There is no one hotter in football than the Denver Broncos. They've pulled off miracle win after miracle win this season, and are one of the biggest surprises in football at 7-2 and in control of the AFC West after the halfway point. Their most recent win over the Houston Texans proved that they are truly the NFL's comeback kids this year.
Led by Sean Payton, this team carries itself as professionally and composed as any team the Broncos have fielded since their Super Bowl 50 championship team. With an absurd mark of 4-0 when trailing entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos have shown resiliency that no one else in football has, and Bo Nix is proving to be a truly clutch quarterback. For good reason, there might be no team in football higher on themselves than Denver.
The Broncos lead the AFC West and have a date with Kansas City coming up in Denver in two weeks. The Chiefs sit on a bye week coming up, giving them a rest advantage over Denver. The Broncos should obviously be concerned with the pending matchup, but they need to hold off on looking to the Chiefs until Friday morning. If they get ahead of themselves, they might suffer their worst defeat of the season on Thursday night.
The Broncos can't let themselves fall victim to a trap game against the Raiders on Thursday night
On Thursday Night Football, the Broncos will welcome in a 2-6 Las Vegas Raiders team. Despite their record, the Broncos need to take Las Vegas seriously and be sure that they aren't looking past them to the Chiefs. If they play like they did against Jacksonville, they will be a tough test for the Broncos.
The Raiders played much better than usual on Sunday against the Jaguars. The return of Brock Bowers was a welcome sight, and Geno Smith more than did his part with four scores through the air. If the Raiders can find similar air success on Thursday night, the Broncos might find themselves in a difficult situation, especially without Pat Surtain in the secondary.
If Denver fails to take the Raiders seriously this week, the Broncos could lose control of the AFC West and put a major hit on their playoff hopes. The Broncos are cruising past the rest of the AFC playoff field, but can fall back to the pack with a loss. Worst of all, moving into their date with the Chiefs coming off a home loss to the Raiders is the worst situation the Broncos could find themselves in after Week 10.