The Broncos have won seven games in a row, but it honestly does not feel like it. At the end of the day, Denver is 8-2 and may only have to win two more games to make the playoffs for the second year in a row. It's very likely that this team is playing for an AFC West title this year.
And for a few days, at least, they can enjoy being the standalone first-place seed in the AFC and having the best record in the NFL. Overall, 8-2 is 8-2, and it feels good. However, the offense has been an issue for most of the season, and while the unit has had spurts of being great, it's not been consistent week-to-week.
There are multiple issues for this, and anyone pinning the primary blame on Bo Nix is mislead, in my opinion. These troubling statistics over the past five games indicates that Denver's offensive problem is one that can't be solved until 2026, and that they have a glaring personnel issue.
The Denver Broncos have to get the offense sorted out in more ways than one
Here are the leading receivers for the Denver Broncos over the past five games and their yardage totals:
Week 6: Evan Engram, 42
Week 7: Courtland Sutton, 87
Week 8: Troy Franklin, 89
Week 9: RJ Harvey, 51
Week 10: Pat Bryant, 43
This is extremely troubling, and to add another layer to this, the Broncos have had just one 100-yard receiving performance this year, and it was Courtland Sutton back in Week 3. Over the past five games, not only have they not had a 100-yard receiver, but five different players have led the team in receiving yards.
That just isn't sustainable in today's NFL. Sure, it does prove, to an extent, that the Broncos have many contributors, but they're all, for the most part, complementary pieces at best. Courtland Sutton is not a legitimate no. 1 WR, and other players like Troy Franklin, Evan Engram, and Pat Bryant are fine if they are second, third, or fourth options.
For a while now, many have clamored for the Broncos to acquire a true go-to player, and it seemed like Jaylen Waddle was going to be that guy, but Denver was clearly too scared to pull the trigger. Until Denver invests in that type of player, the offense is going to be limited.
A functioning, consistent, good NFL offense has to have a clear-cut go-to guy. It needs to have someone who can eat up yards and become the most reliable weapon. Now, yes, it's not easy to find a CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, or a Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but that's the type of player that the Broncos are missing, and until they find him, the unit is not going to reach its full potential.