With 15 minutes left in a week seven contest with the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos trailed 19-0. At home. To say that things looked bleak for a team that was thought to be an AFC West contender was a complete understatement.
Well, 75 minutes and 77 points later, said AFC West contender showed the entire league that the Denver Broncos are for real and here to stay. In that game against the Giants, the Broncos scored a mind-blowing 33 points in the fourth quarter to win 33-32. Then, just one week later, the Broncos didn't wait until the fourth quarter to start the scoring. They opened up quickly and stayed dominant in a 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Those two wins moved Denver to 6-2 and in first place in the AFC West.
The Broncos offense is averaging 15 points per quarter over its last five quarters. Projected over a full game that turns into 60 points a game. My goodness, but the Broncos will leave the friendly downtown Denver confines for a return trip to NRG, where the Texans slowed Russell Wilson and the Broncos in head coach Sean Payton's first year as leader in the Mile High City two years ago in the last matchup between these two organizations.
The Broncos did not score 60 that day, but they have the firepower on offense now to do so, any time, anywhere and their defense is one of the three best units in the league. Can the Texans hold this offensive juggernaut in check? Can the Texans have any level of success against one of the most hyper-productive defenses in the league, even without last year's NFL DPOY, presumably?
With all of that in mind, let's get to know the Texans' foe for week 9 - the Denver Broncos.
Denver Broncos 2025 Schedule (6-2)
- Week 1 - W Tennessee Titans 20-12
- Week 2 - L @ Indianapolis Colts 29-28
- Week 3 - L @ Los Angeles Chargers 23-20
- Week 4 - W Cincinnati Bengals 28-3
- Week 5 - W @ Philadelphia Eagles 21-17
- Week 6 - W v. New York Jets 13-11 (London)
- Week 7 - W New York Giants 33-32
- Week 8 - W Dallas Cowboys 44-24
- Week 9 - @ Houston Texans
- Week 10 - Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 11 - Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 12 - BYE WEEK
- Week 13 - @ Washington Commanders
- Week 14 - @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 15 - Green Bay Packers
- Week 16 - Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 17 - @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 18 - Los Angeles Chargers
Broncos OFFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Per game - 137.8 ypg (3rd in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Per game - 219.1 ypg (14th)
- Total offense per game - 356.9 ypg (9th)
- Turnovers lost - 8 (3 Fumbles lost, 5 INT)
Expected Broncos starting offense for Week 9
- QB - Bo Nix
- RB - JK Dobbins AND R.J. HARVEY
- WR - Courtland Sutton
- WR - Troy Franklin
- WR - Marvin Mims
- TE - EVAN ENGRAM
- LT - Garrett Bolles
- LG - Alex Palczewski
- C - Luke Wattenberg
- RG - Quinn Meinerz
- RT - Mike McGlinchey
Key Offensive Non-Starters
WR - TRENT SHERFIELD
WR - PAT BRYANT
TE - Adam Trautman
TE - Nate Adkins
Keys to Winning v. the Broncos Offense
- Thunder and Lightning - There are only two teams in the NFL that average more rushing yards per game than the Denver Broncos. Just two - the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. It was clear after the 2024 season that the Broncos didn't have the right answers at running back. As a result, they signed oft-injured RB JK Dobbins and drafted rookie R.J. Harvey. GREAT move and GREAT move. The two have fit hand in glove and present a ton of issues in the Broncos' running plan. They're extremely shifty and built like mack trucks, so they're tough to get hands on and even more difficult to tackle. That's first and foremost for the Texans this weekend - tackling Dobbins and Harvey is the number one point up on the "to-do" list on the whiteboard. But, in the passing game, they can be lethal as well, so it's a dual challenge this week against the Broncos dynamic RB duo.
- Age is nothing but a number - It feels as if Broncos QB Bo Nix has been in our football lives for the past decade and that's not all that far from the truth. He played 61 games in college which is unfathomable, but that experience (and his advanced age) is really what has allowed him to flourish early in his two years NFL career. He went through tons of ups and downs in his college career and it was facing that adversity that allowed him to look at a transfer to Oregon as a viable option. While in Eugene, Kenny Dillingham and Will Stein helped accentuate Nix's QB skills - throwing on the run, making quick decisions, pinpointing areas on the field with his accurate throwing. Nix went from being a football wild child, creating and playing backyard football to a polished, seasoned game changer who threw the ball on the run as well as anyone in football. That's what he brings to Houston as a Broncos; he's, arguably, the best on-the-run passer in the NFL. The Texans must force him to stay in the well and make him throw over, through and around the best pass rush in the league.
- The Best - When Broncos LT Garrett Bolles first got to the Denver Broncos, he was a walking penalty waiting to happen. He had a ton of false starts. He struggled going one-on-one in the pass game. He was not ready to be THAT guy at left tackle. Then, the switch flipped and Bolles became one of the best, and most, skilled LTs in the business. It was like night and day and his advancement continues week after week. So, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. have their work cut out against a mauler who has learned how to really be a composed edge protector. He moves so fluidly and can really frustrate edge rushers with his strong hands and power, so the Texans edge rushers will need to be smart and crafty in their rushes against one of the best in the league.
Broncos DEFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 95.1 ypg (10th in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 186.3 ypg (7th)
- Total offense Allowed per game - 281.4 ypg (5th)
- Turnovers generated - 7 (3 Fumble recoveries, 4 INT - Broncos are -1 in TO margin in 2025)
Expected Broncos starting defense for Week 9
- Edge - Nik Bonitto
- DE - Zach Allen
- NT - D.J. Jones
- DE - John Franklin-Myers
- Edge - Jonathan Cooper
- LB - Alex Singleton
- LB - Justin Strnad or DRE GREENLAW (injured recently, but could return soon)
- CB - Pat Surtain II (injured, status unknown) or Kris Abrams-Draine
- S - TALANOA HUFANGA
- S - Brandon Jones
- CB - Riley Moss
- Nickel - Ja'Quan McMillian
Key Defensive Non-Starters
Nickel/CB - JAHDAE BARRON
Edge - Dondrea Tillman
DT - Malcolm Roach
S - P.J. Locke
Edge - Jonah Elliss
Keys to Winning v. the Broncos Defense
- What if… - Early in last week's win over the Dallas Cowboys, Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II went out of the game for what seemed to be an ankle/leg issue. But, he returned from that injury only to injure his pectoral muscle and miss the remaining portion of the 44-24 win over the Cowboys. So, sources out in Denver believe that Surtain II is a candidate for IR and that it's a 4-6 weeks injury, but the team has done nothing but put Surtain II on the injury report as a "did not participate". What does it mean IF Surtain II is indeed out of the lineup for the Broncos? DC Vance Joseph's defense relies on Surtain II to lock down one portion of the field at nearly all times. The 2024 NFL DPOY allows Joseph to call more man coverage schemes, freeing up the rush to get aggressive and get after QBs. The Broncos don't lead the league in sacks because of the threats they have up front. They have 36 sacks because Surtain II's presence allows those freak-a-zoids up front to have to worry about just one thing in the pass game. So, what if…Surtain II is out of this one? It's one of the MAJOR keys to this matchup with the Broncos.
- Standin' on Business - Back in 2023, when the Broncos came to NRG Stadium to face the Texans, Broncos LB Alex Singleton was a HUGE thorn in the backside of the Texans EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE on the field. He ran down plays from the inside. He blitzed and created havoc in the pass rush game. He made plays in coverage. He's not often talked about as one of the best linebackers in the game, but that contest two years ago made me realize that he was instrumental in this defense, with or without the constant praise and adulation from fans and the media. He is the CPU for the defense and makes life so difficult on OL trying to block him, in particular, in the run game. Keep an eye on #49 because if he's making one tackle after another, the Texans are in a world of trouble, especially in the run game.
- Batman and Robin - They couldn't have been more disparate as draftable prospects. One was a top 65 pick and the other was a seventh rounder. Yet, the Broncos saw something in both prospects, drafting Jonathon Cooper out of Ohio State in the 7th round in 2021 and Nik Bonitto out of Oklahoma in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Since then, these two have played off of one another as well as any duo in the league. The Texans edge protectors have their hands full with these two. Bonitto is the more well known of the two and signed a MASSIVE extension in the offseason. He has bounce and twitch off the edge that 99.9% of the rushers in this league don't have. Cooper is the technician with power and smarts who frustrates edge protectors because of his leverage, motor and finishing abilities. The Texans have used a 6th OL often in the past few weeks and due to the impact these two both make, they may need to do it even more often this week.
