Broncos Tumble Across NFL Power Rankings—Here's the New Consensus

The Denver Broncos are looking to turn the page on their disastrous season-opening performance at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Broncos entered Week 1 widely viewed as one of the best teams in the AFC. The Kansas City Chiefs made them look like a JV team, though the Broncos' coaches and players helped them do it by rolling out a terrible game plan and executing like middle-schoolers.

The Broncos' performance was so out of character that the national NFL media — much like the Mile High Faithful — clearly doesn't know what to make of it. That being said, the Broncos are no longer being viewed as a top-five team.

Until the Broncos can prove that Monday night's pathetic showing was an isolated anomaly, they shouldn't be viewed as a top threat in the AFC. Denver has to earn that goodwill back.

It would have been one thing to go into Kansas City and simply lose the game, but to be manhandled almost willingly, alarm bells have been set off, and they can be heard across the Fruited Plain.

Let's go around the NFL to see how the top publications view the Broncos entering Week 2's now enormously important home matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. When it's all said and done, we'll average out the Broncos' power rankings to form a consensus Week 2 ranking.

ESPN: 9th

The Broncos dropped four spots in ESPN's Week 2 power rankings. The Broncos returned 90-plus percent of their 2025 roster, and ESPN's Jeff Legwold highlighted that none of the team's newcomers were utilized in the Week 1 game plan, especially their only new offensive weapons.

"It was that kind of night for a team that returned more players from last season than any other in the league. Jaylen Waddle had one catch for 2 yards, safety Tycen Anderson had one tackle and Coleman was the only rookie in uniform for the game," Legwold wrote.

NFL.com: 6th

Again, the Broncos dropped four spots, this time in NFL.com's estimation. Nick Shook expressed his shock at how the Broncos' defense played against the Chiefs.

The Broncos' comedy of missed tackles led to 173 Kenneth Walker III rush yards. Shook also noted how Denver's quarterback only exacerbated the defense's overall struggles.

"Bo Nix's struggles only added to the nightmare, sending the Broncos back to the practice field to work on the basics after a rough showing Monday night," Shook wrote.

Sports Illustrated: 14th

In fairness, Conor Orr did not enter the 2026 season as a big believer in the Broncos. He ranked them 16th entering Week 1, so they inexplicably climbed two spots by virtue of their 21-point loss to the Chiefs.

Be that as it may, Orr likened Nix's performance to that of a preseason opener, and compared his scrambling to Tua Tagovailoa.

"This was opening preseason start-caliber Bo Nix against Kansas City. Tua Tagovailoa-esque scrambling. Balls tossed to nowhere," Orr wrote.

CBS Sports: 11th

The Broncos dropped five spots in Pete Prisco's rankings, who checked in with the understatement of the year: "they didn't tackle well." He also wrote that the Broncos' offense "didn't do enough."

Perhaps not the most in-depth analysis from CBS Sports' veteran football thinker, but true all the same.

The Athletic: 12th

In the Broncos' most precipitous drop yet, they fall seven spots to No. 12 at The Athletic. The tandem of Chad Graff and Josh Kendall focused on Davis Webb's shockingly poor debut as the Broncos' offensive play-caller.

"In a bit of a surprise this offseason, coach Sean Payton relinquished offensive play-calling duties to 31-year-old coordinator Davis Webb. His debut didn’t go well," they wrote.

Fox Sports: 8th

The Broncos dropped six spots at Fox Sports, with Ralph Vacchiano already eliminating Nix as a possible MVP candidate. And yet, Vacchiano still has the Broncos ranked four spots about the Chiefs.

"You can scratch Nix off any lists of early contenders for MVP after his disastrous showing," Vacchiano wrote.

Yahoo Sports: 15th

This time, the Broncos fall nine spots in Yahoo's power rankings. Frank Schwab blamed the Broncos' ugly loss equally on the offense and defense, highlighting his belief that this team entered the 2026 season "capable of winning the AFC West again."

Suffice it to say, Schwab has his doubts about that now.

"A lot will be made of coordinator Davis Webb taking over play-calling from Sean Payton and the Broncos' offense looking terrible in his first game doing it. That's not all that was wrong with Denver," Schwab wrote.

Pro Football Talk: 12th

Mike Florio dropped Denver eight spots on the heels of Week 1's humiliation. After Adam Schefter's report about the Broncos contacting Drew Brees ahead of the AFC championship game broke right before kickoff at Arrowhead, Florio opted for a little gallows humor to take the sting off.

"Maybe they should have tried to get Drew Brees to come back for last night’s game, too," Florio wrote.

Broncos' Week 2 Consensus Power Ranking: 11th