Denver, CO
Week 5: Where do the Denver Broncos stack up in NFL power rankings?
The Denver Broncos are coming off back-to-back road wins over teams who had winning records heading into those games. The New York Jets were coming off a 24-3 dominating win before being stonewalled by Denver’s defense, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bounced back from their 26-7 beatdown by Denver last week to dominate the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe the Broncos are good?
In this week’s power rankings, the consensus has begun to rank the Broncos all over the place. Some are still not believers, while others may be believing a little too much. Given the two extremes, it probably makes sense to peg them somewhere around 19th or 20th this week. Another win next week and we might start to see that shift into the top half. Besides, beating the Las Vegas Raiders is always a good thing and its something the Broncos haven’t done since 2019.
Here is where the Broncos are ranking around the NFL.
ESPN – 22nd
Week 4 ranking: 27
Biggest issue on offense: Consistency against the runThis is a bit of a nitpick, as the run defense has improved since allowing more than 140 rushing yards in each of Denver’s first two games. But compared to where the Broncos rank in other categories (they lead the NFL in sacks per pass attempt and are top four in red zone defense, total defense, passing defense and third-down defense), their No. 12 ranking in rush defense is something to work on. Vance Joseph’s unit has gotten better, surrendering only 155 rushing yards the past two weeks, but further improvement will make the Broncos even more stifling than they already are. — Jeff Legwold
NY Times – 25th
Last week: 28
Surprise: Beat New York Jets 10-9First-round quarterback Bo Nix had seven completions for minus-7 yards in the first half Sunday. And the Broncos won! Nix finished with 60 passing yards, becoming the first quarterback (with at least 20 pass attempts) to win with so few yards since Eli Manning in 2007, according to ESPN Sports & Info. The only player this season with fewer yards per pass attempt than Nix (4.8) is Bryce Young, who got benched. He’s 32nd in the league in EPA per dropback (minus-.30). Speedy fourth-round wide receiver Troy Franklin also is struggling (four catches, 9 yards).
CBS Sports – 17th
Sean Payton has this team 2-2 with a rookie quarterback. Why? The defense is playing outstanding right now and carrying this group.
ProFootballTalk – 15th
Broncos (No. 21; 2-2): If the offense ever catches up to the defense, they’ll be dangerous.
NFL.com – 20th
Style points are one thing, but at least in the case of Sunday’s game, the Broncos will take a second straight road win. The defense has now allowed 29 points over the past 12 quarters and held each of its past three opponents to 251 yards or fewer. The weather on Sunday might have helped keep the score down, as did the Jets’ rash of penalties, but there’s no denying this Denver defense has come out with hardhats on this season. The Broncos took Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson out of the game and sacked Aaron Rodgers five times with an aggressive, blitz-heavy approach. You’d like to see more from Bo Nix and his wide receivers, but they did just enough with two second-half scoring drives to (barely) finish it off. Is the AFC West open with the Chiefs and Chargers banged up? The chance to make a run is now, with three of the next four at home against a softer part of the schedule.
Yahoo Sports – 23rd
It’s hard for cornerbacks to win Defensive Player of the Year, but Pat Surtain II is playing at a special level. He’s shadowing No. 1 receivers and erasing them from games. The Broncos’ defense is playing very well and Surtain is the biggest reason.
Sporting News – 19th
The Broncos have gone from compressed, uninspiring offense with Bo Nix to getting more than enough with their defense overachieving for Sean Payton. They can make some division noise over the next two games before seeing Payton’s old team, the Saints.
USA Today – 18th
An offense struggling mightily with rookie QB Bo Nix seems to be garnering most of the attention. A second-ranked defense that’s been nearly airtight in the red zone deserves just as much.
Where do you think the Broncos should be ranked after tough back-to-back road wins? Share in the comments section below.
DENVER (KDVR) — Two officers, one now formerly of the Denver Police Department, face multiple charges relating to separate incidents in the past two months.
According to a release, now-former Denver Police Officer Gabriel Lucero was issued a citation for third-degree assault, official misconduct and false reporting, while Officer Javon Leach was cited for reckless driving and eluding.
The incident involving Lucero reportedly occurred on May 22 just before 1 a.m. in the 500 block of 16th Street. According to a release, Lucero was involved in an assault at a business, as he allegedly assaulted a person and walked away as others continued to assault the victim.
Security guards and an off-duty officer escorted him and the group out; however, Lucero reportedly identified himself as a Denver police officer and attempted to re-enter by using his police badge.
Lucero reportedly provided a false name without any other information, and further investigation verified Lucero as the person involved. Lucero was hired in 2025 and, due to his current probationary status, was fired as of Wednesday.
The incident involving Leach occurred around 1:41 a.m. on June 21, when Leach was reportedly pulling out of a parking lot on Larimer Street, attempting to drive against traffic.
Leach reportedly refused commands to stop as he left the area. Officials said he was found just seven minutes later, traveling at high speeds northbound on Park Avenue West.
He reportedly fled a traffic stop and continued to drive away, and officials deemed Leach to be the suspect following an investigation. He was placed in an off-line assignment while the case progresses, as they are considered misdemeanors.
“The Denver Police Department’s administrative review of Leach’s incident will begin once the criminal case is adjudicated, and that process includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent Monitor, a civilian oversight agency,” the release said.
Denver Nuggets standout forward Peyton Watson could find himself on another team before you know it.
With the Nuggets reportedly open to a sign-and-trade of Watson, could Denver really lose a core piece to their rotation?
It’s hard to imagine many teams being able to shoulder the financial weight of a Watson contract at this point because of the aprons and such, but he’s absolutely an asset to any contending team.
We’ve gone through and identified a few teams that make sense for Watson in the fall… including the one he’s already on at the moment. Hey, he might stay home, you never know!
The Clippers have been linked to Watson as a possible destination; he could help them immensely.
The Pistons have also been linked to Watson, which would help them a lot to contend for an NBA title.
Look, HYPOTHETICALLY, the Nets could move around some cap space with some player trades and such and get a deal done. They are one of the only teams in the NBA right now not in the negative with cap space.
The Grizzlies are the team with the least amount of negative cap space right now, per Spotrac. If they really wanted to pull off a Watson sign-and-trade… it would be hypothetically possible from a money standpoint.
Denver Nuggts
Look, it’s very possible Watson just stays in Denver on a brand-new deal. Who knows at this point?
DENVER (KDVR) – A Denver Park Hill Resident says trash in her alley hasn’t been picked up by city-run waste collection in more than 2 months.
“It’s starting to be frustrating because that pile has been there 2.5 months, and I’m not kidding about that,” Andrea Sanders-Childs said.
A spokesperson for Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) says they did receive a call about the address on Krameria in mid-June and are investigating the case as ‘illegal dumping’ versus ‘missed collection.’
The DOTI spokesperson says more information will be available when the inspector assigned to the area returns on Wednesday.
Sanders-Childs said that the people who live in the home closest to the mess had actually rented a dumpster; however, it was eventually picked up and towed away.
In the meantime, for Denver residents, DOTI provided FOX31 with the following reminders:
- Carts that are overfilled, stuffed or too heavy cannot be emptied
- All trash must be inside the cart, and overflow trash cannot be collected
- To report illegal dumping, call 311
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