A big win over the Chicago Bears secured, the Green Bay Packers will now look forward to facing the AFC-leading Denver Broncos in Week 15. Sean Payton’s team is 11-2, in position to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs and win the AFC West for the first time since 2015 and established as a legitimate contender in the AFC with four games to go.
The Broncos will present a big test for the surging Packers on multiple fronts.
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Among them:
— The Broncos went into Week 14 ranked as the No. 1 offensive line in the NFL at PFF. By PFF’s grading, the Broncos are first pass blocking and ninth in run blocking. Bo Nix has only been sacked 16 times, and he leads the NFL in sack percentage (3.29). Left tackle Garret Boles and guard Quinn Meinerz are both having All-Pro caliber seasons, Mike McGlinchey is an experienced right tackle and center Luke Wattenberg just got a big new contract extension. Most importantly, this offensive line has played the majority of the season together and has great continuity. Defeating it will be a tremendous challenge for Micah Parsons and company.
— Defensively, the Broncos rank first in the NFL in sacks (55), quarterback hits (120) and sack percentage (10.9). They have three players with 40 or more pressures (Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen, Jonathan Cooper) and 11 players with at least 2.0 sacks. The Packers really struggled in games against the Browns and Eagles when the offensive line couldn’t protect Jordan Love. The Broncos defensive front will really stress Green Bay’s ability to throw the ball efficiently.
— Allen (51 pressures, 34 quarterback hits) could be particularly troublesome as an interior pass-rusher. Bonitto, meanwhile, is tied with Micah Parsons for the most quick pressures in the NFL.
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— The Broncos are 6-0 at home this season, including wins over the Chiefs and Cowboys. Denver is 12-2 at home over the last two seasons.
— The Broncos defense ranks first on third down and first in the red zone. Sunday will be a big-time situational battle for the Packers offense, which ranks first on third down and second in the red zone.
— Patrick Surtain II is a lockdown corner who could make life difficult on Christian Watson, who has become the passing game’s go-to playmaker. The same could be said for Ja’Quan McMillian in the slot against Jayden Reed.
— The Broncos just don’t die. Bo Nix has six game-winning drives this season, and Denver has won seven straight games decided by four points or fewer — including huge comebacks against the Eagles and Giants. Incredibly, the Broncos trailed at some point in each of their first 12 games and have won four games on the final play. You can start fast or take a late lead against this team, but they are finding the winning plays to end games.
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The Broncos have won 10 straight games overall after a 1-2 start. Payton’s team is dominant along the line of scrimmage, plays well at home, consistently wins the big situations on defense, has star pass-rushers and is never dead. In many ways, the Broncos will present the biggest challenge to date in terms of combating what the Packers do so consistently well to win games — attack downfield from clean pockets, rush the passer and win on third down.
Bo Nix, while erratic in similar ways as Caleb Wiliams, has made clutch play after clutch play.
Considering this is a matchup of the current No. 1 seed in the AFC and the No. 2 seed in the NFC, it wouldn’t be crazy to call this a potential Super Bowl preview.
Can the Packers go on the road against a contender, step up to the challenge at the line of scrimmage, make the big plays in big spots and be better team late in the fourth quarter? This should be a great test for a Packers team that will need to do many of those things to make a deep run in the postseason.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Why the Broncos will be such a big test for Packers in Week 15