Mayor Michael Hancock: Denver Broncos Have Good Chance To Make Playoffs With 'Steady Teddy'

DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Broncos haven't made the playoffs or won 11 or more games since they won the Super Bowl in 2015. If they do what Denver Mayor Michael Hancock expects, they will do both this season.

Hancock predicts the Broncos will go 11-6 this upcoming season and earning Wild Card playoff berth.

"If 11-6 don't get you into the playoffs, at least as a Wild Card, then you know that someone went phenomenally off the charts in terms of victory," Mayor Hancock told CBS4 Reporter Justin Adams. "So, this is a playoff team and I think that's what I'm predicting through this schedule here."

Hancock picked the Broncos to make the playoffs in 2019 as well, predicting they would finish with a 10-6 record and earning a Wild Card spot. The team fell short of his preseason prediction, falling to 7-9, but he believes things will be different with Teddy Bridgewater as the starting quarterback. Hancock points to Bridgewater's 2015 season where he was a Pro Bowler and led the Minnesota Vikings to an 11-5 record and a Wild Card playoff spot.

"Teddy just brings experience. He's been there, he's taken a team to the playoffs, you got to love it. Let's not forget, Teddy was playing at an All-Pro level before he got hurt," Hancock said.

Bridgewater suffered an ACL tear and a dislocated left knee injury during training camp in 2016. Now fully healthy after starting for the Carolina Panthers last year, Hancock believes Bridgewater can return to his old form while also getting the football into the hands of Courtland Sutton, K.J. Hamler, Jerry Jeudy, and Noah Fant.

"This team is loaded as it has been in a very long time," he said. "I think that if they stay healthy and Bridgewater plays 'Steady Teddy' that we know him to be, the Broncos will be a playoff team."

Here are the game-by-game predictions from Mayor Hancock:

Sept. 12 at New York Giants – (W)
Sept. 19 at Jacksonville Jaguars – (W)
Sept. 26 vs Green Bay Packers – (W)
Oct. 3 at Baltimore Ravens – (W)
Oct. 10 at Pittsburgh Steelers – (L)
Oct. 17 vs Las Vegas Raiders – (W)
Oct. 21 at Cleveland Browns – (L)
Oct. 31 vs Washington Football Team – (W)
Nov. 7 at Dallas Cowboys – (L)
Nov. 14 vs Philadelphia Eagles – (W)
Nov. 28 vs Los Angeles Chargers – (W)
Dec. 5 at Kansas City Chiefs – (W)
Dec. 12 vs Detroit Lions – (W)
Dec. 19 vs Cincinnati Bengals – (W)
Dec. 26 at Las Vegas Raiders – (L)
Jan. 2 at Los Angeles – (L)
Jan. 9 vs Kansas City – (L)

Final Record: 11-6, Wild Card Playoffs