CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Broncos are set for a Week 9 battle in the Queen City.
Denver (6-2) enters the matchup tied for the longest active winning streak in the NFL, and the Broncos will look for a fifth consecutive victory as they face the Panthers (3-4).
"I think the main focal point is new week, new focus, new opponent," cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "Every week presents [a] challenge. Obviously, we've got a good team coming up on the road, so we know how tough that is. I tell guys all the time, 'It doesn't matter what you do in the past, it matters what you do now.' It's just all about getting the guys together and having that refocus and that shift."
With the win, Denver would post its third winning streak of at least five games since 2023, and the Broncos would enter their bye week with their seventh win in the last eight weeks.
Denver has posted a 3-1 mark in games against NFC opponents, and the team has won 12 of its last 13 matchups vs. NFC foes dating back to 2024.
"Carolina is a hell of a team," defensive lineman Zach Allen said. "… It's still basically the same team with some really good additions from last year — that was a playoff team. ... There's a lot of talent and we have to definitely be right if we want to win this game, and guys have the right attitude about it."
These are the questions that will determine if the Broncos can earn a Week 9 win against the Panthers:
CAN THE BRONCOS' OFFENSE CONTINUE MOMENTUM?
The Broncos enter their Week 9 matchup on the heels of their two most productive outings of the season. Denver's offense has scored 30 points and 28 points in the last two weeks, respectively, and those two showings represent the top two scoring outputs for the Broncos in 2026. Denver also scored 30 points in a Week 3 win over the Rams, but Talanoa Hufanga's pick six accounted for a portion of that total.
Against a Panthers defense that ranks 28th in points allowed (27.6 points per game), Denver could look to continue its momentum. Carolina has allowed 70 points across the last two weeks, which led to the team parting ways with its defensive coordinator. In Week 9, Carolina will be without a trio of starters in linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bobby Okereke and cornerback Will Lee — and former top 10 pick Jaycee Horn is among the Panthers' defensive backs who are already on injured reserve.
Quarterback Bo Nix has posted four total touchdowns over the last two weeks, and he'll guide an offense that has recorded a 75 percent success rate in the red zone since Week 3. That mark is the third-best mark in the league in that span, and the Broncos will face a Carolina defense that ranks 31st in the red zone and allows touchdowns on 80 percent of opponent opportunities.
"He's seeing it well," Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb said of Nix. "He's delivering it with conviction. He's got a good rhythm going. I think we said that before the Arizona game, he can go on a little run here. I think he's doing a good job really just settling in and trusting his teammates and allowing the ball to be pushed downfield."
If the Broncos can post 28 points on Sunday, it would mark the first time that the Broncos have reached that threshold in three consecutive games since Weeks 11-15 in 2024. The Broncos would also become the eighth team this season to score at least 28 points in three consecutive games. And, in the process, the Broncos would likely take a significant step toward earning a road win.
CAN DENVER'S DEFENSE APPLY PRESSURE?
The Broncos' defense has gotten after the quarterback.
Through Week 8, Denver has recorded a combined 74 sacks and quarterback hits. According to The 33rd Team, that leads the NFL by a substantial margin. The second-ranked Vikings have posted 15 fewer such plays — making them closer to the 15th-ranked team than to the Broncos.
In a Week 8 win, the Broncos' defense didn't sack Patrick Mahomes until the final quarter — but the two sacks were both critical. Alex Singleton's third-down sack may have been the reason that the Chiefs missed a late field-goal attempt, and Malcolm Roach sealed the game with a fourth-down takedown. Against the Panthers, the Broncos will look for more success.
In the first five weeks of the season, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young showed the type of play that led Carolina to an NFC South title and a near playoff upset of the Los Angeles in 2025. Young guided Carolina to nearly 30 points per game over the team's first five weeks, and the Panthers reached the 32-point mark on three occasions. Young threw 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions while averaging more than 300 passing yards and a 98.5 quarterback rating from Weeks 1-5, but the production has fallen in recent weeks.
In the Panthers' last two games, Carolina has scored 32 total points as Young has averaged 186 passing yards and a 61.6 passer rating while throwing two touchdowns to three interceptions. Young, who has played behind an offensive line that has dealt with injuries, has also been sacked 11 times in the last two weeks.
The matchup, of course, won't be without its challenges. Starting safety Talanoa Hufanga is questionable for the game, and the Broncos will also be without their other starting safety Brandon Jones. Denver must also account for wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan — averaging the 10th-most receiving yards per game in the NFL — and running back Chuba Hubbard, who has at least 80 rushing yards and a touchdown in three of his last four games.
If Denver's ferocious defense can continue to get pressure, though, it could help the Broncos earn a road win.
AHEAD OF THE BYE, CAN THE BRONCOS RESET AFTER EMOTIONAL WIN?
A significant win is in the rearview. The bye week is on the horizon.
The Broncos have to ignore both.
Quarterback Bo Nix believes the Broncos have both the right coaching and the right mindset within the locker room to take on that challenge.
"Coach Payton is really good at that," Nix said Wednesday. "He talks about every game in the NFL is an important game. … They're all must-wins. If you don't play well, you're going to end up messing around and getting beat. We know the importance of this week right before the bye. We can't go on a bye early. This is a really important game for where we want to go. As captains and as leaders, it's just all about practice. Details have to go up a notch, as if it isn't already. More attention to detail, more communication. If you do everything a little bit more and maximize your time this week, I think we'll be in a good spot."
Denver's Week 8 win over the Chiefs vaulted the Broncos into first place in the AFC West, but that no longer matters. Denver's Week 10 bye comes next, but that doesn't yet matter. The Broncos' focus is on the now.
"I think if you look at Carolina's record, you can be one of those guys that overlooks them," Webb said. "[But] if you look at the Chicago game, they put up a lot of points on offense. You look at the Detroit game, they beat them. There are plenty of examples of this team being really, really good there. A playoff team last year, arguably should have beat the Rams in the playoffs last year. So, they're a couple plays away from having a winning record. This is the NFL. … This is going to be a good one on Sunday."
Denver does have a history of locking in for such moments, particularly ahead of their off week. In Head Coach Sean Payton's tenure, the Broncos are 3-0 in their final game before the bye week.
"I think everybody understands that," tackle Mike McGlinchey said of keeping a next-game mentality. "I think that's a part of the team that we have and certainly the head coach that we have."
If Denver can bring the needed focus and intensity on the road, the team should take a step toward improving that mark to 4-0.
