The Denver Broncos are clearly a team on the rise and the national media is beginning to hype them up.
Earlier this week, a deep panel of analysts over at NFL.com made their Super Bowl predictions for the coming season. The overwhelming choice was that the Baltimore Ravens will capture their third Super Bowl victory.
But at least one of those analysts, Adam Rank, feels that the Broncos will cap off this coming season by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for a fourth time. He has them beating the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in the big game, conjuring up memories of the team's first Super Bowl win when it knocked off the defending champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII.
"Sean Payton completes the turnaround of the Broncos by claiming the franchise's first Super Bowl since Von Miller led the team to a Lombardi in Super Bowl 50. Once again, it's the defense that carries the day -- but with much better support from Bo Nix than Peyton Manning supplied to Denver 10 years prior", wrote Rank.
If the Broncos and Eagles do meet in the Super Bowl, fans will get a preview of that game during the regular season. The Broncos and Eagles are set to clash in Week 5, on October 5, at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles are already off to a 1-0 start after defeating the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night in the opening game of the season. They will be a popular bet to get to Santa Clara with a chance to defend their title.
Like Rank, fellow NFL.com analyst Jack Andrade sees an Eagles-Broncos matchup coming in February, but he predicts that the Eagles will come out on top.
"The Eagles feel like the 2014 Seahawks -- a potential dynasty built on a dominant run game and a nasty young defense. This time, there’s no Tom Brady ( or Malcolm Butler) to deny the Super Bowl repeat, though the Broncos will make a leap behind their own elite defense and one of the league’s best head coach-QB partnerships", wrote Andrade.
READ: Where does Broncos defense rank in NFL following Micah Parsons being traded?
The Broncos are getting looked at as a major contender much sooner than most fans thought they would, but Sean Payton needs to do a good job of not letting his team buy into this hype and just take the season one game at a time, starting with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
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