Mile High Report
The Denver Broncos continue to win in the most amazing ways. On Sunday Night Football, they needed a Nik Bonitto batted pass on a two-point try in over time to move past the Washington Commanders.
At 10-2, they are one of just two double-digit win teams in the NFL after thirteen weeks of football. At the end of the day, all that matters is wins and losses and the Broncos are stacking the wins in incredible fashion. The more wins they stack, the harder it will be for national media to throw shade on these Broncos.
Here is where the Broncos rank heading into Week 14:
Perhaps we should start looking at Denver’s late-game heroics as a feature, not a bug. I know it’s difficult when you see a team living as dangerously as the Broncos are, but no one has been able to make them pay for their mistakes since mid-September. They’ve won nine straight games now, seven of those by one score. The past four victories came by a total of 10 points. Can they keep living on the razor’s edge? Well, these Broncos seem to thrive amid the danger, perilous as it might feel. Sunday night’s 27-26 overtime win at Washington nearly slipped away from them a few times, and they were on the right end of some fortunate calls, but the results are ultimately what matter most. The Chiefs won nine straight last season in similar fashion and ultimately got to a Super Bowl. Who’s to say the Broncos are not capable of a similar outcome, even with the doubt they cast?
The Broncos have a great record and a good shot at the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but the lingering issues kept them from moving up this week. Their offense could not put away a game against the Commanders in the fourth quarter Sunday night, whiffing on all four drives while they nursed a small lead. The defense gave up two long drives to Marcus Mariota with the game on the line, though it got the play it needed when Nik Bonitto knocked down a pass on a 2-point conversion. But Broncos head coach Sean Payton believes there’s value in winning close games. “The journey of a good team’s season involves games like this, and then you believe you can do it again,” Payton said.
It wasn’t pretty in Washington, but good teams find a way. They just keep on winning close games.
With J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve (foot), Harvey is clearly the team’s RB1 and the only “big” back on the roster at 205 pounds — no other player at the position is over 200 pounds. He has shown improvement in pass protection, so that should give him some additional third-down snaps in the weeks ahead. But the Broncos need him at his decisive best as a runner if their run game is...
