Broncos ready to show their mettle in big game at Philadelphia: ‘We’re going there to win’

ENGLEWOOD — As far as outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is concerned, there is no interest in the Broncos earning a moral victory Sunday.

Denver is a 4.5-point underdog at Philadelphia, the defending NFL champion. The Eagles are 4-0 and have won 20 of their last 21 games while the Broncos are 2-2 and searching for a rare marquee road win.

“I just know how we already kind of feel about ourselves,’’ Bonitto told The Denver Gazette at Broncos Park. “We’re not trying to go in there and make it a close game, make it seem like, ‘Oh, we’re in a close game, we’re a good team.’ Like, we know we’re a good team. We’re going there to win.”

The Broncos came close in a road game last November against a defending Super Bowl champion, losing 16-14 at Kansas City when Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the final play. Other than that, the going mostly has been rugged on the road against top teams since Denver became a playoff-caliber team last season.

Yes, the Broncos did win 26-7 in Week 3 of 2024 at Tampa Bay, but the Buccaneers were on their way to a 4-6 start before finishing at 10-7, the same record as Denver. Yet the season also included road losses against heavyweight foes, 41-10 at Baltimore and 31-7 at Buffalo to open the playoffs.

“It’s hard to say, ‘We want to win the Super Bowl, we want to do that stuff,’ when you haven’t put the best film, best tape, best effort against some of these top teams,’’ said Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper. “I’m going back to the Bills last year and our playoff game. So for us it’s just getting ready. I feel like everybody’s confident, everybody’s sure about what we have. … We know we have a good team, so it’s going to be two good teams on Sunday.”

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sets his team up for the tush push during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Cooper said what the Broncos have learned facing top teams on the road at least has helped.

“We’ve been in this game before, going against the reigning Super Bowl champs in the Chiefs last year, going to their place,” Cooper said. “So we’ve been in these type of games before and we’re more experienced this time, and yeah, I feel like we’ll be even more ready for the moment.”

The close loss to the Chiefs, then the two-time defending champions, came a week after the blowout at Baltimore. However, two months later, the Broncos were flattened by the Bills.

Before coach Sean Payton arrived in 2023, the Broncos had lost four straight games to defending Super Bowl champions and they lost a fifth in a row 19-8 at Kansas City in Week 6 that season. But the Broncos rebounded to beat the Chiefs 24-9 at home later that season. They also defeated Kansas City at home 38-0 in the 2024 regular-season finale, although the Chiefs rested their starters.

The Eagles a month later walloped Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. And they remain the hottest team in the NFL.

“It certainly has an added weight when they’re the defending champs, they’re undefeated this year, they’ve got talent all across the board,’’ Broncos tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “It’s an opportunity for us to play a really great football team and get a huge win for our program and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Previous trips to the City of Brotherly Love mostly have not gone well for Denver. Since the Broncos from the AFL joined the NFL in the 1970 merger, they are 1-6 at Philadelphia. That includes a 51-23 wipeout in 2017 in their last trip to Lincoln Financial Field, when Vance Joseph was Denver’s head coach.

Joseph is now the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. And it helps now that he will face Philadelphia with one of the better defenses in the NFL.

The Eagles return most of their key players on offense from last season, including Jalen Hurts, a run-and-pass threat at quarterback, and running back Saquon Barkley, who had 2,005 yards on the ground last year. But Barkley has just 257 yards this season and the Eagles are just No. 30 in the NFL through four games in total offense, although they are No. 7 in scoring offense.

“I think it’s their way of winning,” Joseph said Friday. “It’s not by accident. … Obviously, how we rush (Hurts) is important and how we stop Saquon is important. They have a lot of weapons we have to account for, but the quarterback is obviously the main guy. That’s where it starts.”

Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph walks the sideline before an NFL football game, Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, Nov. 5, 2017, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

On the other side of the ball, Philadelphia also has modest team statistics, being No. 15 in scoring defense and No. 22 in total defense. Still, Broncos center Luke Wattenberg spoke highly of the Eagles defenders, including saying their “interior is some of the best in the NFL with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis” at defensive tackle.

“We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us,’’ Wattenberg said.

Yet the Broncos are a very confident group. Linebacker Alex Singleton, who played for the Eagles from 2019-21, is relishing the challenge in his first game against his former team.

“They were the best in the world (in 2024),’’ Singleton said. “If we want to be that, say that we can be that, this is the game to go prove that.”

Bonitto agrees.

“Obviously, they’re an undefeated team,’’ he said. “Eventually, they’re going to have to be due for one. So why not us to be the one to give them the first loss?”