Is there a reason to think that standard score might overrate the 2013 Broncos? As it turns out, there’s one really obvious factor. Scoring offense doesn’t account for a bunch of things,4 but the simplest missing component is the quality of the opposition. And while the Denver offense made everyone in its path look helpless this year, those defenses were pretty bad when the Broncos weren’t on the field, too; Denver faced the league’s third-easiest slate of defenses this year, with only Washington and Kansas City enjoying easier paths to the end zone.

In other words, Seattle had a much tougher schedule than Denver this year.