Saturday, November 4, 2023

Denver Broncos Week 9 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 9 roundup for the Denver Broncos in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 26

There are moments when Russell Wilson appears to be comfortable in Sean Payton's offense and to have fixed some of what ailed his game last season when he threw for a career-low 16 touchdown passes. But then there is the matter of Wilson having just five career games in which he has thrown for fewer than 120 yards and two of those coming in the past three weeks -- both against the Chiefs. Wilson threw for 114 yards Sunday in the Broncos' first win over the Chiefs since Sept. 17, 2015, but he finished with three touchdown passes among his 12 completions -- giving him a total of 1,613 passing yards with 16 touchdowns on the season. If the Broncos could pair the Wilson from earlier in the season, who was more efficient getting the ball out of his hands, with the way they have played defense in recent weeks, the team would win more than it would lose the rest of the way. -- Jeff Legwold

NFL.com -- Rank: 24

Talk of playoffs might be premature, but this team has completely changed its stripes since giving up 70 points to Miami in Week 3, and a sub-.500 season is no longer close to a sure thing. Offensively, things remain somewhat unvarnished, but a month of incremental improvements bore fruit: Denver's first win over the Chiefs since the Peyton Manning days. That's a testament to a defense moving in the right direction (how about guys like Ja'Quan McMillian, Zach Allen and Baron Browning?) and a run game that has become Denver's engine. The Broncos hit the Week 9 bye knowing four of their next six games are on the road, but there's at least a sense of steadiness that simply wasn't there a few weeks back.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 26

That was an impressive showing against the Chiefs by their defense. That unit has made big strides. Holding the Chiefs without a touchdown is impressive and the offense was solid.

USA Today -- Rank: 25

Their biggest win in years was appropriately celebrated with Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" cascading through Empower Field after Denver vanquished Travis Kelce and Kansas City ... finally.

The Athletic -- Rank: 20

Something scary (for others): The defense is getting better.

After allowing 36.2 points per game through their first five games, the Broncos have given up 15 per game in the last three, and two of those games were against the Chiefs. Combine that with Russell Wilson's continued quiet competency, and Denver could be a tough out in the second half of the season. Wilson had his 43rd career game with three touchdowns and a passer rating above 100 on Sunday, tying Tom Brady for third all-time in that category.

FOX -- Rank: 24

I'm going to take this opportunity to shout out Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. It's got to be strange calling the Broncos' defense when you used to be the team's head coach — and especially with the way Denver has struggled this season. Credit to Joseph and his players, they're playing good ball right now, as evidenced by a stifling win against the best quarterback in the game.

Yahoo! -- Rank: 21

The Broncos' defensive turnaround has been stunning. A few weeks ago, Denver looked like the worst defense not only this season but maybe in many seasons. Then over two games in three weeks, Denver held Kansas City to 28 points. Patrick Mahomes didn't lead his team to one touchdown on Sunday, a few weeks after Miami scored 70 on Denver. Everyone was ready to fire defensive coordinator Vance Joseph a month ago, and now he deserves credit for overseeing a huge turnaround.

PFT -- Rank: 23

They have a long road to go to playoff contention, but they're finally building some momentum.

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