NFL Power Rankings: Denver Broncos deserved a bigger jump after huge Week 5 win

Travis Wakeman

NFL Power Rankings: Denver Broncos deserved a bigger jump after huge Week 5 win image

The Denver Broncos have been a team that many analysts seem to be misjudging this season. 

Just before the season kicked off, predictions started rolling in stating that the Broncos were dark-horse Super Bowl contenders. After the season started, the team struggled against the Tennessee Titans before losing to the Indianapolis Colts, sending them tumbling down the power rankings charts. 

After a dominant win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 on Monday Night Football, the team got little respect. But after following that up with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, they should be rocketing up that same chart. Not so much. 

Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News put out his weekly power rankings and he moved the Broncos up just four spots... from No. 18 to No. 14. That's all? The Broncos not only handed the Eagles their first loss of the season, but they did it on the road, where the team hadn't lost a game in over a year. 

That apparently didn't impress Iyer much. 

"The Broncos looked lifeless in Philadelphia early but once they got their downfield passing and power running going, they looked like the more complete team. Really, it comes down to Nik Bonitto and their defense revving up the pass rush for six sacks on Jalen Hurts", wrote Iyer. 

All positive remarks, yet teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs are ranked higher. They did lose to the Chargers, but those two teams are currently going in opposite directions. The Chiefs are 2-3 and seem to have lost their mystique. 

READ: Broncos sign former Packers WR to practice squad

The Broncos face the winless Jets this Sunday in a game that likely won't do much for their case in these weekly rankings, either, but there is no doubt that Denver is building a true contender before our eyes. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.