After the difficult schedule the Denver Broncos have faced through eight weeks of the 2026 season, the Carolina Panthers likely look like a welcome relief for most. However, in the NFL, there is rarely such a thing as an "easy win."
The Panthers will have had nine days to prepare for a home game against the Broncos. They will also have the advantage that the East Coast team has when a team from the West Coast makes the long trip for an early kickoff.
Head coach Sean Payton will have his team ready to keep its momentum rolling, looking for a fifth straight win, but the Broncos will need to follow these three keys to get that win and avoid a big letdown on the road.
Broncos' keys to victory over Panthers in Week 9
Get after Bryce Young
The Panthers are going to try to establish their rushing attack, led by Chuba Hubbard,
to attempt to negate the Broncos' pass rush. The Panthers have allowed 23 sacks this season, the second-most in the league, and their offensive line is missing starting right tackle Taylor Moton, who is out for the season.
The Broncos need to come after Bryce Young on every passing down in this game. As strong as the secondary is, Vance Joseph can trust it to hold up in this one and dial up frequent blitzes to have Young scrambling just to get the ball out of his hands on nearly every dropback. This is the kind of game where the Broncos not only could have a bunch of sacks; they should.
Expose Carolina's run defense
The Broncos have struggled to move the ball on the ground this season, averaging only 92.6 rushing yards per game, 26th in the league. But the Panthers rank 30th in defending the run, giving up almost 141 yards per game.
This is the game for the Broncos to get that running game going. Jonah Coleman had a solid performance last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, and if he can follow that up with another big game here, the momentum from that could carry into the latter stages of the season.
If the Broncos can establish the run in this game and rip off six- or seven-yard chunks at a time, it will open things up for the offense and make the third key to victory that much easier to accomplish.
Be aggressive with Bo Nix
While the Panthers have struggled to defend against the run, they have been much more difficult to throw against, ranking 10th in the league in that category. Still, the defense as a whole has not been good. The Panthers gave up 59 points to the Chicago Bears in a game this season and that was at home.
Payton needs to be aggressive with his play-calling and allow Bo Nix to open things up in the passing game. Nix should attempt to throw the ball deep down the field in this one, especially if the Broncos can get the run game going and he can use the play-action to his advantage.
No disrespect to Carolina as an opponent, but the Broncos should use this game to boost the level the offense is currently playing at and see if they can develop some trends to carry through the rest of the season.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 3 keys to victory for the Broncos against the Panthers
