The Broncos are building something real, and one bold 2025 prediction sees them doing something they haven’t pulled off in a full decade

NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha sees the rising tides of the entire division, plus Denver's merits with Payton, Bo Nix, and an elite defense, pushing the Broncos back into first place. 

"Most of (the) success comes down to the Chiefs' greatness but they've also been helped plenty by the ineptitude of the teams sharing the AFC West with them. Kansas City has been led by future Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid during that entire run of dominance. Every other team in the division has had at least four different head coaches within that same stretch. That churn appears to have slowed, though, with Pete Carroll (Raiders), Jim Harbaugh (Chargers) and Sean Payton (Broncos) now working in the AFC West. Of those three coaches — all of whom have either reached or won the Super Bowl — Payton is sitting on the most impressive team aside from the Chiefs. The Broncos have an elite defense, and it looks like they landed a franchise quarterback in Bo Nix in last year's draft. We know Payton can coach up the offense, especially as the Broncos add more playmakers. We've also seen how Denver gave Kansas City fits last season in Arrowhead, with a blocked field goal keeping them from securing an impressive upset. Denver is good enough to win this division now."

- Jeffri Chadiha, NFL.com

For the Broncos to knock off Kansas City and win the West, Denver is going to need to log a head-to-head win. The good news? They've done that in each of the last two years after Kansas City had rolled up 14 straight wins against the Broncos. The timing of the AFC West's power moves is interesting, too. Kansas City is in the process of reshaping themselves amid rising cost to keep the rest of the nucleus in place. Denver, with Nix on a rookie deal, is better suited than either the Raiders (Geno Smith) or the Chargers (Justin Herbert) to spend accordingly across the rest of the roster and close the gap. 

Another element in their favor is the schedule. The uncommon opponents between the two teams mark the difference between a first and third place schedule from last year's standings. The Chiefs get the Buffalo Bills (on the road), the Detroit Lions, and the Baltimore Ravens. Denver? The New York Jets (international), the Green Bay Packers, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Denver's slate is no set of pushovers but it's preferable to the Chiefs' trio. Denver also plays seven of their last 11 games at home. Kansas City has one additional road game in that stretch but two of them are on short weeks in Buffalo and in Dallas for Thanksgiving. 

The offseason moves for Denver are going to need more hits than misses for this prediction to come to life. But consider the West open for business — which is more than we have been able to say in quite some time. Almost a decade...to be exact.