The Denver Broncos fumbled a golden opportunity to jump out to a 2-0 start to the season last week against the Indianapolis Colts. They made a plethora of mental mistakes down the stretch, highlighted by a leverage penalty on a 60-yard field goal attempt that gave the Colts a second chance to win the game with a shorter kick.
As a result, the Broncos dropped in this week’s official NFL power rankings. The good news for Broncos Country is that the orange and blue only slid a spot to No. 10.
Did your team move up in the Power Rankings after Week 2? 📈
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— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2025
For the rest of the division, the Chargers slotted in at No. 9, the Chiefs No. 11 and the Raiders were last at No. 24.
The Broncos defense, which was supposed to be one of the top units in the league, looked average for Denver in the loss as Daniel Jones was efficient through the air while Jonathan Taylor, who just received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, carved up the front seven in the run game. The hopes are still high on them, as they still have prime real estate on the list besides losing, but they need to come out and perform better in the next few weeks.
This could easily be the highest ranking for the Broncos within the next month, as the schedule doesn’t get any easier in the foreseeable future. They have a date with Justin Herbert and the Chargers this Sunday on the road, then have to deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football before heading to Philadelphia on a short week to take on the defending champs. Even though Joe Burrow is out for the Bengals, there is a reality where the Broncos are 1-4 after that stretch and a lot lower than No. 10 in the power rankings.
The Broncos have hovered right around the top 10 in each of the five different ranking releases so far. After the draft and in the preseason they were No. 11, then they jumped up to No. 9 for the first two weeks of the season.