The NFL should send Christmas cards to the Broncos. Thanks to another home upset loss in December, this time to what was supposed to be the lowly Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon, the Broncos spread much cheer across the country.
By losing to the normally woeful Raiders 20-19 at Invesco Field at Mile High, the Broncos deeded renewed hope along the Eastern seaboard from Miami to the New Jersey Meadowlands. A little farther inland, the Broncos’ stumble resuscitated life into the once flat-lining Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.
Jacksonville and Houston had gagged in recent weeks, but to the rescue came the Broncos, who have made a late-season habit of pumping optimism into the mediocre.
And the Broncos all but handed an AFC wild-card playoff spot to Baltimore.
By losing a game in which they were a heavy favorite to win, the Broncos threw the AFC wild-card race into what so many cities not named Denver would describe as blissful chaos.
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