ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It's been quite the month for the Broncos.

Denver's 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys capped a 4-0 October for the Broncos, who have notched five consecutive wins after a 1-2 start to the season.

The five-game winning streak, which is tied for the NFL's longest active stretch, has the Broncos in first place in the AFC West.

Under Head Coach Sean Payton, the Broncos have thrived in the second month of the season. Denver is 10-3 in October games in three years with Payton leading the team, including a 7-1 mark since the team drafted Bo Nix in 2024.

The 4-0 mark in 2025 represents the sixth time in Payton's head coaching career that he's recorded an undefeated October, and his .761 winning percentage in October is the highest in NFL history among those who have coached at least 50 games in the month.

Payton often references the race to improve over the first several weeks of the season, and the Broncos showed their ability to make strides over the first several weeks of this year. The improvement helped lead to a 4-0 mark this month, which leaves Denver at 6-2 entering Week 9.

Asked to evaluate why the Broncos have found so much success and been able to hit their stride in October, offensive lineman Alex Palczewski identified the way team practices.

"A big thing I would point to is just the way we practice," Palczewski said Monday. "[From the] outside looking in, it looks like all that matters is Sunday. But there's so much that goes into the game plan throughout the week and there's so much time and effort being put in. … There's so much effort being put in, whether it's making these practices as similar to game day as possible. While that's physically, it's just as important mentally. Putting yourself in those positions where you try to simulate it. That's kind of the biggest thing that's been really helping us is just on these Wednesday, Thursday, Friday practices — just locking in and kind of visualizing yourself [on game day]. It's Sunday, 2 o'clock, you're at [Empower Field at] Mile High. First snap, you're ready to go. [It's about] mentally preparing yourself that way."

The Broncos were particularly able to do that ahead of Sunday's win against the Cowboys. Payton referenced a change to the way the team practiced on Wednesday, and Denver responded.

"I thought the work week was uniquely different, and I thought they handled that challenge of that coming off of a crazy comeback," Payton said Sunday night.

The Broncos' players sensed that heightened focus, as well.

"It started on Wednesday this week," cornerback Riley Moss said. "This was by far our best week of practice since I've been a Bronco for [more than] two years. Everything was dialed. Everyone was practicing with a purpose. We came out here and we killed it. The biggest thing is just attention to detail during the week and then flying around on Sunday."

The Broncos' success in October is also a credit to Payton's ability to reach his team, according to defensive lineman Zach Allen.

"He's awesome at really kind of having a feel of what the guys need," Allen said, "whether [it's], 'Hey, we need to back off of them, they're tired,' or 'We've got to get them going. … Let's practice hard, [let's] coach them hard.' He's been awesome all three years of really getting us prepared for games. Every single week, we feel like we go in really well prepared — obviously mentally, but especially physically."

In part due to those reasons, the Broncos earned their first 4-0 month since the 2014 season — and they'll look to keep the momentum rolling in November.

APPLYING PRESSURE

The Broncos recorded a pair of sacks on Dak Prescott in Sunday's win, which marked just the third time this season — and the first time since Week 3 — the Cowboys' signal-caller has taken multiple sacks.

Denver's defensive efficiency, though, goes beyond those sack numbers, as the Broncos' pass rush also recorded eight quarterback hits.

"Going into the game, we knew he was hard to sack," Allen said. "… We were definitely happy with the pressure we got."

Payton noted after the win the Broncos' defense affected Prescott with their pass rush, and he credited Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph on Monday for a game plan that impacted Dallas' previously top-ranked offense.

"Defensively, I said this: It was a big test based on the skill and the different weapons Dallas has, and I think we did enough to make the quarterback feel a little uncomfortable in the pocket," Payton said. "There are two ways you disrupt the passing game. It's either at the line of scrimmage with the receivers in the coverage you're playing or with the pass rush. I thought we did a really good job of mixing up looks. I thought Vance and his staff did a really good job of giving him a certain look one play, and then another look the next play. That made a big difference, I think, in their efficiency."

After throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions in four consecutive games, Prescott was held without a touchdown and was picked off twice. His 51.5 quarterback rating was also his lowest of the season.