Broncos-Panthers: Denver Looks To Sweep The Best Division In The NFL

The Denver Broncos (8-5) will travel to Charlotte, NC this week to take on possibly the best team in the NFC, the Carolina Panthers (10-3).

Mike Shanahan's Broncos have been hot recently, winning their last three games on the road and four of their last five overall.

John Fox's Panthers are undefeated at home and have won six of their last seven games. Most recently, the Panthers stuck it to then-division leader Tampa Bay, running for over 300 yards en route to a 38-23 victory.

Both of these teams missed out on the playoffs last year but are poised to win their respective divisions in the 2008 campaign.

Carolina will look to exploit a Denver run defense that ranks 26th in the NFL, but lately has been playing inspired ball.

Over the last three games, Denver's rush defense has improved from 30th to 26th, and they will be getting back two Pro Bowl defenders in Champ Bailey and D.J. Williams, barring another setback in practice.

The Panthers' run combo of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams has been phenomenal, both combining for over 1,800 yards and 21 total touchdowns.

Compare that to Denver's running game which has seen Anthony Alridge, Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, Ryan Torain, and Peyton Hillis all go down for the season, and Selvin Young, who hasn't played significantly since Week Five.

However, Denver has a major advantage in the passing game with quarterback Jay Cutler, who has thrown for 3,679 yards and 23 touchdowns this season.

Cutler's favorite target, Brandon Marshall, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last week with an 11-catch, 91-yard performance.

Carolina's top receiver Steve Smith has really stepped up lately as well. 

He too went over 1,000 yards in his last game.

Maybe the most important matchup will be up front, where Julius Peppers will take on Ryan Clady.

Clady has yet to give up a sack this season, and Peppers is fourth in the NFL with 12.5 sacks.

Jay Cutler has been sacked fewer times than any other quarterback in the NFL this season.  If Cutler has a big game through the air, he will become the first Broncos quarterback since Jake Plummer in 2004 to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season.

This game should be fun to watch, as both teams make their case to become Super Bowl contenders.