Michael Bush. Andre Johnson. Kyle Orton.
If those three players come through Sunday, the Broncos will make the playoffs.
The NFL listed 10 scenarios for the Broncos to reach their first postseason since 2005. There really is only one: The Oakland Raiders defeat the visiting Baltimore Ravens, the Houston Texans defeat the visiting New England Patriots, and the Broncos defeat the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.
Home teams win and the Broncos are in. What’s so long about those odds?
“You have to win and all that other stuff will take care of itself,” said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins.
Indeed, don’t be surprised if the most challenging aspect to this final playoff-or-bust Sunday is the Broncos defeating the Chiefs.
Do you realize only the NFL’s two most pitiful teams — St. Louis and Detroit — have been worse over their past nine games than the Broncos, who have gone 2-7? Even Cleveland and Tampa Bay went 3-6 over their past nine. Think about that. All the Broncos had to do was play Browns- and Bucs-caliber ball the past nine games and they wouldn’t have been in this mess.
Still, don’t be surprised if the Broncos squirm free and wind up playing the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., in a first-round playoff game.
The Raiders, who have long learned how to play competitively with nothing to play for, have a far better chance to beat the Ravens at home than the Cincinnati Bengals — who are playing for no other reason than to not get Carson Palmer hurt — do of beating the New York Jets at the Meadowlands. The Raiders have won home games against the 11-4 Philadelphia Eagles and 10-5 Bengals. If the Raiders feed the ball to Bush, their underrated running back, they can beat the 8-7 Ravens.
And the Texans, with Johnson, their great wide receiver, should be able to win at home against a Pats team that also should not put Tom Brady anywhere near harm’s way.
It makes no sense for Palmer or Brady to seek the AFC’s No. 3 seed when the No. 4 seed is in hand. Either way, the Bengals and Patriots would play their first-round playoff games at home, second-round playoff games on the road, most likely a third playoff game on the road and a fourth playoff game at a neutral site.
So now that it’s been established that Al Davis’ team should come through for the Broncos, and Gary Kubiak’s team should come through for the Broncos, all that leaves is for Orton and the Broncos to take care of the Chiefs.
That’s the Chiefs, 2-7 over their past nine, against the Broncos, 2-7 over their past nine.
