Despite not playing this past weekend due to a bye, the Denver Broncos have risen in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings heading into Week 13. Looking ahead to next week’s matchup against the Washington Commanders, the Broncos hold a comfortable two-game lead in the AFC West while fighting for the best record in the conference for that coveted first-round bye.

The Broncos have now reached inside the top three teams in B/R’s rankings, sitting only behind the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. Coming off a bye week with a couple of easy matchups ahead, Denver could very much end up in an even higher position in a couple of weeks.

As it stands now, a top-three ranking is impressive for the Broncos, who haven’t exactly performed at their highest level. They haven’t quite been a dominant force on a weekly basis, often winning the game only in the final minutes.

The offense has had its fair share of inconsistencies and moments where it doesn’t look trustworthy in a playoff game. At other times, it's looked like a well-oiled machine ready to take on the NFL’s best. With six games remaining, the Broncos have the chance to put all the pieces together at the same time, just in time for the playoffs.

Denver fans haven’t seen a loss since Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, the Broncos have found ways to win against teams like the defending Super Bowl champs in the Philadelphia Eagles, the Houston Texans, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

It hasn’t always been pretty, but their proven ability to come out with the win by the final whistle has been what makes them so dangerous. Come playoff time, the last team you’d want to go up against is one that somehow finds a way to pull out wins even when they aren’t playing near their full potential. The Broncos are that team.

Denver has also been dominant in close games this season, earning seven wins in one-possession games in 2025. They’ll need to continue that form in the final four weeks of the season, in which they play the 7-3-1 Green Bay Packers, 7-4 Jacksonville Jaguars, 6-5 Chiefs, and the 7-4 Chargers. Those final weeks will be tough for Denver, but they’ve proven all season long that they have what it takes to pull out a win at all costs. There’s no reason to believe that will come to an end at this point in the season.