Broncos ‘probably two years’ from fully closing gap on Super Bowl-bound Chiefs, says NFL on Fox analyst
Feb 8, 2025, 11:09 AM
NEW ORLEANS — The scoreboard and game circumstances in November says the Denver Broncos are within a blocked field goal of a Kansas City Chiefs side that has racked up nine-consecutive AFC West titles and is in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the last six seasons. And a year earlier, Sean Payton’s first Broncos edition stopped what had been a 16-game losing streak to their long-time division rivals.
But the standings say the Broncos are five games back of the Chiefs — and if one doesn’t count the regular-season finale in which Kansas City rested nearly all of its core contributors, it’s a 6-game gap.
Denver has proven it can challenge the Chiefs head-to-head, its familiarity with the two-time defending Super Bowl winners helping narrow the on-field gap. But it’s a different story when viewed in the overall context of a season, and that’s something that NFL on Fox analyst — and former Payton co-worker — Peter Schrager knows well.
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“Yeah, they’re not there yet. They’re not,” Schrager explained. “I picked the Broncos to go to the playoffs before this season and it wasn’t because of my trust in Bo Nix. It wasn’t because I thought that you’re going to have this great season from [Pat] Surtain. I picked ’em because I trust Sean Payton and he’ll get that thing going.
“But it is a huge gap.”
The win in Week 18 reveals nothing, of course. It’s more about the performance in Kansas City in Week 18.
“When you become a team that can take ’em in Arrowhead to that point where it takes a blocked field goal — a freak block field goal by Leo Chenal — you know you could compete with them.”
But in Schrager’s eyes, being able to “compete” and having the gap closed are two different things.
“I don’t think they’re a year away. I think they’re probably two years away but Sean’s got them going in the right direction and if you have been following that division for 10 years, I think Broncos fans would sign up for that.”
Perhaps, but from Schrager — who knows Payton well from their time working together at Fox Sports — it’s a bit of an ice-water douse of reality on the burgeoning optimism running riot through Broncos Country after the team’s return to the playoffs.
