Thirty-thousand feet over Montrose, in the early morning hours of Dec. 25, the football team’s charter plane will fly past a cherubic, white-bearded elf in his sleigh pulled by nine reindeer (led by one with a red, shiny nose), and, as the joyful, noisy players celebrate and wave, jolly old St. Nick will exclaim: “Happy Christmas to the Broncos, and to all Coloradans a good AFC West championship.”
When the Broncos play the Chargers, ’twill be the night before Christmas.
Creatures will be stirring.
The Broncos’ schedule was announced Wednesday, and the highest light is the holiday bash in San Diego on Monday night, on Christmas Eve, on ESPN, on Blitzen.
As a 35-year observer of the Broncos and a 60-year observer of Christmas, I can state with conviction that that will be an Extra Large Evening as I hang my stockings with care in the room at the Marriott Mission Valley, eat (cold) pizza and attend the game that will determine the division winner.
On Christmas Eves, the Broncos are 4-3 overall and 3-0 under coach Mike Shanahan. They beat Cincinnati 24-23 last Dec. 24 and won their first playoff game over Pittsburgh in 1977. (I wrote: “Merry Orange Crushmas.”)
On a sadder note, the Broncos lost a 1983 Christmas Eve playoff game in Seattle and the last NFL game of the regular season (on Monday night) in the same San Diego in 1989.
This schedule is tough, but fair. Based on the 2006 record of their opponents (129-127), the Broncos will have the 14th most difficult schedule. Two of their November-December road games will be at domed stadiums; two others are in California, and they don’t have to play in Buffalo or Kansas City in December. They also have a 10-day break before playing in San Diego.
They do have to play in the Windy (Chill-Factored) City on Nov. 25, and they do have to play in Indianapolis against the Colts (Sept. 30, but does the date really matter?).
On another sad note (for me), the Broncos do not get to play in Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Phoenix or Maui, but the opening exhibition is in San Francisco.
I like the Broncos to start with three consecutive victories (at Buffalo and in Denver against woeful Oakland, then Jacksonville) and be 7-1 at the midway point of the season after they prevail in Detroit on Nov. 4. Their only loss in the first half will be to the aforementioned Colts, but they will be undefeated in October with home victories over San Diego, Pittsburgh and Green Bay around their bye.
On one more sad note, the Broncos do play six road games in November (the first in Detroit) and December (the last in San Diego), and the second half won’t be uncomplicated.
The Broncos will lose at Kansas City and Chicago, but win at Oakland (did I mention woeful?) and Houston, and they will prevail at home down the stretch against Tennessee (Nov. 19), Kansas City (Dec. 9) and, in the concluding regular-season game, Minnesota (Dec. 30).
They play 11 games on Sunday afternoon, one Sunday night, three Monday night and one Thursday night, but none on Wednesday morning. The number of night games is surprising for a team coming off a 9-7, nonplayoff season. (Don’t expect another one to be chosen for Sunday night, given the NBC scheduled games Nov. 11 and 25.)
In the marquee matchup, the Broncos and the Chargers, oddly enough, will have identical 11-3 records against 13 of the same teams. (The Broncos play Pittsburgh; the Chargers go to New England.) Because both will win the following week (San Diego at woeful Oakland), this game is it – one wins the division, the other is the wild card).
My Broncos’ precise prognostication has been updated because of their scheduled dates and the presence of new inferior head coach Norv Turner and new coordinators in San Diego. The Broncos definitely will win on Christmas Eve, 24-23.
Ho, ho, ho.
Staff writer Woody Paige can be reached at 303-954-1095 or at wpaige@denverpost.com.
