The Broncos are returning from their bye week with many possibilities still ahead of them. An AFC West title? A first-round bye? It’s all there for the taking, as Denver carries an eight-game winning streak into Sunday night’s game at the Washington Commanders.
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With big stakes ahead, it’s a great time to answer your questions about where the Broncos stand in this week’s mailbag.
(Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)
One of my biggest concerns as we move towards the playoffs is Riley Moss. Regardless of how hard his assignment is due to teams staying away from Pat Surtain II’s side of the field, the guy simply makes too many mistakes. Most of the pass interference calls against him are not subtle. There is blatant contact prior to the pass. I’m a huge Broncos fan and would love them for them to go all the way, but whenever a pass is thrown in Moss’ direction, I hold my breath. Make no mistake, his inability to cover receivers will cost us huge in the playoffs. — Michael L.
There is plenty of nuance to tackle in the evaluation of Moss. I would push back on the claim that he has an “inability to cover receivers.” Quarterbacks are completing only 52.8 percent of passes when targeting him, among the lowest rates in the league for high-volume corners. Receivers are creating, on average, only 1.9 yards of separation against Moss, according to Next Gen Stats. Only Philadelphia’s Quinyon Mitchell (1.6) has blanketed receivers more tightly. Moss is a sure tackler who has limited yards after the catch when receivers do make catches on him. His statistical profile, and much of his film, illustrate a corner who covers receivers effectively enough to allow a ferocious defensive front time to do what it does: harass quarterbacks.
It’s also impossible to ignore that the flags are mounting on Moss in a way that has put the Broncos in some dangerous spots. In Week 11 alone, Moss committed three penalties in Denver’s 22-19 victory over the Chiefs. He had two pass-interference penalties of more than 40 yards that led directly to nine Kansas City points, including a flag in the fourth quarter that preceded a go-ahead touchdown for the Chiefs. Moss also committed an illegal contact penalty in the third quarter that wiped out a pick six by rookie Jahdae Barron. Moss leads the NFL with seven accepted defensive pass interference penalties this season. No other player in the league has committed more than four such infractions. Some of it can be attributed to the volume of passes being thrown Moss’ way. He has been targeted 72 times, more than other defender in football. Still, Moss admitted after the win against the Chiefs that he must be better.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce scores a touchdown on Riley Moss in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ Week 11 win. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)
“Listen, I will absolutely own up to the last one, the underthrown ball,” Moss said after the game against the Chiefs, referring to the fourth-quarter penalty that he picked up defending Hollywood Brown deep down the field. “I can’t be grabbing him like that. It’s tough. It’s already a tough position, and I have to be able to, in those situations, play the ball. In practice, it’s going to be a big emphasis. We are going to put the boxing gloves on me — we’re going to tape them up — So there’s no chance (of committing pass interference).”
The Broncos are hopeful Surtain, who has missed the past three games with a pectoral injury, will return for Sunday’s road game against the Commanders. Will that leave the coaching staff with a decision to make at the opposite corner spot? Kris Abrams-Draine has filled in admirably the past three-and-a-half games in Surtain’s absence. Patrick Mahomes completed only 3 of 6 passes for 25 yards when targeting the second-year corner in Week 11. He has not been penalized in 165 defensive snaps this season.
Still, I don’t expect the Broncos to make a move with Moss at this time. He has a difficult job, especially when Surtain is on the field, and the Broncos know that he will stand up to the high volume of targets that come his way. What you can expect is a coaching emphasis for Moss, some of which he already previewed heading into the bye, on avoiding overly aggressive contact. Force the receiver to make the play. Moss more often than not is in a tight defending position when he’s committing penalties. An exception would be Week 2, when he drew something of a desperation flag while trying to prevent Alec Pierce from turning a deep catch into a touchdown. Otherwise, receivers aren’t leaving Moss in a chasing position. He’s right there. Now, he needs to finish with better technique to avoid putting his team in tight spots during the big games to come.
I fear that the J.K. Dobbins injury may ultimately be the Broncos’ undoing. What does the future of our running game look like now that Dobbins is out? Will RJ Harvey be RB1? Or do you think Tyler Badie, Jaleel McLaughlin or even practice squad running back Deuce Vaughn will get a shot? Are they looking to add Dameon Pierce or another free agent? — R. F.
The early returns without Dobbins weren’t promising. Harvey was the leading rusher against the Chiefs with 30 yards on 11 carries, a lower output than Dobbins had in any of his 10 games this season. McLaughlin added 19 yards and a touchdown on six carries. The Broncos produced 27 explosive runs (12 yards or more) through the season’s first 10 games, a figure that ranked seventh in the NFL in that span. Denver had no explosive runs — and no rush of more than 7 yards — against the Chiefs. It was, by almost every metric, the Broncos’ most meager rushing output of the season.
A group effort. 👏
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/SoONbGJDre
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 16, 2025
It was also only one game. It’s certainly fair to be concerned about whether the Broncos can rediscover the same juice in the run game without Dobbins, who was the league’s fifth-leading rusher (772 yards) through Week 10. However, we need to see more before we can declare that aspect of Denver’s offense as cooked. I suspect Harvey and McLaughlin will have a relatively even distribution of carries in the weeks to come as Sean Payton builds a game plan that caters to both ball carriers. The Broncos will go with what they have in-house for now. Forgive me for not getting overly excited about Pierce. Outside of a 92-yard run in 2024, he has averaged only 3.3 yards per carry across the past three seasons.
I think we have a chance at 14 wins. At Washington and at the Raiders should be wins. Three home games get to 14 without needing to win in Kansas City. Do you think 14 is enough to get the bye? I do not think Indianapolis will get to 14 and I think New England is going to have trouble with Baltimore and Buffalo. — Stephen K.
I believe 14 wins would be enough to get the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the bye that comes with it. Getting to that point for Denver won’t be easy, though. Even if the Broncos win back-to-back road games, their three opponents at home — Packers, Jaguars and Chargers — are all tracking toward the playoffs. It is not preposterous to say Denver, a team that has won eight in a row, could finish 5-1 across its final six games to get to 14 wins, but the schedule has real teeth the rest of the way.
The good news for the Broncos is that their tiebreaking scenarios with the Patriots are favorable right now. If both teams finish at 13-4, for example, odds are that Denver would own either the conference-record edge or a better record against common opponents — provided the Broncos don’t lose to the Raiders. There is still a lot of football to play and things can change in a single weekend, but I think 13 wins could be enough to get the top seed. The Broncos can’t tie with the Colts and get the No. 1 seed, of course, because Indianapolis owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Colts, though, have one of the NFL’s toughest schedules the rest of the way.
Can you comment on the John Franklin-Myers situation? Is there a way Denver can retain him? The D-line for Denver is playing at such a high level and JFM is a big piece of that. — Tom M.
He certainly is. Franklin-Myers may be one of the more underrated defensive players in football. He has 4 1/2 sacks this season after registering a career-high seven in 2024. His arrival in Denver has coincided with a breakthrough for defensive end Zach Allen, largely because of how well the two play off each other. Franklin-Myers is also stout against the run and is playing perhaps the most well-rounded football of his career in his eighth NFL season.
The Broncos headed into the bye week having not engaged in any substantive contract talks with Franklin-Myers, who will be a free agent after this season. The front office handed out major contract extensions this offseason to wide receiver Courtland Sutton, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and Allen, and kicker Wil Lutz agreed to a three-year extension during the bye week. Franklin-Myers, meanwhile, appears headed to the open market, where he will be highly coveted. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Broncos could still re-sign Franklin-Myers. D.J. Jones appeared to be headed to free agency back in the spring before he agreed to an extension with Denver just before the beginning of the legal tampering period. Perhaps the Broncos will get to the same place with Franklin-Myers, but it would make sense for Franklin-Myers, given how well he is playing, to find out his value on the open market in the spring.
John Franklin-Myers forces another fourth down 💪
LVvsDEN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/u9OuC9Lk63— NFL (@NFL) November 7, 2025
After watching Pat Bryant go for 82 yards on five receptions against Kansas City — and with the caveat that Payton’s offenses don’t seem to “feature” players week to week — should we expect his production in this offense to continue? Aaron B.
Bryant produced undoubtedly the best game of his young career against the Chiefs. He came up big in clutch moments. He made contested catches over the middle. He displayed the sure hands that have continued to earn him more trust from quarterback Bo Nix. As a “power” slot receiver, he has been a more-than-capable blocker in the run game, and that has helped Sean Payton more effectively disguise run and pass when the rookie is on the field.
Bryant’s performance against the Chiefs was as encouraging as any other aspect of Denver’s victory. Troy Franklin has become Denver’s most targeted receiver as teams shade coverage toward Courtland Sutton. Franklin has largely made the most of those opportunities, including a pair of massive catches late in the Week 11 victory. It will become more difficult for defenses to commit additional resources to slow Sutton if Bryant continues to develop as a consistent third target. The willingness Nix showed to progress to the open target against the Chiefs could be a blueprint for how he and Denver’s offense operate as Bryant grows into a more significant role.
