Denver Broncos Are NFL's Biggest Undefeated Mystery Team Entering Week 3

Two weeks into the 2021 NFL season, there's more uncertainty about the Denver Broncos than perhaps any other undefeated team.

So far, the Broncos are firing on all cylinders. New quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has completed 77.1 percent of his passes for 592 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He's been taking a number of deep shots per game as well, with 13 of his 70 attempts traveling 15 or more air yards, according to numberFire's JJ Zachariason. 

Meanwhile, the Broncos are averaging 4.5 yards per carry thanks to the tandem of Melvin Gordon III and rookie Javonte Williams. Although wideout Jerry Jeudy suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1, Courtland Sutton appears on pace for another 1,000-yard season following his ACL tear last year. And the defense is allowing only 67.5 rushing yards per game (fourth leaguewide) and 13.0 points (fifth).

That's a whole lot of good, but it's worth asking how much of it is sustainable. 

Quality of competition undoubtedly helped the Broncos get off to a hot start. However, there's a difference between beating up on the 0-2 New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars and competing in the stacked AFC West.

The Giants are still trying to rebuild around quarterback Daniel Jones, who led the team in rushing in Week 1 because Saquon Barkley was working his way back from an ACL tear. The Jaguars are being led by a rookie quarterback in Trevor Lawrence who has already thrown five interceptions this year.

In other words, the Broncos had no excuse if they didn't start 2-0. And while teams deserve credit for taking care of business in winnable games, the Giants and Jaguars are hardly representative of what they will face moving forward.

The Broncos still have six games remaining against the AFC West, against whom they went 1-5 last season. The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders all seem as good as they were last season, if not better.

Denver's non-divisional slate isn't much better. Three of its next five games come against the AFC South, and it also must face the rest of the NFC East in Weeks 8-10.

Once the competition stiffens, Bridgewater might regress toward his previous career mean. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes and averaged 7.3 yards per attempt prior to this year, whereas he's completing 77.1 percent of his passes and averaging yards per attempt 8.5 this season. He threw only 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during 15 starts last year with the Carolina Panthers.

Defenses will adjust now that they have more film on the new-look Broncos. They went only 2-of-11 on third down against Jacksonville in Week 2, which doesn't bode well for their future outlook.

Injuries only increase the likelihood of regression. Cornerback Ronald Darby, the Broncos' big free-agent prize, is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Linebacker Josey Jewell suffered a torn pec on Sunday and is now out for the season. Edge-rusher Bradley Chubb also left Sunday's game early after aggravating the ankle injury that kept him out of the Week 1 win over the Giants.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

To their credit, the Broncos do have a lot going for them. Even if Bridgewater regresses, he's still an incredibly efficient passer. He has a stable of talented backs and skill-position players around him, and the pass rush can be nasty.

But it's one thing for Bridgewater to shine early when opponents have no tape of him in Denver and he's lining up across from the likes of Jones and Lawrence. Winning likely shootouts with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Derek Carr will be far more difficult.

The other teams off to a 2-0 start—the Raiders, Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals—mostly have high-upside passers who can carry them when needed. Bridgewater doesn't fit that mold. 

Regardless, the Broncos should be able to continue their hot start to the season. In Week 3, they'll go against a 0-2 New York Jets team with rookie Zach Wilson under center. But after that, they face seven straight games against quality opponents before their Week 11 bye.

Even if the Broncos do beat the Jets and move to 3-0, pump the brakes before hyping them up as a legitimate challenger in the AFC West. Far more difficult tests await beginning in Week 4, which will tell us more about how seriously to take them this season.