The Broncos could sure use more Sundays like they just had.
In their 20-13 home win over the Dolphins, Denver put up season-highs in sacks (6), total yards (459), yards rushing (189) and held Miami’s potent offense to its fewest points scored since Week 1.
The Broncos’ reward? A few days’ rest before taking on the 8-2 New Orleans Saints.
Here’s a look at how various national experts rated the Broncos in their power rankings entering Week 12:
Bleacher Report (No. 24) | Last week: No. 28
“Tailbacks Melvin Gordon III and Phillip Lindsay both topped 80 yards on the ground, combining for 166 yards and two scores on 31 carries. Denver’s pass rush made Tua Tagovailoa miserable, dropping the rookie quarterback half a dozen times. One win isn’t going to transform another mediocre season in Denver, but it was the team’s most impressive victory of the season.” .
CBS Sports (No. 19) | Last week: No. 22
“The defense came up big against Miami, which is a good sign. Now they get a chance to face Taysom Hill and his multi-dimensional quarterbacking style,” Pete Prisco writes. .
ESPN (No. 21) | Last week: No. 23
“Sure, their bad moments have been really bad. They have 13 players on injured reserve (a list that includes Von Miller, Courtland Sutton and Jurrell Casey), have dealt with several COVID-19 cases, had an unexpected bye when the Week 5 Patriots game was moved and have 12 players 23 years old or younger on the roster. Yet they’ve kept digging in and shown some toughness, highlighted by Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins. That won’t get them a merit badge, but there have been more talented teams that didn’t work this hard to try and overcome as much as this team has,” Jeff Legwold writes. .
NFL.com (No. 22) | Last week: No. 25
“Vic Fangio has had his share of heartbreaking losses in his time as Broncos head coach, but the Misery Index would have hit a perfect 10.0 had Melvin Gordon’s goal line fumble allowed the Dolphins to somehow steal a win at Mile High. Thankfully, All-Pro safety Justin Simmons made an acrobatic interception in the end zone to seal the victory. It was a great game overall for the Denver defense, which confused, bruised and battered rookie Tua Tagovailoa to the point that Brian Flores lifted his rookie in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick. That was all part of the plan for Fangio, who believed Denver could rattle Tua all the way to the bench with the right scheme. Mission accomplished for the Broncos, who could continue to give playoff contenders fits the rest of the way,” Dan Hanzus reports. .
Sporting News (No. 18) | Last week: No. 23
“The Broncos’ defense finally showed up to support their sputtering offense with Drew Lock. Imagine what they could have been with more competent QB play,” Vinnie Iyer writes. .
Sports Illustrated (No. 26) | Last week: No. 25
“Should they be higher after beating a borderline top-10 team? Maybe, but the Broncos do match up particularly well with Miami. It was, however, nice to see them win on their terms, with the running game carrying the offense, a mistake-free Drew Lock making plays when he had to, and Vic Fangio’s blurry coverages overwhelming an opponentap young QB,” Gary Gramling writes. .
USA Today (No. 19) | Last week: No. 24
“Major roster questions loom given two of their top players of 2020, emergent LT Garett Bolles and S Justin Simmons, are headed for free agency,” Nate Davis writes. .
Yahoo Sports (No. 23) | Last week: No. 28
“The Broncos gave Phillip Lindsay 16 carries and Melvin Gordon got 15. Both had more than 80 yards rushing. If the Broncos can get in a game script that allows that, itap great for them. That turns Drew Lock into a secondary piece of the puzzle, and that can cut down on the forced mistakes,” Frank Schwab writes. .
