Broncos Crack Top 3 In Power Rankings

Since their Week 2 come-from-behind defeat of the Jacksonville Jaguars, people have questioned whether or not the Denver Broncos' penchant for winning close games in which they have to overcome a sizeable deficit at some point is sustainable.

The latest example that that approach could indeed be a pathway to sustainable success came on Sunday when the Broncos erased an 11-point second-half deficit thanks to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and a last-gasp goal-line stand to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24.

That gave Denver a record-setting 15th consecutive win in one-score games and allowed quarterback Bo Nix to become the first NFL signal-caller since 1970 to record 15 game-winning drives in his first three seasons in the league, all while handing the Chiefs just the third loss in 83 games in which they led by double digits in the fourth quarter with Patrick Mahomes at the helm.

Based on Denver's 6-2 record, which features other above-the-fold wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in addition to Jacksonville and Kansas City, the Broncos have also been successful in sustaining a steady climb up the weekly NFL power rankings.

The latest set dropped on Tuesday and in two of the more prominent ones, the Broncos now find themselves sitting at No. 3 overall.

Over at Bleacher Report, its team of four NFL analysts slid them up three spots from No. 6 to No. 3.

Most impressive to the B/R/ crew was the fact that the win over the Chiefs came seven weeks after the Broncos had been dominated in a 31-10 season-opening setback at Arrowhead Stadium, most notably by making Chiefs' running back Kenneth Walker III essentially a non-factor after he had run over, through and around the Denver defense in the opener.

"The Denver Broncos avenged their season-opening blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, limiting running back Kenneth Walker III to 69 rushing yards after he had run for a career-high 173 yards in their previous meeting," reasoned B/R's Maurice Moton. "The Broncos have played through a tough schedule and have one of the league's best records, which speaks to their strong first-half run."

Mirroring Denver's rise from No. 6 to No. 3 in the B/R list was The Athletic's Chad Graff and Josh Kendall.

In providing a "reality check" for what comes next for the Broncos, the duo wrote that even though rookie running back Jonah Coleman compiled 104 total yards against the Chiefs, he may not get many more chances to shine like that if the Broncos acquire Indianapolis Colts' RB Jonathan Taylor before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, which has been the subject of myriad rumors since it became apparent that the Colts would be open to trading anyone and everywhere on their roster before next Tuesday.

So, while that may be the "reality" for Coleman's playing time, according to Graff and Kendall, adding a stud like Taylor to the potential that Coleman offers sounds more like a "win-win" for the Broncos as a whole.

Finally, we get to the one somewhat-wet blanket in this week's power-rankings universe. Nick Shook at NFL.com advanced the Broncos only two spots, from No. 8 to No. 6, after Sunday's win with the No. 3 Chicago Bears (fine, thanks to a 34-17 road beatdown of the Seattle Seahawks) and No. 5 Detroit Lions (questionable in light of a stop-start 19-15 home defeat of the offensively challenged Minnesota Vikings) moving ahead of the Broncos despite Denver posting a landmark victory.

Still, Shook did call the win a "huge" one, adding, "If the Broncos can follow this trajectory, they’ll round into top form by December - and thanks to Sunday’s triumph, they’ll be right in the thick of the race for the AFC West crown."

In case you're wondering, all three outlets have the Buffalo Bills ranked No. 1. For those that like to look ahead, the Broncos and Bills are scheduled to meet in Denver on Christmas afternoon, so if both squads are able to "sustain" (there's that word again) their current form until then, NFL fans could be in for quite the present that day.