The Denver Broncos have now won three games in a row and have begun to cement themselves in the NFL as a viable force to be reckoned with. The Broncos headed into their Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a clear plan of attack.
The game wasn't close; Denver had a lead for all 60 minutes and cruised to a 26-7 victory. It was the first time we saw this offense get something going with rookie QB Bo Nix. Nix and the offense were on time and were just uber-efficient.
However, a bigger test lay ahead the following week. Playing against the New York Jets, Denver was simply out-matched talent-wise. For all the dysfunction that plagues the Jets, their roster is among the best in the NFL. Down by six in the second-half to the Jets, Denver was enduring one of the more brutal games on offense they have had.
The weather was playing a huge part in this. However, the rain did let up enough to allow Bo Nix and the offense to put something together, and against a top-5 defense in their house, Nix led the offense on an 11-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that gave them the lead.
But that wasn't the only time they needed a to come through. New York proceeded to take a 9-7 lead right after, so the team needed to again come through. An eight-play, 41-yard drive ended in a field goal, giving Denver a 10-9 lead. That Week 4 game against the Jets was as ugly as it could have been, but when the Denver Broncos needed to come through, they did.
And in Week 5, Denver found themselves in a devastating 10-0 deficit against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the team was driving an on the cusp of scoring another touchdown, which would have then made it 17-3. The team clearly needed a big play and somehow a way to shift the momentum.
Enter, Patrick Surtain II. His 100-yard pick-6 tied the game at 10 and was clearly the turning point in the game. Denver proceeded to score 4 more unanswered points to take a 34-10 lead at one point.
The offense ended up waking up in a big way, and for the second week in a row, the Denver Broncos showed why they are a good football team that belongs. These aren't the Broncos of old, and I guarantee you every pre-2023 Broncos' team would have lost in Week 4 and Week 5.
The last two weeks have been miraculous, and it's by no dumb luck that Denver won these games.