The Denver Broncos are on the doorstep of greatness. And, now, the rest of the league is taking notice. After downing the Kansas City Chiefs 22-19 in Week 11, the Broncos are 9-2 and on an eight-game winning streak. In fact, the Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC Conference. Here’s a fun fact, too: the Broncos are 7-2 in one-score games. It’s why the league’s official website has the arrow up on quarterback Bo Nix.
Looking at Broncos’ Clutchness
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm released his Week 12 Power Rankings on Tuesday. In it, he moved up the Broncos three slots from No. 8 to No. 5 in the rankings. Again, though, the Broncos are 7-2 in one-score games, and it’s the reason Denver is 9-2, on an eight-game winning streak, and the No. 1 seed in the AFC Conference. Last season, the Broncos were 1-6 in such games. Edholm explained.
“As much as we’ve needled the Broncos for their sometimes-sluggish offensive starts — often produced by self-inflicted errors — their fourth-quarter performance is above reproach. Bo Nix rallied from a tough game against the Raiders to deliver some big throws against the Chiefs, especially given how little help he received from the run game. Denver’s defense also stepped up once more, this time without two key starters, and the special teams were excellent,” Edholm wrote.
The tangibles are there for Nix. He needs consistency coming out of the Week 12 bye week. There are five come-from-behind wins, four games of three-plus touchdowns, and three games of 300-plus scrimmage yards.
Edholm’s praise, though, comes on the heels of NFL.com’s Nick Shook ranking Nix in the same QB tier as Jalen Hurts and Kay Adams saying Week 11 was the former’s “best game.”
Elsewhere for the Broncos, cornerback Pat Surtain II is expected back at the start of Week 13 after the Week 12 bye. In a nutshell, Surtain II’s return means the Broncos’ already-high blitz rate is going to balloon.
Because Surtain II is a shutdown cornerback, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph can remove resources from his side of the field. Joseph can, no intended pun, zone in on running Cover 6, Cover 3 zone coverage, and Cover 1 man coverage. The Broncos’ defense, meanwhile, is No. 1 in PFSN’s Defense Impact Score, while the offense is No. 15 in PFSN’s Offense Impact Score. Great things are happening in Empower Field at Mile High.
