Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver take on the Panthers at Empower Field at Mile High.
Live updates
Pre-game updates
Scouting report (3 p.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Panthers in Ryan McFadden’s scouting report.
Game predictions
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Broncos 31, Panthers 13
Every once in a while a game comes up at the right time and under the right circumstances to make it feel like a no-brainer. This is one of those. Denver’s not infallible by any stretch, but it’s played well on defense and special teams most of the season, and the run game has ramped up in recent weeks. Even two of those three should be enough to cruise past what has been, by the numbers, easily the worst team in the NFL. The Broncos better, too, because the schedule gets rugged in November.
Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Broncos 34, Panthers 13
The Broncos enter Sunday as heavy favorites, but that doesn’t mean Carolina should be overlooked. Denver should treat this game with the same intensity and enthusiasm as last week’s victory over the Saints. Given the next three weeks feature matchups against the Ravens, Chiefs and Falcons, Denver needs to punch the Panthers in the mouth early and not give them an ounce of momentum. The Broncos have shown the ability to take care of weaker opponents. Expect them to do so at home.
Troy Renck, columnist: Broncos 34, Panthers 14
For the past seven years, the Broncos have served as a get-right game for needy opponents. Finally, the roles have reversed. As bad as the Saints were, Carolina is worse. This game represents an opportunity for Denver to create momentum with a passing game it will need against Baltimore and Kansas City. Time for the Broncos to show they are legit. Creating a home-field advantage and beating bad teams remain necessary steps. Keep pounding them into submission. With Sean Payton boasting a 49-17 record in October, that is exactly what will happen.
Sean Keeler, columnist: Broncos 23, Panthers 13
Trap game? Probably. But this isn’t about winning for Carolina. Oh, no. It’s a chance to show Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, up close, just how badly they need one of them. Or both. Fun fact: The previous eight times a Sean Payton team won by 17 or more points on the road, they went 7-1 the very next game and averaged 27 points per tilt in the process. It’s a TCB (Taking Care of Business) day for the orange and blue. And business is looking up.
Broncos-Panthers NFL Week 8: Must-reads
Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers are powering one of the most disruptive defenses in the league. The Broncos are second in the NFL in sacks and lead the league in total pressures. They’ve rattled quarterbacks from rookie Spencer Rattler to 20-year veteran Aaron Rodgers.
Allen, in his sixth season overall and second with the Broncos, is playing the best football of his life. There are all kinds of reasons for his ascendance individually and for the collective overhaul of a group that lacked punch in 2023 and now hands it out in bunches.
But Allen has a secret weapon. It’s the reason he and Franklin-Myers found themselves in Texas in the first place. Or, better put, he is the reason, Parker Gabriel reports. Read the full story.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Friday that receiver Josh Reynolds is doing OK but “pretty shaken up” after being shot last week.
“He’s fortunate,” Payton told reporters after Denver’s Friday practice. “Obviously the league and the local authorities are handling that. I’ve had a chance to talk with him. He was pretty shaken up, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Reynolds was shot last Friday in Denver. 9News, citing court documents, reported that Reynolds and another man were shot at in their car after they were followed out of a strip club. Reynolds was hit twice, in the left arm and the back of the head, and another man was shot in the back, according to the TV station’s report. Parker Gabriel reports. Read the full story.
It is time for the Broncos to stop running from the truth.
Bo Nix is quick. Not by quarterback standards. By any standard. He cannot pass through a school zone without getting a ticket. He has eclipsed 20 mph on multiple runs, whether a scramble or designed.
As we reach the midway point of the season Sunday, coach Sean Payton needs to lean into the movie that is playing on the Mile High Jumbotron, “Fast & Curious.” Read Troy Renck’s full column.
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