The Lead
According to two CBS Sports writers, the Broncos could achieve two of the NFL's greatest accomplishments this year.
In previewing the 2022 season, CBS Sports’ John Breech predicted that the Broncos will bring home the Lombardi trophy this year. His outline has Denver finishing third in the AFC West with a 10-7 record, but then going on to defeat the Chargers in the wild-card round, the Bills in the Divisional round and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship before besting the Packers 31-24 in Super Bowl LVII.
"The past two Super Bowls have both been won by a quarterback who was in his first year with a new team (Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford) and you know what, I've decided I'm just going to ride that train until it crashes, so I'm going with Russell Wilson and the Broncos to win it all this season," Breech wrote.
It is not just a Super Bowl victory that the Broncos could celebrate this season. CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan, tasked with making his own bold predictions, projects Russell Wilson will earn MVP honors after bringing Denver back to the playoffs.
"The man who has NEVER received an MVP vote in his career will have the bulk of them by the end of the 2022 regular season," Sullivan wrote. "Yes, Russell Wilson will be this season's Most Valuable Player. The star quarterback was traded to Denver Broncos this offseason and is inserting himself in an offense that is littered with top-tier weapons like wideouts Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, and second-year running back Javonte Williams. Wilson will also be playing for first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Packers and helped Aaron Rodgers to back-to-back MVP awards over the last two seasons."
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The Broncos are the ninth-most-likely team to win Super Bowl LVII, according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell. He outlined each NFL team's path to winning a championship in 2022, and for the Broncos, it will take a combination of top-tier play from Wilson and a faster defense.
"Russell Wilson has undoubtedly played out the scenario daily in which he wins the Super Bowl with his new team," Barnwell wrote. "Freed to throw the ball at one of the highest rates in the league, Wilson makes stars out of Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, just as Peyton Manning elevated Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker after arriving in Denver in 2012. Wilson wins league MVP, follows it up with a Super Bowl run and gets announced as the Opening Day third baseman for the Rockies in 2023. All in a morning of visualization for Russ."
Barnwell noted that while Wilson's impact on the offense is crucial, the defense will also serve an important role in bringing the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory.
"Wilson will excite the fans and drop rainbows on a weekly basis, but if the Broncos can live up to that scoring defense mark from a year ago while playing at a faster pace, that might be what truly unlocks their ceiling," Barnwell wrote.
