As soon as the Denver Broncos’ Schedule was released Wednesday night, Jess, Tim and Laurie issued their predictions on how the Broncos might fare this season.

The Denver Broncos’ schedule for 2021-22 is out, so let the predictions begin!

Of course it’s silly to project how the wins and losses will go, but it’s impossible to resist the urge to do it.

As soon as the NFL released the schedules, our “Something Something Broncos” podcast crew jumped on Twitch for a “live reaction” to all the ways the NFL tried to screw help the Broncos once again.

Here are some notable points about the schedule:

Home opener isn’t until Week 3, when they host the Jets

Bye Week is a late one - Week 11

NFL loaded up almost all of Denver’s AFC West games after the Bye Week, taking up five of the seven games

No National games for the Broncos - the first time in 29 years.

The final stretch is brutal - two away at Raiders and Chargers, finishing at home against...the Chiefs, of course.

Reportedly the Broncos have the fifth-easiest schedule (a bogus metric, but that’s a rant for another day), which should help Denver claw its way into relevancy with a few more wins this season than last.

When you look closely at the matchups, however, there’s nothing really easy about Denver’s schedule at all. Well, except maybe playing the Jets.

Tim, Jess and I discussed our predictions for wins and losses immediately after the official release - and I’m a little ashamed to admit I was not the most optimistic among our group. The first three games have grand possibilities, but after that, Ravens, Steelers and then Browns on TNF is a tough three-out-of-the-next-four-games stretch (Raiders are in there, and that has greater possibilities for a W).

But to make our predictions even more interesting, we tallied two lists - one for the current roster with a Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgewater-led offense; and one for the roster that (hopefully) includes Aaron Rodgers at signal caller.

In the end, I came out with 6-11 for the current roster (i.e., quarterbacks); 17-0 with Rodgers. I know, I know. Ridiculous. Tim was just a tad more optimistic with the current team going 7-10 and an Aaron Rodgers-led squad going 14-3. Jess also picked 14-3 with Rodgers at QB and 8-9 for the Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgewater tandem.

On our podcast, Tim pointed out the possibility that we were being too harsh on the current team - which still boasts a phenomenal defense, a young and speedy offense that will eventually feature a highly touted running back. And he’s probably (hopefully) right.

But if there were any consistency in our predictions, it was the collective agreement that an Aaron Rogers-led team significantly improves Denver’s chances of not just a winning season but a playoff-bound season in 2021.

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