The Denver Broncos have their sights set on a winning season for the first time since 2016 and their first playoff appearance since the 2015 season. The dominant Denver teams from 2012-2015 produced four straight division titles and 12 or 13 wins each season. Head coach Vic Fangio enters his second season in the Mile High, and the mountain to climb back to the top is a tall one with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
The Broncos started 0-4 last season and finished 7-9. Denver moved on from quarterback Joe Flacco, and rookie QB Drew Lock started the final five games and the Broncos went 4-1. Lock was a second-round draft pick in 2019, and he will be Denver’s starting quarterback with new RB Melvin Gordon joining him in the Broncos backfield in 2020.
We’ll break down the Broncos offseason moves, schedule, and betting odds below. That includes Super Bowl and division odds, and the Broncos chances’ to eclipse their season win total.
Denver Broncos 2020 schedule and betting odds
| Week | Date (Time) | Opponent | Opening Spread (DraftKings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday, Sep. 14 (10:10 p.m. ET) | vs. Tennessee | Broncos -1.5 |
| 2 | Sunday, Sep. 20 (1 p.m. ET) | at Pittsburgh | Steelers -4.5 |
| 3 | Sunday, Sep. 27 (4:25 p.m. ET) | vs. Tampa Bay | Buccaneers -1.5 |
| 4 | Thursday, Oct. 1 (8:20 p.m. ET) | vs. NY Jets | Broncos -1 |
| 5 | Sunday, Oct. 11 (1 p.m. ET) | at New England | Patriots -5 |
| 6 | Sunday, Oct. 18 (4:05 p.m. ET) | vs. Miami | Broncos -5.5 |
| 7 | Sunday, Oct. 25 (4:25 p.m. ET) | vs. Kansas City | Chiefs -4.5 |
| 8 | BYE | ||
| 9 | Sunday, Nov. 8 (1 p.m. ET) | at Atlanta | Falcons -3 |
| 10 | Sunday, Nov. 15 (4:05 p.m. ET) | at Las Vegas | Raiders -2 |
| 11 | Sunday, Nov. 22 (4:05 p.m. ET) | vs. LA Chargers | Broncos -2.5 |
| 12 | Sunday, Nov. 29 (4:05 p.m. ET) | vs. New Orleans | Saints -3.5 |
| 13 | Sunday, Dec. 6 (8:20 p.m. ET) | at Kansas City | Chiefs -10.5 |
| 14 | Sunday, Dec. 13 (1 p.m. ET) | at Carolina | Broncos -1.5 |
| 15 | Sunday, Dec. 20 (TBA) | vs. Buffalo | Broncos -1 |
| 16 | Sunday, Dec. 27 (TBA) | at LA Chargers | Chargers -2.5 |
| 17 | Sunday, Jan. 3 (4:25 p.m. ET) | vs. Las Vegas | TBD |
Denver Broncos futures odds
Super Bowl odds
The Broncos Super Bowl odds opened at +6000 at FanDuel Sportsbook. A $20 bet would return $1200 if the Broncos win the Super Bowl. But DraftKings Sportsbook had the at only Broncos +4000 to win Super Bowl 55. That’s a significant discrepancy in future odds, and something sharp bettors look for when shopping and betting futures.
The Broncos are an underdog to make the playoffs with Yes +162 and No -205 at FanDuel.
Follow the Broncos’ progress through training camp and especially the development of QB Drew Lock as you examine their futures markets.
AFC West odds
The Broncos are +800 to win the AFC West at DraftKings and +1100 at FanDuel, with the Kansas City Chiefs (-400) the biggest favorite of all teams to win their division. A $20 bet on the Broncos at FanDuel returns a profit of $220 if Denver pulls the upset to win the AFC West.
Division odds will adjust during the season based on a team’s wins and losses, and especially on the outcome of key division games.
Broncos win total
The Broncos could be a sleeping giant if the offense performs better than expectations with Drew Lock developing quickly. A win total of 7.5 (-110) is achievable, and Denver is likely to perform better offensively as the season progresses than early in the season as discussed with the change in system transitioning to a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Pro bettors and larger bets can influence the market, and both the win total and odds can vary at different sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. As the regular season approaches and teams start to show signs of what may be ahead through training camp and preseason games, you’ll see some of the win totals and odds adjust. A half game is worth approximately .50 cents in odds (vig), and as you see the odds adjust you know there is money to support the move.
Broncos player props
The Broncos could be a sleeping giant if the offense performs better than expectations with Drew Lock developing quickly. A win total of 7.5 (-110) is achievable, and Denver is likely to perform better offensively as the season progresses than early in the season as discussed with the change in system transitioning to a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Pro bettors and larger bets can influence the market, and both the win total and odds can vary at different sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. As the regular season approaches and teams start to show signs of what may be ahead through training camp and preseason games, you’ll see some of the win totals and odds adjust. A half game is worth approximately .50 cents in odds (vig), and as you see the odds adjust you know there is money to support the move.
How to bet on the Broncos
Futures
Futures are long term betting odds on events that happen in the future. Super Bowl champion, league MVP, Rookie of the Year, and a team’s season win total are some examples.
Oddsmakers adjust those future odds during the course of a season after initially put them out well before the start of the season to generate interest and handle. Odds can vary greatly at different operators like FanDuel Sportsbook or DraftKings Sportsbook, for example, and can be influenced by not only money wagered, but by sharp house players which forces the sportsook to adjust the odds.
The Broncos’ Super Bowl odds discrepancy at FanDuel (+6000 or 60-1) vs. DraftKings (+4000 or 40-1) is an example and can offer a significant difference in payback. A $100 bet on the Broncos at FanDuel would return a profit of $6,000 but just $4,000 if you bet at DraftKings. Bettors have to often be willing to tie their money up for longer periods of time on futures bets and realize additional risks like injuries that impact results and futures odds.
Moneyline
Pick the team to win the game and you bet the moneyline. The favorite has a minus (-200) in front of the number indicating the amount you need to wager to win $100. The underdog has a plus (+160) in front of the number indicating the amount you would win on a $100 bet. Not all three-point favorites, for example, have the same moneyline odds. Moneyline odds can vary depending on the amount wagered, a point spread move that changes the moneyline, and factors closer to kickoff like weather, injuries, and even bookmaker liability on a certain team.
Point spread
The point spread is made by the oddsmaker in expectation of the margin of victory. If the Broncos are a 4.5-point underdog and you bet them on the point spread, you win your bet if the Broncos win the game or lose by four points or less. Conversely, if the Broncos are a 4.5-point favorite, you win your bet only if the Broncos win by at least five points. A Broncos loss or defeat by four points or less is a lost wager. Any wager that lands on the point spread, for example a 27-24 score with a 3-point spread, results in a push and refund of the bet.
Point spreads often have odds of -110, so a $110 bet pays back $100 on a winner, or $11 wins $10. However, oddsmakers add higher vigorish to some point spreads, where you might see a 3-point favorite (-120). So you would have to wager $120 to win $100 and your team would have to win by more than three points to win your wager.
Total (over/under)
As scoring has increased in recent years, bettors still prefer to bet on higher scoring games. That’s especially true on isolated prime time games like Monday Night Football. Betting the game total of a NFL games is called an over/under bet. The oddsmakers set game totals and also halftime and first-half totals. These game totals can fluctuate during the week based on a number of factors, including team and player news, weather, and money wagered on either the over or under.
Prop bets
Props or proposition bets are bets that generally don’t directly affect the outcome of the game. These can be team or player props like over/under rushing or receiving yards, or passing yards by a quarterback.
Leading sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings offer more creative options as they have more volume and handle and a way to generate more bets and keep a higher hold for the house is to offer props. Following the NFL Draft, you’ll see many quarterback over/under passing yards for the season offered, along with MVP, Rookie of the Year and additional types of player props to generate a buzz for the sportsbooks along with bets. Top rookie draft picks have player props tied to them right after the draft as well, like Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, whose receiving yards over/under prop opened at 824.5 yards.
Teasers
A bettor may not be willing to bet if he can’t take +3 on the underdog. Sometimes books hold the spread at 2.5 points and off the key number.
So an option is to ‘tease’ or ‘buy’ points and move the point spread. In the NFL, this is 6 (-120), 6.5 (-130) or 7 points (-140). The odds can be slightly higher at some sportsbooks, but you must have at least two bets in your teaser. So if the Broncos were a +2 point underdog and you were not quite confident enough to bet them without taking 3-points or more, then you can move the line 6-points for example and tease the Broncos to +8. You would need to add another leg to your teaser and bet another team with a 6-point move either up on the underdog or down on the favorite. Both bets must win for you to win your teaser bet. You can teaser more than two teams and get a higher return, for example a 3-team 6-point teaser would have odds of +180.
In-play betting
Also called in-game wagering, this has become the most popular way to bet on games and allows bettors to have action throughout the contest. Sharp bettors who understand not only math, but can factor odds quickly and understand the variances in a game like field position, time remaining and clock management, have a better chance to beat the bookmaker and win more bets.
The oddsmaker continuously adjusts the odds ‘in-game’, and this type of wagering requires more learned skills and understanding, but can also be fun to learn while risking less money as you make bets throughout a contest.
Broncos 2019 recap
Record: 7-9
ATS: 9-7
Denver’s start to the 2019 season was a disaster. Four straight losses including a pair of excruciating last-second losses sent the Broncos behind the 8 ball for the rest of the season. Denver failed to score more than 20 points in seven of their first eight games and the writing was on the wall for QB Joe Flacco.
The Broncos finished 7-9 SU and 9-7 ATS to push on their over/under season win total. They also went 7-9 Over/Under on totals. Denver went 3-3 within the division but two lopsided losses to the Chiefs showed the struggles of Denver’s offense losing 30-6 at home and 23-3 late in the season at Kansas City in the Broncos only loss with Drew Lock as the starting quarterback.
But the Denver defense improved under defensive mastermind Vic Fangio, and the Broncos only allowed one opponent to score more than 24 points in their last nine games. For the season, the Broncos scoring defense finished top-10 allowing 19.8 points per game and top-12 allowing 337 yards per game.
Broncos 2020 offseason moves
Key trades: Seventh-round draft pick (2020) to TEN for DE Jurrell Casey; Fourth-round draft pick (2020) to JAX for CB A.J. Bouye
Key re-signings: LB Joe Jones; DE Shelby Harris
Key free-agent losses: CB Chris Harris, Jr., (to LAC), C Connor McGovern (to NYJ), DE Derek Wolf (to BAL)
Key free-agent signings: RB Melvin Gordon (Chargers), G Graham Glasgow (Lions), P Sam Martin (Lions), QB Jeff Driskel (Lions)
The Broncos bolstered their defense and front seven with the addition of five-time Pro Bowl DE Jurrell Casey. Losing CB Chris Harris to division rival LA Chargers hurts, as does the departure of C Connor McGovern. But Denver also adds CB A.J. Brown and has the dominant duo in linebackers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb to anchor a defense that should be top tier in 2020.