If Denver Broncos fans were given the opportunity to hop into a DeLorean and travel back in time, some might choose the year 2013.
At this point, anything to get out of 2020, right?
Most fans still remember how fun, historic and special that season was.
Take how it ended out of the equation (a blowout loss in Super Bowl XLVIII to the Seattle Seahawks). When the Broncos stepped on the field that season, there was never a doubt something magical was in motion.
The antithesis of the last five years, where there has been nothing but doubt. That remains the case this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Magical 2013 Broncos season
That was the first experience Broncos Country had with Peyton “Freaking” Manning.
Yes, the 2013 season was his second in Denver. But what he and the Broncos offense accomplished that season still feels remarkable and unreal.
PFM threw for an NFL record 55 touchdown passes.
Denver’s offense scored 606 points, for an average of 37.9 points per game.
Now, the Broncos struggle to score 20 points per game.
That seems like ages ago.
To add salt to the wound for those betting on the Broncos: Seven years later, it’s now the hated Kansas City Chiefs that are the high-powered offensive machine.
Connection between 2013 Broncos and Chiefs vs Jets
What is the connection between the 2020 Chiefs and 2013 Broncos?
Historic spreads.
The 2013 season gave us the most lopsided spread in NFL history. In the Broncos’ Week 6 game with the Jacksonville Jaguars, they were a 28-point favorite.
Kansas City is set to face the horrible New York Jets on Sunday. The Chiefs are a 19.5-point favorite.
What leads the sportsbooks to put up spreads like that?
Scott Cooley, the SportsBetting.com odds consultant, told PlayColorado:
“When you have a large disparity in the power ratings, we end up with large spreads like this. The Jets are one of the lowest-rated teams I can recall in quite some time. But we have to hang a spread for every game, even if we have an even matchup, because there’s always going to be action.”
Historic NFL spreads
If you consider how the Broncos fared as such huge favorites in the Jacksonville game, those betting on the NFL get a clearer sense of how to wager on the Chiefs matchup.
Heading into that Week 6 game with the Jaguars, PFM and Denver had just dropped back-to-back 50 burgers on the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos also dropped 49 on the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
Through the first five games of the 2013 season, Denver averaged 46 points per game.
As for Jacksonville, in its first five games it failed to score more than 10 points three times and was 0-5.
Thus, that huge 28-point spread.
In the end, Manning and the Broncos didn’t cover. In fact, it wasn’t even close. Denver “only” won by 16 points, 35-19.
As this post-game write up from Mile High Report points out:
“But from start to finish, the entire Broncos performance had an underwhelming feeling. Between a negative turnover ratio, fumbled snaps, and allowing Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne to outthrow Peyton Manning, the entire game was overshadowed with a sense of disappointment.”
What history tells us
As noted earlier, that should give fans a clearer picture of how Sunday with the Chiefs and Jets could go down.
There’s no question Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City will win straight up on the moneyline betting. The question is the huge spread and what the play is for those who may want to do point spread betting for the game.
As Cooley said:
“History tells bettors to back the underdog. Since the merger, of the seven highest spreads the league has seen, only one favorite covered the number. And of course, we can’t forget about the Broncos historic outright upset against Jacksonville as a massive dog. It’s still the NFL, and anything can happen.”
