They walked into the City of Brotherly Love, sitting at 2-8 in one-score games in the Sean Payton and Bo Nix Era, faced with the task of proving they could close against an Eagles team that had founded its identity on closing. And the Broncos left flapping their wings, and blasting Bankroll Fresh’s “Take Over Your Trap” in Philadelphia’s locker room.
Here’s The Denver Post’s stock report from a milestone win in Philly.
Stock up
Sean Payton, as a concept: Sunday was Payton’s defining moment in Denver, as every facet of the Payton Experience was checked across 60 minutes in Philadelphia. He scrawled “RUN IT!” on his play-sheet again, began the game running it, and quickly abandoned it. Then he picked it up again, and kept firing off rollouts and crossing routes, and made a gutsy fourth-quarter two-point conversion call. The 61-year-old Payton earned a game ball from owner Greg Penner in the postgame locker room for surpassing mentor Bill Parcells with his 173rd career head-coaching win, and it couldn’t have come in a more perfect summation of his head-coaching identity.
Fullback love: Denver’s decision to promote fullback Adam Prentice to the active roster in late September — with TE/FB Nate Adkins already present — seemed strange. But even with erstwhile starter Michael Burton on injured reserve, the fullback position has been important in an increasingly run-centric Payton offense. Adkins continued to prove himself as a quietly invaluable piece against the Eagles, often sealing off weak-side edge rushers from running down J.K. Dobbins. And Prentice picked up a key first down on a fullback dive for the second straight game. Long live the FB!
George Paton: Too boring to just throw Nik Bonitto in here week after week, so let’s go bigger-picture. A large part of Bonitto’s current ability to win one-on-one battles with tackles — a league-leading seven sacks in five games now — is because Zach Allen is drawing bodies next to him. Broncos general manager Paton signed Allen to a four-year extension in August and signed Bonitto to a four-year extension in September.
As long as those two are together, Denver will have one of the better pass rushes in the league. And Denver’s currently getting Bonitto at a base value of $26.5 million a year, as the Steelers are shelling out $41 million a year to an older and less-productive T.J. Watt. Crazy stuff.
Jahdae Barron: Two realities are true. One: Denver could’ve gotten more immediate production out of its No. 20 pick in this year’s draft. Two: Barron appears to be developing and playing quite well. Even as defensive coordinator Vance Joseph continues to pretty much exclusively rely on him in dime looks, Barron made plays in his 10 snaps against the Eagles, with two stops and a key third-down pass breakup in the fourth quarter. He’s only allowed 18 receiving yards on nine targets thus far in his rookie year, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Stock down
Hey, remember Marvin Mims? Every so often, it seems as if Payton remembers and forgets and then remembers again that he can actually use Mims on offense. He was a featured piece last Monday against the Bengals, and then faded from view against the Eagles with just two catches on five targets. He was wide-open on a potentially explosive grab late in the third quarter against Philadelphia, but — in a slightly growing trend — Bo Nix laid the ball just long and Mims didn’t lay out to grab it. His usage continues to spike all over the place.
RJ Harvey splitting series: Denver’s second-round pick looked ready for more opportunity after racking up 98 scrimmage yards and a touchdown against the Bengals last Monday night. Not so fast. Harvey is still working through his youth. He continued to flash pass-catching upside with three receptions against the Eagles, but faltered elsewhere. He bounced an early run outside for a loss of three when he could’ve cut back inside for a gain. He got torched by Philadelphia’s Cooper DeJean on a play that nearly ended in a sack-fumble for Bo Nix. There are still growing pains here.
Riley Moss: Denver’s CB2 has made a habit in 2025 of surrendering big plays and then making a few right back. The Eagles’ DeVonta Smith beat him on Sunday, though, from wire to wire. Moss was much too overzealous in trying to press Smith on a 3rd-and-long, and got torched for a 52-yard grab. Smith got him again, too, on a 30-yard grab in the fourth quarter that was called back for an illegal-shift penalty on Saquon Barkley.
The city of Philadelphia: One of the lasting images of the Broncos’ win Sunday came with safety Talanoa Hufanga staring directly into the Eagles’ end zone after the final zeroes, flapping his arms to mock the Eagles, and receiving a roaring sea of middle fingers from Philadelphia lifers.
Not a good weekend for Philadelphia. Penn State just got trounced by a UCLA team with no head coach and no real coordinator. The Phillies lost Game 1 of the NLDS to the Dodgers. And the reigning Super Bowl champions have a whole bunch of issues to sort out after running back Saquon Barkley got all of six carries in the loss to Denver.
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Originally Published: October 6, 2025 at 4:33 PM MDT