The Broncos have turned NFC opponents into a habit.
Since Bo Nix took over in 2024, Denver is 9-1 against the other conference and riding a nine-game winning streak into Sunday night’s visit from the Los Angeles Rams. That run started after a rough debut for Nix, and it has rolled through a long list of NFC opponents without much resistance.
Nix’s first NFL start came on Sept. 8, 2024, in Seattle, where the Broncos fell 26-20 to the Seahawks. He finished 26-for-42 for 138 yards, added 35 rushing yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions, took two sacks and posted a 47.5 QB rating.
At the time, it looked like a typical rookie introduction. In hindsight, it was the last NFC loss Denver would absorb for a long stretch.
Since that day, the Broncos have beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-7, the New Orleans Saints 33-10, the Carolina Panthers 28-14 and the Atlanta Falcons 38-6 in 2024, then followed with wins over the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17, New York Giants 33-32, Dallas Cowboys 44-24, Washington Commandeers 27-26 and Green Bay Packers 34-26 in 2025. Across those nine games, Denver has averaged 31.6 points, never dipped below 21 points scored and won by an average of 13.6 points.
There’s momentum beyond the NFC trend, too. After a flat 31-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs to open the season, Denver responded with a comeback 20-13 win over Jacksonville in Week Two.
The offense looked more varied in that game, with Jonah Coleman and J.K. Dobbins contributing on the ground, Jaylen Waddle breaking out at receiver and Nix going 22 of 31 for 288 yards while eight different Broncos caught at least one pass.
Still, the Rams bring their own recent résumé. They opened with a surprising 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, then bounced back Monday night with a 28-6 win over the New York Giants.
And if Denver’s NFC dominance is part of the conversation, Los Angeles has its own counterpoint. Since 2024, the Rams are 9-1 in their last 10 games against AFC teams, with eight straight wins.
That stretch includes victories over the Las Vegas Raiders 20-15, New England Patriots 28-22, Buffalo Bills 44-42, New York Jets 19-9, Houston Texans 14-9, Tennessee Titans 33-19, Indianapolis Colts 27-20, Baltimore Ravens 17-3 and Jaguars 35-7. Their only loss in that span came against the Miami Dolphins, 23-15, on Nov.
11, 2024.
Sean Payton isn’t putting much stock in the Broncos’ recent success against the NFC, and he doesn’t see it as a predictor for Sunday night.
“We’ve competed against some really good teams,” Lynch reported Payton saying. “We’ve had some close NFC matchups.
One that I remember is last year, the Eagles. They gave us a challenge, and we had to come back and same with the Giants.
So we’ve had to play some complete football against these teams, and so I think it’s just by chance and by schedule. Obviously you play more AFC teams, usually typically year-to-year, so the pool is smaller.
I think we’re playing good football when we play out of the league, but obviously that doesn’t win us the next game. So we just have to keep at it, and work hard out here on the field, practice hard and just get ready for the next one.”
Sunday night’s kickoff is set for 6:20 p.m. MT on NBC.
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Courtland Sutton Suddenly Faces A Big Broncos Question In Week 3
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Broncos Win Put Two New Offensive Answers In Focus
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Payton called the victory significant and made a point of praising Waddles performance and approach, which fits the way Denver needs these new additions to settle in. For a team still sorting out its offensive identity, the encouraging part is not just that the Broncos won, but that two newcomers already looked capable of changing how the unit functions going forward. [Read more 🡒]