Read Sports Geek’s argument that Philadelphia’s record is the most deceiving, while Bleacher Fan argues that the record of the Bengals is the most deceiving.
The NFL is arguably my favorite sports league, as my passion for it has taken off in the past eight years especially due to fantasy football. I watch and read about the NFL as much as I possibly can. There are some teams that appear to be for real (New Orleans and Baltimore come to mind quickly) and there are some teams that appear headed for long, miserable seasons (Cleveland and St. Louis qualify for that category). But today, The Sports Debates is looking at which NFL team has the most deceiving record. After taking a quick look up and down the standings, I have determined that the 3-0 record of the Denver Broncos is the most deceiving.
The Broncos entered the season with a firestorm of controversy. First, new head coach Josh McDaniels and quarterback Jay Cutler failed to get on the same page and Cutler was traded to Chicago. Then, there was all of the off the field controversy with wide receiver Brandon Marshall. When the season finally began the Broncos were trailing late in the first game… VERY LATE… when the other Brandon, Mr. Stokely, grabbed a tipped pass and raced 87 yards for a touchdown in the waning seconds to defeat the shocked Cincinnati Bengals.
The Broncos then followed that miracle with a 27-6 victory over the high-powered Cleveland Browns (9.7 points per game through three games… only the St. Louis Rams at eight points per game are worse)! To follow that up, the team had a tough road game in Oakland Raiders (12 points per game). The Browns, Rams, and Raiders appear among the league’s worst teams. But do not get too comfy out there, Denver fans! The next five games are against Dallas, New England, at San Diego, at Baltimore, and against Pittsburgh.
I am not trying to hate on the Broncos. They have a decent team. I am not sure Kyle Orton is the answer at quarterback. Sports Geek would probably agree with me on that (editor’s note: Sports Geek DOES agree. Enthusiastically). But the Broncos do have two solid running backs in Correll Buckhalter and Knowshown Moreno, a rookie out of Georgia. And Denver still has Marshall at wide receiver, which is a good thing (when he is a law abiding citizen).
Does anyone see Denver winning the AFC West? I do not. I believe the Chargers are the class of the AFC West and could very well be 4-4 after the next five games. However, for the time being, the Broncos should enjoy being one of the seven teams in the NFL with a 3-0 record even though no one seems to believe they are one of the seven best teams. Enjoy it while you can, Denver, because rough times are ahead!<br
