With a 10-game winning streak and two-game lead in the division, the Broncos are climbing with no time for a breather with the Green Bay Packers coming to Denver on Sunday.
The Broncos (11-2) are two wins clear of the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West and can clinch a playoff berth with a win against Green Bay (9-3-1). The Packers have won four in a row, the last two against NFC North rivals Detroit and Chicago, to take control of the division.
To keep an angle on conference playoff positioning and avoid losing traction in the division, neither team wants to drop the ball Sunday.
Despite not having lost since Week 3 and an 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season, the Broncos enter Sunday as underdogs. Part of that is having a young quarterback in Bo Nix and rookie running back RJ Harvey leading the offense.
“The dude’s a freak,” left tackle Garett Bolles said of Harvey. “I mean, there’s a reason why we drafted him the way we drafted him. He’s just getting better and better.”
Harvey took over lead back duties because J.K. Dobbins hasn’t played since Week 10 due to a foot injury that required surgery. Denver has kept winning without Dobbins, and Nix has delivered in the clutch. Eight of the wins during the streak have been by one score and the Broncos are 9-2 this season in games decided by seven points or less.
Nix has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,954 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is also third on the team in rushing (244 yards).
The Broncos have leaned on their strong defense in more than a supporting role. Denver ranks fourth in the NFL in points allowed per game (18.1), second in rushing (89 yards), third in total yards per game (282) and first in total sacks (55).
Green Bay can win a game with quarterback Jordan Love’s deep and talented groups of wide receivers. The Packers also can throw a knockout punch defensively.
They rank sixth in points allowed (19 per game) and fifth in total yards per game (287.2). Micah Parson leads the team with 12.5 sacks and Rashan Gary has 7.5.
Broncos coach Sean Payton said he had his head down in August when his one-time boss Jerry Jones pulled the plug on contract talks and dealt Parsons from the Cowboys to the Packers. Now that he’s trying to stop him from spoiling Denver’s streak and line on the AFC’s top seed, Payton had a few deeper thoughts.
“He’s extremely explosive. He has unique bend and balance for someone at that position, so he’s a handful. He’s a rare type player,” said Payton, who has his offensive linemen on alert to know where Parsons might align on a given snap. “… He lines up to the right, to the left. You try to chart it, you try to track it. They do a good job looking at their own tendencies, self-scouting. We just have to understand where he’s at.”
The Broncos are 10th in total yards per game (342) and the Packers are 13th at 340.3 but the separation in the tale of the tape of these offenses comes at quarterback.
Love, in his third year as Green Bay’s starter, has a career-high 67.1 completion percentage and has thrown 22 TD passes while only being intercepted four times. He has been sacked 18 times. Injuries the first two months of the season were a setback to strong protection, but not many blocking schemes are built to stonewall Denver’s pressure defense.
“There’s not really a weak link out there,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of the Broncos. “The sack numbers are really crazy. Their run defense is pretty crazy.”
Nik Bonitto has a team-best 12.5 sacks but the Broncos’ other three starters up front have 19 more combined, led by Jonathon Cooper (7.5).
“It’s a little bit different than a team that maybe only has one solid edge rusher that you make sure you get chips and lock down that side,” Love said.
Green Bay has eight total turnovers, tied for lowest in the NFL, and its turnover differential is plus-four.
Despite their strong defense the Broncos have just 10 takeaways (seven interceptions, three fumble recoveries).
Denver wide receiver Pat Bryant (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday and tight end Nate Adkins (knee) and guard Ben Powers (biceps) were limited.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs (knee) did not practice Wednesday but Love (left shoulder) practiced in full.
