If the Denver Broncos plan on winning a ton of one-score games again, we're going to hear much of the same chatter this year as we did last year. Some thought that the Broncos just weren't a legitimate team due to all of the one-score games they won, as some came against shaky teams.
But winning is winning, and if not for a broken ankle, the Broncos likely play in last season's Super Bowl. Through three weeks this year, the Broncos are 2-1 and actually one game ahead of where they were last year.
The team also has a winning record in the month of September for the first time in the Sean Payton era. Let's dive into an NFL power rankings round-up to see where the NFL world believes the Broncos should be slotted.
Denver Broncos comfortably in the top 10 in latest power rankings round-up
ESPN, 6:
"The Broncos' offensive struggles, especially in first halves, have dragged down everybody's numbers. They haven't found a rhythm much of the time, and save for Jaylen Waddle's 138-yard effort against the Jaguars in Week 2, the WRs have been caught up in the wash (Pat Bryant has the group's only TD catch). Sutton, who is second in targets to Waddle with 16, could be seen as the biggest disappointment. He has yet to eclipse more than 10 fantasy points in any game." -- Jeff Legwold
CBS Sports, 6:
"Coming back to win games late is their calling card. They did it again against the Rams Sunday night, but that's playing with fire on a weekly basis." -- Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports, 8:
"The Broncos got their second straight win against a quality opponent, but there are things to clean up. The Rams had 482 yards to 257 for the Broncos. Denver's offense was awful in the first half, which has been the case in four of the six halves the Broncos have played this season..." -- Frank Schwab
FOX Sports, 3:
"They had a second half for the ages against the Rams, maybe with a little help from the officials. If they could just get QB Bo Nix and their offense going a little sooner, they’d be a scary team. But they certainly have the defense to play against anyone, and Sean Payton may be the best coach in the NFL when his team is playing from behind." -- Ralph Vacchiano
The Broncos are comfortably inside the top-10 in four different major power rankings from ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports, and FOX Sports. This does fall in line with where the Broncos were, roughly, during the 2025 season.
While the team almost never makes it pretty and still have some personnel concerns on both sides of the ball, how many other teams would love to currently be 16-4 in the regular season since the the start of 2025?
The answer is most.
With that said, all four blurbs here mention the inept first-half offense, and that's really the one thing keeping this team from being the Super Bowl favorite. What could make this team even more impressive, though, is how good they still are despite having an inept first-half offense.
The Broncos have two major wins over Jacksonville and Los Angeles despite scoring just three of their 50 points in the first half. Even if the Broncos average just a touchdown in the first half, that takes a ton of pressure off the team when the third quarter rolls around.
Denver is a great team, but they're far from perfect. Getting the first half offense figured out would legitimately have this team coming in higher in national power rankings, but even now, the group is highly thought ot.
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