The Denver Broncos improbably became the laughingstock of the NFL in 2022. “Let’s ride” became less of a battle cry and more of a mockery. The Broncos were not the worst team in the league, but they underachieved the most relative to expectations. 

Will new head coach Sean Payton turn things around? More specifically, will he turn things around this season? Let’s take a look at some of the odds and best bets to be made on the Denver Broncos in 2023. 

 breakdown

2022 record: 5-12 

2022 ATS record: 7-10 

2022 O/U record: 6-11 

Key players in: Mike McGlinchey (OT), Zach Allen (DE), Ben Powers (G), Frank Clark (DE), Samaje Perine (RB) 

Key players out: Dre’Mont Jones (DE), Calvin Anderson (OT), Brandon McManus (K), Latavius Murray (RB) 

2023 NFL Draft class: Marvin Mims (WR), Drew Sanders (LB), Riley Moss (CB), JL Skinner (S), Alex Forsyth (C)

Denver Broncos 2023 NFL season odds

Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook 

Denver Broncos Super Bowl odds

The Broncos are +4500 to win Super Bowl LVIII. That puts them at #17 on the list of favorites, in between the Browns (+3500) and Steelers (+5000). 

Denver Broncos AFC Championship odds

Denver is +2500 to win the AFC – making it the #10 choice, tied with Pittsburgh  

Denver Broncos AFC West odds

At +550, the Broncos are the third favorites in the AFC West. They trail Kansas City (-165) and the Chargers (+340) while coming in ahead of Las Vegas (+1200).

Denver Broncos win total odds

The Broncos’ win quota is 8.5 games and both the over and the under are priced at -110. They are +550 to finish with exactly 9 victories.

Denver Broncos 2023 schedule

Week 1: vs Las Vegas Raiders 

Week 2: vs Washington Commanders

Week 3: at Miami Dolphins

Week 4: at Chicago Bears

Week 5: New York Jets

Week 6: at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday)

Week 7: vs Green Bay Packers

Week 8: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 9: BYE 

Week 10: at Buffalo Bills (Monday) 

Week 11: vs Minnesota Vikings 

Week 12: vs Cleveland Browns 

Week 13: at Houston Texans 

Week 14: at Los Angeles Chargers

Week 15: at Detroit Lions 

Week 16: vs New England Patriots

Week 17: vs Los Angeles Chargers 

Week 18: at Las Vegas Raiders 

Denver Broncos 2022 season recap

Despite having missed the playoffs 6 straight years heading into the 2022 campaign, the Broncos were expected to make big strides. After all, quarterback play seemed to be the only thing holding them back in 2021 and to solve that problem they signed Russell Wilson. Unfortunately, to say that things did not go as planned would be a gross understatement. Wilson was awful, first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was borderline incompetent and Denver won a grand total of 5 games. Hackett did not even make it through his debut season with the Broncos, as he got fired following Week 16 with a 4-11 record.  

Denver Broncos 2023 NFL season predictions

As the odds suggest, Denver is expected to be in the bottom half of the NFL standings. Payton’s crew is not projected to be quite as bad as the 2022 Broncos, but massive improvement may not be in the cards.

Here are a couple of my Denver-related predictions for the upcoming season. 

Best bet: Denver Broncos Under 8.5 wins (-110)

Hackett is out and Payton is in. That can only be considered a good thing for this franchise – but how good will it be in the immediate future? I’m not so sure that Payton will be able to engineer a massive turnaround right away. This roster is largely similar last year’s and the Broncos did even have a first-round draft pick because they shipped it to the Saints in order to acquire Payton’s services. Wilson would have to be a lot better in order for Denver to improve by 4 wins, and at this point in his career and with the middling talent around him I don’t see that in the 2023 forecast. As for the schedule, the Broncos obviously have to face the Chiefs twice and they also have road dates with the Bills, Lions and Dolphins. Give me the under. 

Denver Broncos season record predictions

The Broncos are +600 to finish exactly 8-9, and at that price I think it’s worth a play. If you are of the more optimistic variety when it comes to this team, sprinkling a play on Denver to lose in the divisional round of the playoffs at +450 has decent value. It wouldn’t be that wild to see the Broncos get into the dance, but – if it happens – it would likely be as a wild card and that would set them up well for an immediate exit on the road.