NFL Network’s Gerald McCoy: Why the Broncos Should Win the AFC Next Season

Rich handed Gerald McCoy an easy out and McCoy refused it.

The question was whether this is the Rams' season to lose. Rich made the case himself, noting that the front and back end play together, that Trent McDuffie is behind that pass rush, and that giving those rushers an extra beat is all they need. He also acknowledged that saying so is a little disrespectful to the 31 other teams who think they have a roster and a chance.

McCoy's answer arrived with a specific address. Denver.

"I believe the Denver Broncos, they were a quarterback injury away from getting to the Super Bowl," McCoy said.

His argument is built on the defense, and he lays out the pieces without much drama. Pat Surtain, who McCoy calls arguably the second or third best defensive player in all of football behind Myles Garrett, and later just flatly the best corner in the game. Zach Allen and a front seven that generates real pressure. A unit McCoy pegs as top one or two in the league.

Then the offense caught up. Denver added Jaylen Waddle, and McCoy has seen this movie before.

"I've seen what Sean Payton can do when he has a guy that can take the top off the defense when he had a Brandon Cooks," McCoy said. "So you give him a guy like that with the experience of this team, which is led by the defense."

The historical rhyme matters to him. The Broncos, when they win, have a dominant defense. The last time they won, they had a dominant defense. The last two Super Bowl winners had a dominant defense.

"You need guys," McCoy said. "Rich, we had this conversation. You need guys, and the Broncos have guys."

The Bo Nix arc supports the rest. Playoffs as a rookie, a loss to Buffalo, then one of the top teams in the league the following year, winning most of their close games, good on the road, defending home field, and getting to the doorstep of the AFC Championship before losing their quarterback.

"So we don't even know what they would have looked like full strength," McCoy said.

He put Denver ahead of the field even with Josh Allen out there, and pointed to uncertainty around Patrick Mahomes's health as another reason the AFC picture is open.

None of which means McCoy is dismissing Los Angeles. He acknowledged that the Rams' line has rushed well but has never rushed with a Myles Garrett, who raises the percentage of pressures and quarterback hits. If the Rams stay healthy, and especially if Aaron Donald returns, McCoy said it would be very hard not to see them at least reaching the Super Bowl.

His caution is that health is a big issue and the NFC West is a gauntlet. The Rams still have to beat Seattle, and McCoy is not entertaining the idea that the defending champions lay down. The 49ers are in there too.

"That division alone is going to be tough to get out of," he said. "But if they can get to the Super Bowl, they got a pretty good shot of winning. Especially if 99 is there."

The rest of it he keeps deliberately open, and his evidence came from another sport entirely. People were writing off the Knicks, McCoy said, and then the Knicks showed up.

Rich made a show of writing down who won the NBA Finals so he would not forget. Knicks in five.

"Realistically every year is about seven teams," McCoy said. Right now, his AFC favorite is Denver.