The Denver Broncos were expected to handle the New York Giants with relative ease in Week 7. They were listed as -7.5 point favorites, figured to have the roster advantage, and the game even took place at Mile High.
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Nevertheless, they barely escaped with a 33-32 victory to move to 5-2 on the season. Now, the Broncos find themselves at a crossroads. They have aspirations, but championship football clubs tend to not struggle against teams like the Giants, so the question becomes, are they allowed to talk about the Super Bowl ahead of Week 8?
“We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. No one has used that word in ages,” Payton noted when asked about the most coveted phrase in football, that being “Super Bowl.” Suffice to say, everyone knows that the Broncos aren’t ready to be title favorites just yet, but they aren’t as far removed from the picture as they used to be either.
For Payton, it’s just about ensuring that the team continues to its upward trajectory. Their last-second victory over the New York Giants may not have been as clean as anyone had hoped for, but they still managed to button things up and execute when it mattered most, and that’ll do for now.
“I was proud that we fought to get back in it, we had to find a way to clean up our mess. So, I told them, ‘Enjoy this.’ There’s some grit there, they didn’t quit, but it’s important that we don’t let the euphoria of a win like that cloud the things that need to get cleaned up tomorrow.”
Throughout the first two months of the season, that appears to be the main take away for the Broncos in 2025. Not too bad, not too great, but still full of potential.
They’ve managed to beat the teams that they have been expected to beat so far, but losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers raise concerns when discussing the who’s who of the AFC title picture. At the same time, however, they are still 5-2 despite ranking 20th overall in points scored.
Up next is a volatile Dallas Cowboys team that currently boasts one of the most potent offenses in all of football. Seeing as their defense just gave up 32 points to a Giants team that doesn’t have Malik Nabers and is currently being led by a rookie quarterback, it seems safe to say that Denver will be in for yet another stiff test in Week 8.
Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton have finally started to add some consistency to their production, but that’s been better for fantasy points than actual points so far. In short, the Broncos still control their own destiny, but they’ll have to tighten up if they want to make the most of the potential that they claim to have.
