The Denver Broncos have officially finished the first month of the 2025 season with a .500 win-loss record. They defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in fashion by a 28-3 in Primetime at Empower Field at Mile High. It was Denver's first home game since Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. Denver is 2-2 and is set to be on the road again in Week 5. This time, they will visit the defending Super Bowl Champions, the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. The game is set for Sunday, October 5, at 11:00 AM MT and will be played at the Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles are one of the two remaining undefeated teams (Buffalo) heading into Week 5. It will be Denver's first NFC opponent of the season. This game could be a trap game for Philadelphia, similar to Tampa Bay's game last season—undefeated teams, almost unstoppable offenses, with above-average defenses. If the Broncos want to be the team that beats the defending champions for the first time in the 2025-26 season, there is a key area they must improve.
The Broncos must clean up in a specific area of the game if they want to upset Philadelphia in Week 5. The specific area of improvement for Denver, not only heading into the Eagles game, but for the remainder of the season as well, is penalties. This applies to all three phases of the game.
Broncos can upset Eagles in Week 5 if they can limit penalties
On Monday Night Football against the Bengals, the Broncos had multiple penalties for over 50 yards in both offense and defense, which could have cost them the game if it were a tougher opponent. And it all started in the first play of the game.
Cincinnati opened the game on offense, and Jake Browning had an incompletion, but All-Pro corner and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Surtain, had a holding penalty. Denver went three and out in their first offensive drive, and on the second play of the Bengals' next drive, Riley Moss had a pass interference penalty.
In the third Bengals drive, the Denver defense had two penalties; luckily, Cincy punted the ball. Then, offensively, in the drive, when Bo Nix had an interception, center Luke Wattenberg had two penalties. In the second half, they cleaned up the penalty mess a bit, but still had a few. Specifically, Pat Bryant, Alex Palczewski, and Luke Wattenberg. In the fourth quarter, Denver only had one penalty.
If they want to beat their former head coach (now defensive coordinator for the Eagles), Vic Fangio, in Week 5 on the road, and take their undefeated streak away, this is a key factor the Broncos must fix heading into Philadelphia.