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NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Cowboys find spark, Raiders look like pretenders

By Randy Gurzi

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a first quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a first quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 17: Emmanuel Sanders #10 of the Denver Broncos catches a pass in the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on October 17, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 17: Emmanuel Sanders #10 of the Denver Broncos catches a pass in the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on October 17, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

27. Denver Broncos (20)

Things were shaping up nicely for the Denver Broncos, who were looking for a big upset win on Thursday Night Football. Facing the Kansas City Chiefs who were on a two-game losing streak after winning their first four games of the season. As for Denver, they had just reeled off two wins following four-straight losses to start the season. Making their chances even better, 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes had to leave the game due to a knee injury, putting Matt Moore under center.

Even with all that going their way, the Broncos were a complete mess on the field. They allowed Mahomes to go 10-of-11 for 76 yards and a touchdown before getting hurt and then let Moore gain 117 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-19 passing. They forced no turnovers and ended the night with just one sack on defense.

On offense, they were even worse. Joe Flacco was continually booed off the field by the home crowd but not all was his fault. The running game was non-existent and Flacco was sacked eight times. A ninth Kansas City sack came when punter Colby Wadman tried an incredibly ill-advised fake punt.

This all resulted in a 30-6 loss to the Chiefs and has fans ready to turn things over to Drew Lock — once he can return from the IR that is. The problem is, Flacco’s play is only a fraction of their issues. The offensive line can’t protect, the running game is up and down, and tight end Noah Fant dropped three catchable passes that could have really helped this team. In short, there’s a lot more to fix than just the quarterback position.

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