Broncos stand pat at trade deadline after all as they lean on defense and try to jump-start offense

DENVER (AP) — The schedule gets a lot less daunting for Denver now that the Broncos have emerged from a brutal two-month stretch with a 7-2 record and stand atop the AFC West by a half game over the Kansas City Chiefs entering Week 10.

Then again, nothing comes easy for these Broncos, who scuttled their trade for Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley on Thursday, leaving them with a status quo roster for the stretch run.

The Broncos have won five close games this season, stretching their streak of victories in one-score games to an NFL-record 16 straight, a remarkable run that began with a fourth-quarter comeback in Philadelphia early last season.

Many observers predicted their 11 one-score wins in 2025 would lead to a reversal of fortunes in 2026, and coach Sean Payton said during training camp the best way to keep that flip-flop at bay was to avoid close games altogether.

That hasn't happened.

Five times they've been in games decided by eight points or fewer and they've won all five, edging Jacksonville , Kansas City , Seattle and both Los Angeles teams .

Slow starts and frenetic finishes have become the norm in the Mile High City, where Bo Nix routinely turns an inconsistent offense into a revved-up machine come crunch time and Vance Joseph's defense keeps coming up with stout stands in the closing minutes.

“I keep repeating myself, but it's part of our fabric,” All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz said. “It's what we do here. None of us flinch.”

After their bye, the Broncos face Las Vegas (4-5) twice, Miami (1-7), the New York Jets (2-7) and the Chargers (0-8). Their toughest tests should come at Pittsburgh (6-2) on Black Friday, against Buffalo (7-2) in Denver on Christmas Day and at New England (5-4) just after New Year's Day as they try to secure the AFC's top seed again.

They had it last season when Nix broke his right ankle against Buffalo in the divisional round and missed the AFC championship game, where backup Jarrett Stidham flopped in a 10-7 loss to the Patriots in a snowstorm.

Nix is finally rounding into form after struggling in the first month, which he blamed in good part on the mental aspect of his comeback from two ankle surgeries. Missing chunks of the offseason clearly affected his chemistry with new teammate Jaylen Waddle and also with familiar options Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin.

Another player who likely is dealing with the mental aspect of his comeback is running back J.K. Dobbins, who had foot surgery that cut short his 2025 season. He's averaging a career-worst 3.3 yards per carry, down from his career average of 5.0, and the Broncos have put him on a load management program with the emergence of rookie Jonah Coleman.

Davis Webb's cameo as offensive play-caller lasted a month and the Broncos are 5-0 since Payton took back the play sheet. But the offense remains stuck, ranking 23rd in passing and 24th in rushing. Denver's 34 three-and-outs rank second in the NFL and its 41 punts are tied with Philadelphia for the most in the league.

Payton told FS1's Colin Cowherd this week, “I am pleased with some of the things we are doing better. There is still some yellow tape around the offense that says ‘work in progress.’ It just is. I would say this: so much of what we are able to do offensively, run the ball, have balance, can really make Bo’s job easier. I know we have the right quarterback in the building.

“Now, getting specific, like, man, I am watching the cutups of the game we just played, and we didn’t block them very well," Payton added. "And I am just being honest. That has to improve. We have got plenty of depth in the offensive line. We are going to look at all those little things closely. The tape surrounding the offense has to come down, and the family needs to move in.”

Alex Palczewski figures to get a chance at Ben Powers' job at left guard. Center Luke Wattenberg has had too many errant shotgun snaps that throw off Nix's timing and right tackle Mike McGlinchey has been fighting through aches and pains all season.

The Broncos were in the Jonathan Taylor trade talks, but they weren't about to give up another first-round pick — that would have left them with two first-rounders in a six-year span — and they didn't add a tight end at the trade deadline, either.

They called off their only deadline deal after Henley had flown to Denver for his physical. They had hoped he'd help a defense dealing with injuries to Talanoa Hufanga, Brandon Jones and Riley Moss.

Instead, the Broncos, much as they did in the offseason when they decided to run it back with largely the same roster that went 15-4, stood pat midway through this season, figuring they'll tweak the offense and continue to lean on their strong defense to position themselves for another deep run in the playoffs.

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