Oct 18, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Denver Broncos strong safety David Bruton (30) Denver Broncos strong safety T.J. Ward (43) Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib (21) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to power rankings, you do not often see a team that is on a bye move up or down. However, depending on how teams that did play who are ranked higher or lower could be a factor on the bye team’s ranking.
The Denver Broncos got to watch 28 other teams play and were one of the three teams that did not participate in the Week 7 action. However, there was some shift for the Denver Broncos this week as they head to a showdown at home against the Green Bay Packers.
So, with the Broncos off for the week, what did that do for them as far as the power rankings are concerned? Let us take a look.
NFL.com- Broncos stay put at No. 5
Elliot Harrison decided to keep the Broncos put at number five in this week’s power rankings. With three undefeated teams on a bye and the Patriots and Panthers winning over the weekend, it made sense to keep them still.
In fact, 13 of the 32 teams are in the same position in the rankings now as they were last week. But the teams that did move had some noticeable movement, either up or down.
With that said, Harrison points out that this week prevented anyone from talking about Peyton Manning. But makes note that the game is more than the quarterback. Which I believe is fair to say. There are other issues too. Seems all the blame goes to the man under center, or in Manning’s case, in the pistol.
With the other four undefeated teams ahead of them, this is a fair place. There is no doubt that things will change after Week 8.
ESPN- Broncos drop one spot to No.4
On the ESPN front, the Broncos dropped one spot from third to fourth. The Cincinnati Bengals leapfroged the team while they both had a bye. Despite not playing, ESPN states about the Broncos turnover problems on offense. I know, we get it. But the defense has bailed them out, have they not?
For their rankings, ESPN has the Broncos as the fourth best undefeated team, according to this week’s list. However, it seems that they did not find anything positive to say. With a short line to work with and the team on a bye, guess it was time to inform us on statistics.
The MMQB- Peter Kings swaps Broncos and Jets
Remember last week when I was a bit ticked about the Jets being ranked over the Broncos on the MMQB? Perhaps my piece was read. Or it could have been the fact that the Jets fell short in New England. Either way, Peter King rose the Broncos up one spot back to number four this week.
Peter King brings some humor into his explanation for the Broncos at this spot. He states about Manning possibly finding something to improve his health. Was the reason behind all of those mistakes due to health issues? Probably not, but funny none the less.
I am interested to see if Manning has improved over the bye week. I sure hope so. But guess myself and the entire world will find out soon enough.