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Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) before a game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

NFL.com Explains Why Broncos Are 'Becoming a Dangerous Team'

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Dylan Von Arx | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 6:06 PM ET

After a long offseason marked by free-agent signings, draft darlings, and training camp battles, the Denver Broncos are mere days away from their season opener versus the Tennessee Titans. Denver's 3-0 record in the preseason is a good start, but the real test begins on Sunday, and many in the media landscape are starting to open their eyes to what Sean Payton has cooking.

NFL.com's Eric Edholm is a believer, ranking the Broncos No. 9 in his final power rankings before Week 1. Let's examine what Edholm had to say about the Broncos’ increasingly dangerous rise in the AFC.

“There’s no question the Broncos are becoming a dangerous team, acquiring even more defensive talent for a unit that was strong a year ago and adding pieces to an incomplete offensive picture. If Bo Nix can build on what he did last season, Denver can challenge Kansas City and others for the division title. The Broncos nearly knocked off the Chiefs at Arrowhead last season and blew them out in a Week 18 game when Andy Reid rested starters," Edholm wrote.

"The chore now is for the Broncos to be more consistently successful against the league’s better teams. They were swept by the Chargers, blown out at Baltimore and only won two games against teams that finished over .500. Sean Payton has done a great job retooling the roster, and if his skill-position additions add punch, don’t sleep on this squad.”

There’s little doubt that the Broncos’ defense can replicate, and even surpass, its dominance from last season, especially with the addition of two former San Francisco 49ers defenders in All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Throughout the preseason, the Denver defense dominated, regardless of whether it was starters or second and third-stringers, showcasing just how much depth this team has on all levels.

The offense is where the Broncos must improve if they wish to unseat the Kansas City Chiefs from the throne they’ve guarded for almost a decade. Slow starts and lack of talent at every skill position have hamstrung Denver in the past, but in Bo Nix’s second year under Payton, we’ll hopefully see more urgency and firepower.

The additions of Evan Engram and J.K. Dobbins through free agency, along with rookies RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant via the draft, make it apparent that Denver’s front office was aware of its offensive personnel problem.

The Takeaway

The Broncos' defense will keep the team in every game, but it’s up to the offense to put up points and conquer their divisional opponents and beyond. The honeymoon phase with Nix is over, and he must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the man to lead this franchise, not just to the playoffs, but to a Super Bowl title in February in the next few seasons.