Brock Osweiler, Strong Defense Putting Broncos in AFC Driver's Seat

The Denver Broncos are back in the driver's seat in the AFC. Well, technically they're No. 2 in the conference behind the streaking Cincinnati Bengals, but the team controls its own destiny as far as playoff seeding goes.

The Broncos find themselves in this position thanks to the play of both their defense and their young quarterback, Brock Osweiler. The defense and Osweiler have been impressive in recent weeks, and the play of both culminated in 17-3 beatdown of the San Diego Chargers here in Week 13.

It's not just in this win where we find solid play from both the quarterback and defense though, and over the last three weeks, the two—particularly the defense—have propelled the Broncos into the No. 2 spot in the AFC.

Both the defense and Osweiler have been solid, but the team's recent turnaround—three straight wins after back-to-back losses to the Colts and Chiefs—can be largely attributed to their success on defense.

Over the current three-game winning streak, the defense allowed an average of 14 points per game, with the lone "blip" on the radar being a 25-point showing on the part of the Patriots.

More impressive perhaps than just the points allowed by the defense is the well-rounded effort it has put up against a trio of teams that, at the time, were playing solid football.

Week	Opponent	Total Yards	Rushing Yards	Passing Yards	Turnovers	Sacks	Points
11	@Bears	347	86	261	2	2	15
12	vs. Patriots	301	39	262	1	3	24
13	@Chargers	272	93	179	3	4	3

The defense forced six turnovers in its previous three contests and held each of its opponents below 350 total yards on offense. In addition, the team logged a whopping nine sacks and no opposing quarterback posted a QBR north of Tom Brady's mark of 62.3.

Today, the unit's prowess was on full display, and at no point was its dominance more apparent than during this impressive play by Danny Trevathan.

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WATCH: Rivers throws it; @Grindin_59 returns it! https://t.co/9Bh7w5mKah #DENvsSD pic.twitter.com/C1GxYCa6ED

— Broncos TV (@BroncosTV) December 6, 2015"

So, the defense is a dominant unit, but the improved play at quarterback is also a big part of the Broncos' position as the No. 2 team in the conference.

Osweiler has been surprisingly solid at quarterback since being pushed into the No. 1 spot on the team's depth chart. Coming into Week 13, the Arizona State University product boasted an 88.4 passer rating with 666 yards and six touchdowns to just two interceptions on 61.3 percent passing in four contests—he only threw a pass in three of those appearances.

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

Today against the San Diego Chargers, Osweiler again proved capable of leading the team on offense. The fourth-year pro hit on 16 of 26 pass attempts for 166 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Osweiler wasn't asked to do much—the Broncos ran the ball a whopping 39 times—but he avoided making any major mistakes and put the team in position to walk out of Qualcomm Stadium with a victory.

Moving forward, it's tough to know what the front office will do with Osweiler. Our own Jason Cole reported he would be the team's quarterback for the rest of the year, but the Broncos refuted those claims, stating they had made no decision regarding their quarterback dilemma. 

At this time, none of that matters, and Osweiler is riding high with a ton of confidence.

Osweiler's play has been impressive for a young man thrust into a job he probably didn't expect to have until at least next season, and at this moment he has the Broncos in a position where they control their own destiny in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The Broncos have four games left on their schedule—seen below—with only two coming against teams that currently hold a winning record.

Week	Opponent	PPG	PPG Allowed	Total Offense Ranking	Total Defense Ranking
14	vs. Raiders	24.0	25.5	12th	27th
15	@Steelers	24.2	20.9	4th	21st
16	vs. Bengals	27.0	17.5	7th	15th
17	vs. Chargers	22.2	27.9	6th	22nd

In addition to a split in teams above and below the .500 mark, Osweiler and co. will certainly enjoy hosting three of their four remaining games.

Based on what we've seen to this point in the year, the Broncos should beat the Chargers and Raiders in Denver. That leaves them with contests at Pittsburgh and against Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh is a beatable opponent—especially given Denver's ability to shut down the opposition's passing game—and the Week 16 matchup against the Bengals could be the deciding factor in playoff seeding come the end of the regular season.

Osweiler's probably going to have to beat the Bengals in order to get his Broncos into the No. 1 spot in the AFC. With the way he and the defense are playing, it's totally feasible we see the Broncos beat the Bengals, and that we also find them atop the AFC standings when the playoffs roll around.

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