News Broncos Team Notes

[Denver Broncos]

Week 6 Denver Broncos power rankings around the web

After back-to-back wins, the Denver Broncos are back on track tied atop the AFC West. At 3-2, they have a real chance to get on a bit of a run over the next six weeks. The Broncos are fresh off an impressive fourth quarter comeback win on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles handing them their first loss of the season.

Their rankings collapses during their two-game skid early in the season, because the national media is highly doubtful of the Broncos. Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs can lose three bad games and continue to be solidly in the Top 10, but Denver must prove themselves every single week. I like that situation. Keep the doubters alive and well for another week.

Here is where the Broncos rank to in Week 6:

NFL.com: 10th​

Sean Payton insisted he had a good team after the close losses to the Colts and Chargers, and the Broncos proved him right in arguably the biggest win of the Payton-Bo Nix era. Slow starts remain a huge issue; asking the defense to hold teams down while the offense figures things out feels like a shaky roadmap for success. But it worked Sunday in Philadelphia, with Nix and the attack roundly struggling prior to the fourth quarter. The second-year QB completed nine of his 10 passes in the final period for 127 yards and a touchdown (adding another completion on a two-point conversion) to deliver the rousing victory. And now, with this Sunday’s London tilt coming against the winless Jets, there’s a golden opportunity to exorcise some of those slow-start demons. Fair warning: If the Broncos can’t do that, I might take back my “good team” assessment of Denver.

Yahoo Sports: 11th​

Nik Bonitto is on fire to start the season. Bonitto, who turned 26 years old last week, has four sacks in four games and has been one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. His four-year, $106 million extension signed before the season might be a bargain.

CBS Sports: 10th​

That was a big-time road victory against the Eagles. They rallied from 17-3 down to win it. Bo Nix played well in the second half, which is a good sign going forward.

ESPN: 9th​

In the Broncos’ Week 4 win over the Bengals, Dobbins had the first 100-yard rushing game for Denver since Latavius Murray in the 2022 season finale. It was also the first 100-yard rushing game of Sean Payton’s tenure as Broncos coach. Payton has steadily moved Dobbins into a firm RB1 role, and Dobbins followed his 100-yard game with 20 carries in Week 5. The Broncos have used Tyler Badie in their two-minute offense, and rookie RJ Harvey will continue to get snaps, but Dobbins has been the one to help the offense move.

Pro Football Talk: 10th​

They should be 8-2 when the Chiefs come to town in Week 11.

USA Today: 10th​

Tempting to move them much higher after two impressive wins, including Sunday’s victory in Philly, allayed concerns about their uneven start. Coming off a six-sack performance, the league’s best D continues to shine.

Fox Sports: 12th​

Beating the Eagles was a serious win, especially the way their defense shut Philly down in the second half. They still have some offensive issues, but the D can carry them a long way.

---

Overall, the consensus sits around a Top 10 team after turning things around a bit. Most are still holding onto them being the third-best team in the AFC West, so the Broncos will need to keep winning to start turning these doubters into Bo-lievers.

The key point is how their schedule is lining up. By beating the Eagles, they got themselves on the plus side of the record and have a favorable schedule:

• vs Jets (London)
• vs Giants
• vs Cowboys
• at Texans
• vs Raiders
• vs Chiefs
• BYE

There is a world where the Broncos head into that key AFC West home game against the Kansas City Chiefs sitting on a 7-2 record. If they can do that, then this team could be a major player in the AFC come January football. They have a lot of work to do to get there, though. First up, the New York Jets.

Do you think the Broncos are being fairly ranked heading into Week 6?

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denv...s/159937/denver-broncos-power-rankings-week-6

 

[Denver Broncos]

Broncos Reacts Survey Week 6

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Broncos fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/general/159931/broncos-reacts-survey-week-6

 

[Denver Broncos]

Denver Broncos snap analysis for the big win over the Eagles

Player	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
Ben Powers	G	74	100%	0	0%	3	10%
Garett Bolles	T	74	100%	0	0%	3	10%
Quinn Meinerz	G	74	100%	0	0%	3	10%
Luke Wattenberg	C	74	100%	0	0%	1	3%
Bo Nix	QB	74	100%	0	0%	0	0%
Mike McGlinchey	T	72	97%	0	0%	2	7%
Courtland Sutton	WR	70	95%	0	0%	0	0%
Troy Franklin	WR	44	59%	0	0%	0	0%
Pat Bryant	WR	40	54%	0	0%	5	17%
J.K. Dobbins	RB	39	53%	0	0%	0	0%
Adam Trautman	TE	31	42%	0	0%	3	10%
Evan Engram	TE	30	41%	0	0%	0	0%
Marvin Mims	WR	27	36%	0	0%	11	38%
Nate Adkins	TE	27	36%	0	0%	8	28%
Tyler Badie	RB	19	26%	0	0%	18	62%
Trent Sherfield	WR	16	22%	0	0%	16	55%
RJ Harvey	RB	15	20%	0	0%	4	14%
Alex Palczewski	T	10	14%	0	0%	3	10%
Adam Prentice	FB	4	5%	0	0%	11	38%
Talanoa Hufanga	S	0	0%	61	100%	3	10%
Patrick Surtain II	CB	0	0%	61	100%	3	10%
Riley Moss	CB	0	0%	61	100%	3	10%
Alex Singleton	LB	0	0%	61	100%	0	0%
Brandon Jones	S	0	0%	60	98%	0	0%
Zach Allen	DL	0	0%	52	85%	3	10%
Justin Strnad	LB	0	0%	47	77%	7	24%
Jonathon Cooper	LB	0	0%	46	75%	1	3%
Nik Bonitto	LB	0	0%	42	69%	2	7%
Ja’Quan McMillian	CB	0	0%	42	69%	0	0%
D.J. Jones	DT	0	0%	31	51%	3	10%
John Franklin-Myers	DL	0	0%	25	41%	2	7%
Jonah Elliss	LB	0	0%	19	31%	26	90%
Eyioma Uwazurike	DL	0	0%	19	31%	3	10%
Dondrea Tillman	LB	0	0%	16	26%	14	48%
Jahdae Barron	CB	0	0%	10	16%	7	24%
Jordan Jackson	DL	0	0%	10	16%	4	14%
Devon Key	DB	0	0%	4	7%	26	90%
JL Skinner	S	0	0%	4	7%	20	69%
Garret Wallow	LB	0	0%	0	0%	22	76%
Karene Reid	LB	0	0%	0	0%	16	55%
P.J. Locke	S	0	0%	0	0%	16	55%
Kris Abrams-Draine	CB	0	0%	0	0%	13	45%
Jeremy Crawshaw	P	0	0%	0	0%	10	34%
Mitchell Fraboni	LS	0	0%	0	0%	10	34%
Wil Lutz	K	0	0%	0	0%	8	28%
Matt Peart	T	0	0%	0	0%	3	10%
Alex Forsyth	C	0	0%	0	0%	3	10%

The game-day inactives were Sam Ehlinger, Jaleel McLaughlin, Que Robinson, Frank Crum, and Sai’vion Jones.

The only active offensive player who did not play was Jarrett Stidham.

We had one offensive lineman who didn’t take all of the snaps. That was Mike McGlinchey who missed two snaps and was replaced by Alex Palczweski. AP also played eight other snaps as the sixth offensive lineman. Bo Nix and the other four starting offensive linemen all played every offensive snap.

Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims, and Trent Sherfield played 70, 44, 40, 27 and 16 snaps. Bryant set another career high after getting 27 snaps in game four, he got 40 in game five, jumping Marvin Mims as WR3 at least for this game. Despite the 40 snaps, Bryant was not targetted. Ten Broncos were targetted during the game.

The split for the snaps for our three RBs was 37, 19, 15, but RJ Harvey got the 15 and Tyler Badie got the 19. This a dramatic shift from the first four games. Badie had 10 total snaps in games three and four and he entered the game with 37 total offensive snaps on the season. I would assume that his pass blocking is better than Harvey’s so that is why he was on the field more than RJ. Adam Prentice only got four snaps at FB.

The TE snap distribution was pretty even at 31, 30 and 27 – Trautman, Engram and Adkins.

The defense had four players who played every snap: Talanoa Hufanga, Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss, and Alex Singleton.

Brandon Jones came off the field for one snap on defense. Devon Key and JL Skinner both got four snaps on defense, which was a surprise since I would have expected KAD or PJ Locke to get those snaps, but maybe both players have improved recently.

Patrick Strnad played 47 of 61 snaps at the other ILB spot.

Zach Allen played 52 of 61 snaps (85%) which was a season high % for him. He did play more snaps in two other games where our defense was on the field for many more plays than 61.

At nickel CB, Ja’Quan McMillian 42 snaps. Jahdae Barron played only 10 snaps but made the most of them.

Other DL guys got 31, 25, 19 and 10 snaps: D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Eyioma Uwazurike, and Jordan Jackson. Jordan Jackson got his active spot this week after Jones was active last game. The Eagles ran 61 plays and our two DL guys played a total of 137 snaps, meaning that we had 15 plays were we used three DL guys on the field against the run-heavy Eagles, who only ran the ball 11 times.

Our OLB Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman 42, 46, 19 and 16 snaps. Elliss was also in on 90% of the special teams snaps along with Devon Key.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denv...-broncos-snap-analysis-vs-philadelphia-eagles

 

[Denver Broncos]

Broncos vs. Jets: Wednesday practice participation report

The Denver Broncos have had a mixed bag on the injury front to start their Week 6. Their first true major loss of the season came in the form of a biceps injury to guard Ben Powers. While he is on the injury report today, there is expectation that he’ll be moved to injured reserve with the hope of getting him back by mid-December. That was a big blow to the offensive line.

News also broke this morning that edge rusher Jonah Elliss was held out of practice with a couple of nagging injuries to his ribs and shoulder. That is one to watch this week as the Broncos pass rush is currently the top ranked unit in the NFL. Also limited were running back Tyler Badie and defensive tackle D.J. Jones. The team also designated Malcolm Roach as returned to practice as he looks to come off short-term injured reserve.

The New York Jets also did the same with linebacker Ja’Markis Weston. They have a slew of players who did not practice, while defensive lineman Quinnen Williams was also limited.

Here is your full practice report for Wednesday.

Denver Broncos Injury Report​

Player	Pos.	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game Status
Nik Bonitto	OLB	Wrist	FULL
Alex Singleton	ILB	Thumb	FULL
Tyler Badie	RB	Shoulder	LIMITED
D.J. Jones	DT	Chest	LIMITED
Malcolm Roach	DT	Calf	LIMITED
Jonah Elliss	OLB	Ribs / Shoulder	DNP
Ben Powers	G	Biceps	DNP

New York Jets Injury Report​

Player	Pos.	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game Status
Justin Fields	QB	Knee	FULL
Ja’Markis Weston	LB	Groin	LIMITED
Quinnen Williams	DL	Groin	LIMITED
Michael Carter II	CB	Concussion	DNP
Jermaine Johnson II	Edge	Ankle	DNP
Kene Nwangwu	RB	Hamstring	DNP
Allen Lazard	WR	NIR – Personal	DNP

BOLD – Indicates change in status; NIR- Indicates not injury related; *- Team conducted a walk-through / report is an estimation
STATUS DEFINITIONS: Did not participate (DNP); Limited: means less than 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions; Full—100 percent of player’s normal repetitions; Out: will not play; Doubtful: Unlikely to play; Questionable: Uncertain to play

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denv...039/broncos-vs-jets-wednesday-practice-report

 

[Denver Broncos]

Nik Bonitto named AFC Defensive Player of Week

For his 2.5 sack performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto has earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 5.

Wreaked havoc in Philly.

Congratulations to @nikkkkbonitto on being named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career! pic.twitter.com/zI0iHGbhJW

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 8, 2025

Beyond the statistical dominance, it was how Bonitto affected the game during the Denver Broncos comeback fourth quarter win over Philly. His third down sack late in the third quarter forced a critical three-and-out, the first of three consecutive three-and-outs for the Eagles.

He would then make the critical tackle in space on DeVonta Smith to force their third three-and-out the drive after the Broncos took their first lead of the game. Then during the Eagles final desperation drive, he got his second full sack of the game. Bonitto was nothing short of dominate on Sunday.

Surprisingly, this is Bonitto’s first defensive player of the week award and the first linebacker since Von Miller in 2018 to earn one. He is also the first Broncos since Von to record multiple sacks in three straight games. Nik Bonitto is firmly in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation here early in the regular season and leads the NFL with seven sacks.

Source: https://www.milehighreport.com/denver-broncos-news/160030/nik-bonitto-afc-defensive-player-of-week