Ever since Hank Scorpio gifted Homer Simpson the Broncos in 1996, Denver has been a perfect 8-0 against the Cowboys. That includes Sunday’s dominant 44-24 win at Empower Field at Mile High.
The victory increases the Broncos’ (6-2) winning streak to five games entering their Week 9 game in Houston against the Texans.
Here’s a look at how various national experts rated the Broncos in their power rankings entering Week 9:
The Athletic (No. 8) | Last week: No. 10
“Denver beat Dallas for the seventh straight time Sunday. The last Cowboys team to beat the Broncos was coached by Barry Switzer and got 114 rushing yards from Emmitt Smith. Bo Nix threw four touchdown passes and J.K. Dobbins rushed for 111 to keep the streak alive,” Josh Kendall and Chad Graff write. See the full rankings.
Bleacher Report (No. 9) | Last week: No. 9
“The Denver Broncos’ inconsistent offense found its rhythm in a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys’ porous, injury-riddled 30th-ranked scoring defense. Regardless of how the final score looks, the Broncos get the bottom-line job done. They’ve won five consecutive outings and deserve more respect in the power rankings,” Maurice Moton writes. See the full rankings.
CBS Sports (No. 6) | Last week: No. 6
“Bo Nix lit up the Cowboys on Sunday in a game where he looked like the Bo Nix of last year. The pass rush is fierce as they’ve won five straight,” Pete Prisco writes. See the full rankings.
ESPN (No. 9) | Last week: No. 11
“After getting four touchdowns from rookies on Sunday, the long-term answer here could be different. But right now, fifth-year ball carrier Dobbins is third in the league at 79.3 rushing yards per game and second only to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor in runs of at least 10 yards. Dobbins is the first Broncos running back with two 100-yard rushing games in a season since Melvin Gordon had three in 2021. And with his reliability as a pass protector and a receiver, Dobbins has checked every box,” Jeff Legwold writes. See the full rankings.
NFL.com (No. 10) | Last week: No. 10
“Even if it came against Dallas’ porous defense, that was exactly the kind of game Denver needed offensively. Bo Nix overcame his early pick to have a terrific day, and the run game really flourished. RJ Harvey hadn’t gotten many touches lately, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the rookie log his first two NFL rushing touchdowns in a three-TD performance. The Broncos will encounter much tougher defenses before the Week 12 bye (this Sunday at Houston and Week 11 vs. Kansas City), but this 44-point outing bodes well for Sean Payton’s attack. The news wasn’t all good, with star CB Patrick Surtain II leaving with a left shoulder injury. Denver’s defense did a number on the Cowboys most of the game, but Surtain missing significant time would be a problem,” Eric Edholm writes. See the full rankings.
The Ringer (No. 8) | Last week: No. 11
“I’m not quite ready to stamp this offense as ‘fixed,’ though. They got a boost from playing against Dallas’s bad defense, and the Broncos run game kept this offense away from many obvious passing situations. Next week’s game against the Texans is a real test, and I’ll check back in on the status of the offense after that,” Diante Lee writes. See the full rankings.
USA Today (No. 7) | Last week: No. 7
“Awesome as this pass rush has been, now up to a league-leading 36 sacks, how many of the coverage variety will it lose with injured CB Pat Surtain II set to miss a few games?” Nate Davis writes. See the full rankings.
Yahoo! Sports (No. 7) | Last week: No. 7
“Trusting Sean Payton to fix an offense is a good plan. Maybe Sunday was just a product of facing a bad Cowboys defense, but if the Broncos can play anywhere near that level the rest of the season, a Chiefs AFC West title is far from a given,” Frank Schwab writes. See the full rankings.
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