Broncos Escape Bottom 3 in Week 5 NFL Power Rankings
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Down 28-7 with four minutes left in the third quarter, one may have expected the Denver Broncos to open the season 0-4. However, unlike the three games prior, the Broncos fought back in the second half to defeat the Chicago Bears 31-28 at Soldier Field.
The first win in the Sean Payton era was ugly and hard to watch at times, but a victory in the NFL is hard to come by, as evidenced by the Broncos' struggles of the past seven years.
After finally making their way into the win column, the Broncos have climbed over three teams in NFL.com's power rankings, including the Las Vegas Raiders, to secure a spot outside the bottom three. Here is what Eric Edholm had to say about Denver's first victory of the season.
“Overcoming a 21-point deficit deserves serious credit, even if the rally came against a Bears team mired in a 14-game losing streak. It might not be perfect, but Russell Wilson is playing some strong ball. Ten different Denver players caught passes Sunday, and some young guns -- Marvin Mims and Jaleel McLaughlin -- are stating cases for expanded roles. The defense allowed 112 points in an eight-quarter span from halftime of Week 2 to halftime Sunday, but it gummed up late and forced two game-sealing turnovers in the final seven minutes in Chicago. Maybe it’s a start. It had better be. Three of the Broncos’ next four games are at home, but in that span, they’ll face presumably angry Jets and Packers teams and the Chiefs twice.”
It may not be satisfying to celebrate vanquishing what could be the worst team in the league, but the Bears were the only reason that Denver wasn’t given that designation. Wilson is playing how many had hoped he would last season, finishing the game 21-of-28 for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s rejuvenation is directly connected to the change in coaching from Nathaniel Hackett to Payton.
Through four games, Wilson is ahead of Patrick Mahomes in passing stats, including touchdowns with nine and a passer rating of 106.7. Russell might garner less critical scrutiny and more praise if the Broncos could do better in the win column. However, a 1-3 football team will be criticized from top to bottom, which brings us to the elephant in the room.
The Broncos' defense managed to force two turnovers in Week 4 and produced a score. Nik Bonitto's strip-sack on Justin Fields was scooped up by Jonathon Cooper and returned to the house in the fourth quarter to shift the momentum in the Broncos' favor.
Kareem Jackson sealed the game with an interception on Fields with 38 seconds left on a game-tying drive. The defense stepped up when needed. However, allowing Fields to throw for 335 yards and four touchdowns isn’t a winning recipe.
Sure, it might work against a poorly coached Bears squad, but it won’t be so forgiving in the next four games. If Fields was able to put up those numbers, then Zach Wilson could be poised to look like the second coming of Tom Brady.
After that comes Patrick Mahomes, Jordan Love, and Mahomes again. Vance Joseph hasn’t been fired yet, but this four-game stretch could see him being handed his walking papers.
Climbing the power rankings ladder is what fans have been waiting to see this Broncos team do for years. Every week presents a chance to step over other teams or slip further. With a pissed-off New York Jets team flying into Denver after a heartbreaker loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos must bring their A-game.
Do the Broncos defeat their former head coach in Hackett, now the Jets' offensive coordinator, or does Payton look like a fool for calling him out? Either way, Denver is looking at a considerable shift one way or another in their ranking after this week.
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