12. Denver Broncos
Last week: 8th
In Week 1, the Denver Broncos’ offense was offensive. They were dragged to the finish line in a 20-12 win over the hapless Tennessee Titans by the vaunted Broncos defense, which looked like it was on its way to a completely dominant season overall.
In Week 2, the script was flipped. The Broncos’ offense scored 21 points in the first half while the defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed. The Broncos lost in absolutely heartbreaking fashion on the road against the Indianapolis Colts with a final score of 29-28, and some incredibly difficult pills to swallow along the way.
The least of Denver’s problems against the Colts was a leverage penalty on a 60-yard field goal attempt that gave the Colts new life. The bigger issue was allowing nearly 500 yards of total offense and 29 points to Daniel Jones and the Colts. The Broncos’ defense could not stop Indy, no matter what they did. It was a horrendous performance on the road, and will be a painful one to try and recover from as the Broncos take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.
This team needs to figure out a way to play complimentary football and get something cooking while the Chiefs are down, or they’ll miss their window.
11. San Francisco 49ers
Last week: 11th
The San Francisco 49ers continue to weather the storm injury-wise with Brock Purdy expected to miss multiple week.
Luckily, the Niners have a capable backup in Mac Jones, who looked tailor-made for Kyle Shanahan’s offense in his first start with the team. The 49ers got a win against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, and a hard-fought win at that.
Jones had to throw the ball a bit of an uncomfortable 39 times, but he had three touchdown passes and didn’t throw any picks. Even getting sacked three times, Jones seemed to have the offensive operation humming well and was able to get a number of different players involved.
The 49ers have now started the season 2-0, and playing in the NFC West this year, that’s huge to already be keeping pace. Again, the question is going to be whether or not they are able to weather the storm.