Mixed Results For Denver In Latest Round Of Power Rankings

Hearing it might cause Denver Broncos' fans to cover their ears and scream, "La, la, la, la, la," but there was a well-known former NFL owner who was famous for exclaiming, "Just win, baby!"

While Broncos' supporters would probably declare a national holiday if they woke up one day and that team from Las Vegas by way of Oakland, Los Angeles and Oakland again had suddenly ceased to exist, there is undoubted truth in those words.

Which is why the Broncos should be happy with their 4-2 record after six weeks of the 2026 NFL season, especially since it came against a schedule that was full of potholes.

But the most recent victory, Oct. 15's 17-14 defeat of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks left a decidedly unsavory taste in the mouth, courtesy of 168 total yards, 94 net passing yards and 74 yards on the ground, good for a 2.6-yard average per carry.

For the season, the overall offensive numbers aren't much better: 29th of 32 teams in total offense (1,513 yards), 28th in passing yards (1,008), 28th in yards per pass attempt (5.1), 26th in rushing yards (505) and 30th in yards per rushing attempt (3.4).

The Broncos rank 25th in points scored with 114 (19.0 average per game) and actually have a negative point differential as they've allowed 125 (20.8 per game).

So, while just winning is the name of the game, do style points count, i.e. can the way the Broncos have compiled their victories so far this season be sustainable over the next 12 weeks?

It's always interesting to see how outside voices - via weekly power rankings - assess the overall performance of teams based on their most recent on-field performance. In perusing this week's lists, it appears that two outlets are willing to credit them for just winning, while a third thinks it's about time they start racking up some style points along with their wins.

Most generous to the Broncos this week is the team of Josh Kendall and Chad Graff of The Athletic, who, on Oct. 20, slid the Broncos up three spots to No. 6 in their rankings.

In their analysis they chose to highlight a specific player from a fantasy perspective, so while the Broncos were elevated three sports - moving ahead of Seattle, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens - the player they picked to highlight, receiver Jaylen Waddle, actually illustrates, whether intentionally or not, the struggles Denver's offense continues to have.

"The No. 6 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has 55.1 fantasy points this year, 21.8 of which came in one game," they wrote. "Waddle, who is 50th among wide receivers overall, has failed to reach 6.5 points in four of his six games. He is 26th in wide receiver targets this year (38) and has only one touchdown."

They also chose to mention the stat that in 2026 quarterback Bo Nix ranks 701st out of 701 qualified quarterback seasons in the past 20 years in average pass length (4.9 air yards per attempt), which is another poke at the offense's ineptitude.

Over at Bleacher Report, the site's staff of NFL experts nudged the Broncos up two spots to No. 6, moving past Jacksonville and Seattle, but even they were damning with faint praise.

"Usually, a hard-fought victory over the defending Super Bowl champions would earn a team some praise," was B/R's analysis. "But after throwing for just 107 yards, Denver's Bo Nix drew sharp criticism from Prime Video analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick during the postgame coverage. There's no denying that Nix isn't playing especially well. He's also not getting any help from his run game - JK Dobbins carried the ball 17 times for 41 yards Thursday night."

The one ranker who appears to have believed his lying eyes is Nick Shook of NFL.com, who dropped Denver from No. 8 to No. 9 with the Cincinnati Bengals, who didn't even play last week, and New England Patriots moving ahead of them.

"It was difficult to justify keeping the Broncos in the top 10 after last Thursday night’s ugly win over the Seahawks," he wrote. "Denver has serious problems offensively but manages to continue winning on the back of its defense....We’ll see if they can keep surviving in such a fashion."

The good news is that Denver's schedule now eases up after the diabolical start, but landmines can still exist, with Sunday's visit to face the Arizona Cardinals already labeled a potential trap game with a visit from the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs set for Nov. 1.

Style points or not, the bottom line is it's still all about performing - and  winning - in the NFL.