ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — While preseason favorites Kansas City and Baltimore stumble along, the Denver Broncos are tied with fellow upstarts New England and Indianapolis for the best record in the NFL at 7-2.
The Broncos are a game ahead of the Chargers and two ahead of the Chiefs in their quest to end Kansas City's nine-year reign atop the AFC West. But they haven't collected many style points in winning six straight games for the first time in a decade.
Darren Rizzi's special teams units are error-prone and cost the Broncos a win at Indianapolis in Week 2, and their offense is often out-of-sync, at least until the fourth quarter.
Their defense is top notch in almost every category except for a dearth of takeaways and star Pat Surtain II (strained chest muscle) will miss key division matchups this week and next.
The aesthetics certainly don't bother Bo Nix.
“A really good issue to have is when you're finding these ugly wins,” Denver’s second-year quarterback said after the Broncos eked out an 18-15 victory at Houston on Sunday despite a negative-2 turnover margin and special teams miscues that cost them nine points.
“Obviously, we have to improve in many different areas," Nix said, "but the ugly wins are important.”
The Broncos outscored Houston 11-0 in the fourth quarter and improved to 4-0 in games they trailed after three quarters. They also rallied to beat the Eagles, Jets and Giants during their streak.
If the Broncos learned anything from their 33-point fourth-quarter outburst against the Giants in Week 7, it's that they're never out of it.
“I don’t think there was a person in that locker room that felt like we were losing this game,” coach Sean Payton said Sunday. "Now, we all felt like we needed to do certain things better. ... You can’t wish for confidence, right? It’s born out of what? Demonstrated ability.”
What’s working
Denver's defense has racked up a league-leading 40 sacks, putting the Broncos on pace for 75, which would obliterate the franchise-record 63 sacks they collected last season. That would also eclipse the NFL record for most sacks in a season of 72 set by the Chicago Bears in 1984.
What needs help
The Broncos' sputtering offense won't cut it against the league's better teams and the second half of the schedule features two games against the Chiefs and games against the Chargers, Packers and Jaguars, all at home, where Denver is 4-0.
Stock up
Even without Surtain, Denver limited the Texans to five field goal drives and forced six consecutive punts in the second half to give the Broncos a chance to come back and win it on a game-ending field goal for the second time in three weeks.
Stock down
Payton has given a vote of confidence to Rizzi, whose units have consistently underperformed all season.
Week 8's list of miscues included a blocked field goal after Wil Lutz’s perfect October garnered him the NFL’s Special Teams Player of the Month award, and a muffed punt with Marvin Mims Jr. sidelined with a concussion, which he suffered on a play he wasn’t supposed to be in for a week earlier in a blowout win over Dallas.
Payton's special teams were stellar in his first two seasons in Denver but he fired Ben Kotwica in January along with assistant Chris Banjo, who was hired by the Jets. Despite a stellar reputation, Rizzi's units have been marred by mistakes on a weekly basis.
What bothered Payton most on Sunday were late substitutions. And when Payton said after the game, "we’ll get that cleaned up or we’ll find someone else that can do it,” he was referring to personnel changes on special teams, not coaching changes.
“I’m referring to players that aren’t on the field that need to be,” Payton clarified Monday. "Coaching is outstanding. We’ll get that cleaned up. My point is, if there are 10 (players) on the field and there are supposed to be 11, then that player that’s supposed to be out there, I’ll find someone else to do his job.”
Injuries
The Broncos are hopeful Mims returns from a concussion this week. TE Nate Adkins is still recovering from a knee injury, so expect 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis to get more playing time as a point-of-contact blocker.
Key stat
The Broncos have outscored their opponents 96-36 in the fourth quarter so far, and over their six-game winning streak, that differential is 86-20.
Next steps
The Broncos have another short week to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders (2-6), who are coming off a 30-29 loss to Jacksonville.
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