The Broncos head into Week 8 with a chance to change the shape of their season, and the matchup with the Chiefs has the feel of one of those games that can tilt everything. Denver already took a loss to Kansas City once this year, and another one would leave the Broncos at 0-2 against the Chiefs. Even with that, they’d still be in decent playoff position, but the AFC West race would get a lot tighter for them.
There’s also a reason Denver can feel good about its chances at home. The Broncos are 17-3 at home in the Bo Nix era, and they have not lost a home game to the Chiefs in the Sean Payton era.
That sets the stage for a week where the bold calls carry real weight.
One of the biggest offensive swings in this one comes at running back. Jonah Coleman, back in the lineup after missing four games, wasted no time making his presence felt in Week 7.
He handled 11 touches for 69 yards, while J.K. Dobbins had six touches for 26 yards.
That usage turned heads, especially with Dobbins and RJ Harvey both healthy in that game.
Harvey is already out for Week 8, and that opens the door for Denver to lean even harder on Coleman. The Broncos have looked their best on offense when he’s involved, and his mix of power, burst, pass protection, and all-around reliability makes him tough to pull off the field. The expectation here is that Coleman gets more than nine carries and finishes with at least double the touches of Dobbins.
On the other side of the ball, Taylor Rapp is lined up to make his mark again. With Talanoa Hufanga out for Week 8, Rapp should step back into a starting role next to Brandon Jones. He has already handled the job well, and the defense’s two games with him have ended with 14 and 16 points allowed.
Rapp’s career numbers aren’t flashy - 12 interceptions and two forced fumbles in 95 regular season games - but he brings experience from his time with the Rams and Bills, and that can matter in a game like this. The Chiefs don’t have much pass-catching talent to work with, and that makes life even tougher against a Denver secondary that has plenty of ability. The prediction here is that Rapp comes up with a second-half turnover at exactly the right moment.
Then comes the biggest swing of all: a postgame move that would reshape the Broncos’ offense. Adam Schefter reported that the Colts are open to trading Jonathan Taylor, and Denver was among the teams said to have “expressed at least some level of interest” in the running back.
The report listed the Broncos with Green Bay, Minnesota, the New York Giants, and Seattle. The logic for Denver is straightforward. This is a win-now team, and if this isn’t the time to make another major move, when is it?
Coleman has flashed, but he has played in only two regular season games heading into Week 8. The idea that Denver would simply bank on him as RB1 if Taylor becomes available doesn’t sound like the kind of move a team in this spot should make. Taylor has been one of the best pure runners of this era, and since the start of the 2025 season he has rushed for 2,172 yards and 26 touchdowns in 24 games.
That production works out to 90.5 yards per game and a 17-game pace of 1,539 yards. Denver hasn’t gotten that kind of output from the position in a long time, and the prediction here is that the Broncos make the move sometime after the game, whether that’s immediately, on Monday, or shortly after.
If that happens, Denver would move to 6-2 in these predictions after another tight home win and feel pushed to make another splash on offense. The front office already showed it wasn’t afraid to make a big move by acquiring Jaylen Waddle, and that kind of aggressiveness could show up again.
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For Denver, the timing matters because this is no longer just a speculative name on a rumor mill. The Colts are holding firm on strong compensation, likely multiple high draft picks, and trade discussions are said to be active and ongoing, which leaves the Broncos with a real decision to make as they weigh whether Taylor is worth the kind of package it would take to get him out of Indianapolis. [Read more 🡒]