After eight weeks, the Broncos are 5-3 and riding a two-game winning streak against two lesser teams. And while Broncos country is dreaming of playoff hopes for the first time since the Peyton Manning era, national analysts are tempering expectations for this Denver team.

Here’s a look at how various national experts rated the Broncos in their power rankings entering Week 9:

The Athletic (n°15) | Last week: #17

“Denver is 20th in the league in scoring (21.63 points per game), but it is 30th in first downs per drive (1.4). That means a lot of short possessions, which puts a lot of pressure on quarterback Bo Nix. The rookie was good Sunday, completing 28 of 37 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos threw for a season-high 400 yards. Denver has scored 61 points over the last two weeks,” writes Josh Kendall. See the full ranking.

Report on money launderers (No. 16) | Last week: #19

“I’m definitely not going to throw Nix into the Rookie of the Year conversation, but he’s shown impressive growth since he stumbled. The Broncos defense has been good enough to overcome its early growing pains, and Denver is now starting to look and play like a balanced team.

“I would say the Broncos are better at this point with Nix than they were with Russell Wilson in 2023. This team has won eight games. He has already won five and could find his way to a wild card spot. The upcoming road games against the Ravens and Chiefs should tell us exactly how much of a threat Denver can be,” writes Kristopher Knox. See the full ranking.

CBS Sports (No. 13) | Last week: #17

“Sean Payton has this team at 5-3 as they head to Baltimore for a huge game with the Ravens. Bo Nix is ​​getting better every week,” writes Pete Prisco. See the full ranking.

ESPN (No. 16) | Last week: #17

“Rookie quarterback Bo Nix is ​​showing progress, but the jury is still out on whether Russell Wilson or Jarrett Stidham would have fared as well with the Broncos’ dominant defense. Franklin-Myers, acquired in a weekend trade with the Jets, allowed other players on the defensive front to move to assignments that better suit them. Zach Allen, who is having an All-Pro season as a defensive end, credited Franklin-Myers’ arrival with facilitating much of his own impact. The Broncos have 12 players with at least half a sack and the highest pass win rate in the league (55.8%),” writes Jeff Legwold. See the full ranking.

Sports News (N°13) | Last week: #16

“The Broncos should now attract more attention as Bo Nix assumes complete command of Sean Payton’s offense. They take the first big step by taking on bad teams and proving that they are far from being one,” writes Vinnie Iyer. See the full ranking.

Sports Illustrated (No. 21) | Last week: #20

“The Broncos, like the Saints earlier this year, are feeling good after two wins against extremely mediocre opponents (in this case, a Saints team without Derek Carr and the Carolina Panthers). Sean Payton certainly had fun. Let’s take stock after back-to-back road games against the Ravens and Chiefs. On another note, I wrote about this on Sunday but it deserves a second mention: Ja’Quan McMillian had one of the most impressive picks I’ve seen all season,” writes Conor Orr. See the full ranking.