 The Denver Broncos were supposed to be the AFC West team battling the Oakland Raiders for ineptitude and last place. Instead, the defense is perhaps the best in the league, the offense has been able to move the football with relative ease, the team is 5-0, and fans at Mile High at Invesco Stadium are enjoying watching the first place team in the AFC West play for a first round bye. The Broncos started out with an improbable last second win over what is actually a very good Bengals team, two wins by 20 plus points over two very bad teams, a win to prove themselves as a good team in Dallas, and a win that proves they are one of the best over the New England Patriots. The Broncos schedule ahead is pretty challenging, so this team will have to keep up the inspired play to remain among the discussion as one of the best football teams in the NFL. It turns out the Kyle Orton-Jay Cutler trade has worked out for both teams. Orton has a quarterback rating of 97.4 with seven touchdown passes and just one interception. He and Brandon Marshall have slowly been building a connection that once again makes Marshall one of the most dangerous receivers on the field. Marshall has caught 24 of Orton's 104 completions and has four touchdowns. His yards per reception are down, but that average is increasing with just about game. The Denver Broncos staple has been the running game and Coach Josh McDaniels has tried his best to keep up that tradition. Rookie Knowshon Moreno, oft-injured Correll Buckhalter, and Raiders castoff LaMont Jordan have managed to force teams to respect the run. Moreno is the main back with Buckhalter as the primary change of pace back. Still, the Broncos score most of their 19.8 points a game through the air. Last season the Broncos defense was awful. This season the defense is keeping opposing teams to less than 10 points a game after five games. Both the run and pass defense rank in the top six and they are one of the best teams at forcing turnovers with 11 interceptions and fumbles so far this season. The Denver Broncos appear to have everything necessary to remain among the very best football teams in the NFL. They have the offense, defense, and good special teams. The remaining schedule has seven division games left, and the immediate future has three incredibly tough games ahead. Week 6 takes them to the Chargers home, after the bye week in Week 7 they head to Baltimore to play the Ravens, and then they must play the Steelers at home in Week 9. This stretch could easily derail the season, but it could also establish them as the unquestioned best team in the league if they win out.
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