The Broncos are 5-3, and about to find out where they truly stand

DENVER — Winter is coming.

In much the same way as how the lustrous sunny days of an extended summer will reach a chilly end this week, so too will the Denver Broncos’ trip through the gentle rolling prairie portion of the schedule. The mountains of a two-game road swing against the two teams in last season’s AFC Championship Game loom, followed by a visit from an Atlanta Falcons side that has soared to the summit of its division.

Winter is coming, yes. But it only damages if you if you’re not properly prepared.

In recent weeks, the Broncos did what they were supposed to do, and given the failures of recent Denver football editions, that is notable. Thus, their 28-14 disassembling of the woebegone Carolina Panthers here Sunday represents growth from other years in which similarly feeble foes were able to successfully corral and tame the Broncos.

Denver is 5-1 in its last six games. Four of those wins came against teams that currently sit at 2-6 or worse. And the last two games — won by a combined 37-point margin — came at the expense of particularly bedraggled and injury-wrecked foes.

“I think everyone kind of understands,” tight end Adam Trautman said. “And like we said all week, obviously, we’re getting all this, like, ‘This is a trap game, blah, blah, blah,’ because they’re [1-6]. But they get paid, too.”

Indeed, but the Panthers aren’t in the same class as what the Broncos will see. Denver’s five wins are over teams that are a collective 11-29 giving it the worst strength-of-victory figure among teams currently in playoff positions. The team’s three losses are to teams that are a combined 13-9.

Denver would be in the postseason if it began today, holding the AFC’s No. 5 seed. But the Broncos are 0-2 against teams that currently sit in playoff positions, compared with 5-1 in all other games. The next 21 days feature three teams currently in playoff position.

We’ve found out that the Broncos can dispatch weaker foes. The next three weeks will determine whether the Broncos are ready to step up in class.

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WHY THE BRONCOS COULD BE READY FOR IT

It starts with a defense that has allowed just 9 touchdowns in the last 7 games — one-third of them coming in garbage time when Denver led by three scores. After Carolina quarterback Bryce Young diced up the defense with screen passes on the first series, Denver’s resistance stiffened.

Meanwhile, the Broncos scored 28 consecutive points while the defense allowed just 6 first downs in a 9-series stretch of the game. Bo Nix had his best statistical game, and after firing 3 touchdown passes — including two to tight ends Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins — he hits the 8-game mark with more touchdown passes than interceptions, and an 8-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio over the last six contests.

To put that in perspective, Nix is only the third rookie quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger to have a 6-game stretch with at least 150 passing attempts in which he posted at least 6 touchdown passes and 1 or fewer interceptions. Considering that Dallas’ Dak Prescott in 2016 and Houston’s C.J. Stroud are the other two quarterbacks in that club, Nix is in the type of company that augurs well for long-term success.

“Honestly, even when stuff is going bad, he does seem comfortable,” Trautman said of Nix. “And I’m sure everyone’s talked about his confidence and how he doesn’t waver at all.

“And that’s what we love about him. We could be down 20 — I mean, we were down … against the Chargers 23-0. And his confidence never wavered. So, obviously, we have a lot of confidence when he steps in the huddle and kind of rubs off on everybody.”

That confidence is evident to the man in charge.

“I think all of these are steps, confidence steps. We’ve seen it,” coach Sean Payton said.

However …

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SEAN PAYTON WAS LEFT WANTING MORE

“The key is — and I’ve said it — the key is around [Nix]. Are we good enough at these other positions around him?” Payton asked.

“Look, we have to paint the picture. And when we do that, we’ll have success.”

Payton didn’t say that he would spend his Sunday night circling the parking lot of a sushi restaurant. And he did note after the game that he would sleep well.

But at his post-game press conference, he didn’t bear the stamp of a coach particularly pleased with what he witnessed for most of the afternoon.


Fresh in his mind was a Courtland Sutton fumble that cost the Broncos a potential touchdown and what would have been their first 35-point day in 46 games. The 7-year veteran wide receiver — who fumbled just twice in his first 252 receptions — has now fumbled 3 times in his last 75 catches dating back to Week 3 of the 2023 campaign. And few things rankle Payton more than fumbles.

“Two wide receiver fumbles, just is what it is,” Payton said. “Bothers you.”

Those fumbles from wide receivers bracketed the Broncos’ successful series. A Lil’Jordan Humphrey lost fumble ended the Broncos’ first drive and set Carolina up for a short-field march through Denver territory for a 7-0 lead.

“Yeah, look, we’ve gotta fix that. There’s a time when the down’s over,” Payton lamented to the Broncos Radio Network after the game. “And it can’t just be ‘my bad,’ or we’ll find some other receivers.”

Sutton’s fumble led to a 98-yard window-dressing Carolina touchdown drive that didn’t alter the outcome of the game, but certainly impacted the mood.

“I wish we would have finished better,” Payton said when asked about the performance of his defense Sunday.

“I said this: ‘It’s not a good offense we played.’ It’s just the truth. So, we expected that. And we’re going to see a lot better teams.”

Starting next week. Baltimore features the reigning league MVP, a near-certain Hall-of-Fame-bound running back on pace for a 2,000-yard season and a constellation of playmakers — including two of the league’s best pass-catching tight ends. Carolina featured nothing in the same galaxy of this. And 10 days earlier, New Orleans had only one skill player — Alvin Kamara — in the caliber of the ones Baltimore boasts.

In the next three weeks, we’ll learn whether the Broncos are ready for winter and the harsher conditions created by tougher foes.

They got the job done Sunday. But that level of performance is unlikely to be good enough next week.

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