The Sports Xchange

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For a 6-0 team, the Denver Broncos seem to be under siege as they enter their bye.

A series of close wins, a soft schedule against teams that are a combined 10-24 and the continued inefficiency of the offense have led to the widespread thought that the Broncos are the worst of the league’s remaining undefeated teams, and that a rigorous November that includes games against the Packers, Colts and Patriots will provide a bracing dose of cold reality.

If the Broncos simply are the team that plays to the level of its competition, then the situation will work itself out. But a quick look at some of the other undefeated teams reveals that they, too, have used shaky opponents to build their quick starts. Carolina’s opponents are 9-20. Cincinnati’s are 11-25. Green Bay’s are 11-24. New England’s are 13-16. And none of those four teams have won four road games, as the Broncos already have.

However, those teams each have some substantial victory margins on their resumes. Each of the Broncos’ six wins has been decided in the final minutes, and each required a takeaway in the last seven and a half minutes of regulation to save or win the game.

The Broncos’ next five opponents are a combined 17-12 and include the Patriots on Nov. 29 and the Packers immediately after the bye.

“I only know who the next one is. I have no idea who we play after that, so don’t tell me,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said. “I know that the next team that we play is pretty good. They’re a great football team. We have a lot of big tests coming down the road.

“It’s interesting to be six weeks in and we have four road games, I don’t want to say out of the way, but we’ve played four of our road games already. We know that we’re going to be playing at home a bunch. That’s exciting to look forward to.”

Two things must happen for the Broncos to cement their place among the AFC’s contenders for the top seed. The first is obvious: Quarterback Peyton Manning must improve. He’s thrown seven interceptions in the last three games, and a league-worst 10 this season. All three of his interceptions against Cleveland came on short to intermediate routes.

The second is that the offensive line must find cohesion. The line had its best game against Cleveland last week, but that wasn’t the be-all, end-all of success, because of Manning’s interceptions. Ronnie Hillman had his second 100-yard rushing game of the season behind the line, but that was against the No. 32 rushing defense.

“We improved last week. That’s important,” Kubiak said of the offensive line.

Left tackle Ty Sambrailo took team-period repetitions Tuesday, which brings the Broncos another step closer to having their line back to its intended form. Sambrailo has not played since injuring his shoulder in Detroit on Sept. 27. Evan Mathis continues to miss practice time because of a hamstring problem that has dogged him for weeks, and Louis Vasquez has received some days off from practice.

“If we can get Evan on the field full-time and (Vasquez) on the field full-time, which we seem to think that we can when we come back, (that will help),” Kubiak said. “Time will tell.”