not the easiest third-place schedule, and teams now have a season’s worth of tape on Nix. Don’t be surprised to see the Broncos finish with a worse record than they did last year when they won 10 games.”
The difference between the two predictions could attest to the NFL’s uncertainty. However, Arthur did mention that the Broncos’ improved defensive secondary and upgraded supporting cast around Bo Nix could keep them in games.
