The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 28-14 at home in Week 8. Here are five quick takeaways from the victory.
1. Courtland Sutton gets rewarded: Sutton was a good sport after he drew zero targets in the team’s last game. He followed that up with his first 100-yard performance since 2022 with eight catches for 100 yards on Sunday. He also completed a pass, keeping his 100% completion rate alive (3-of-3).
2. Nik Bonitto’s sack streak continues: With one sack against Bryce Young, Bonitto has now recorded a sack in six straight games. He’s the first Bronco to accomplish that feat since Von Miller in 2018. The team’s all-time record is held by Simon Fletcher (ten straight games). He might not catch Denver’s all-time record, Bonitto does have the longest active streak in the NFL.
3. Nobody will feel sorry for Jaycee Horn: CBS cameras caught Horn chirping at Broncos coach Sean Payton after the game for attempting to run up the score. This is Horn’s fourth season in the NFL. Having that kind of reaction to a professional football team running a fake field goal and trick play in the fourth quarter won’t draw him any sympathy. This is the Big Time.
4. Bo Nix continues to trend up: Yes, it was against a struggling defense, but that was exactly the kind of performance we wanted to see from Nix. The rookie quarterback went 28-of-37 passing for 284 yards with three touchdown passes and no turnovers, good for a 124.2 passer rating. Nix also rushed for a touchdown and he’s the team’s first QB since John Elway (1996) to have multiple games with at least two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in in the same season.
5. The real test is yet to come: The Broncos took care of business against the Panthers, as they were expected to. Now the team has back-to-back road games on deck against the Baltimore Ravens (5-3) and Kansas City Chiefs (7-0). Denver can’t lose two fumbles and get away with it against AFC contenders like they did against the lowly Panthers. Sunday was a good team win, but the Broncos have work to do. We’ll find out a lot about this team over the next two weeks.
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