The Denver Broncos ran into the worst defense in the NFL, and showed no mercy in a 44-24 rout of the Dallas Cowboys at Empower Field on Sunday. Here's a look at seven developments after the Broncos moved to 6-2 with their fifth straight win.

The past few weeks have not been particularly easy for second-year Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin.

After playing nearly 80% of Denver's offensive snaps in Weeks 2 and 3 and accumulating 14 catches plus a touchdown in the first three weeks of the season, Franklin has hovered around 60% playing time since.

That's a lot of run for a second-year player, but production didn't exactly follow.

Entering Sunday, Franklin had nine catches on 19 targets over the previous three weeks, but he never looked in sync until the frantic fourth quarter comeback against the New York Giants.

Franklin fumbled on the Broncos' first possession against the New York Jets in London. Then he and quarterback Bo Nix failed to find a completion in his first five targets last week.

Since then, though, Franklin has put the pieces back together and suddenly looks back on a breakout track.

He caught three passes for 19 yards and a key touchdown down the stretch last week and hauled in a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

Then, in a 44-24 blowout win over Dallas on Sunday, Franklin led Denver across the board with six catches on eight targets for 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"It was a good feeling," Franklin said.

Franklin made big plays from the start against Dallas. He hauled in a third-and-2 ball over the middle from Nix for 26 yards on the Broncos' opening drive.

He ripped open zone coverage on an in-breaker for a touchdown later in the first quarter.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Broncos got a look they'd been hoping for and took full advantage.

Franklin was alone to the left of Denver's formation and lined up against former Oregon teammate Trikweze Bridges at the Dallas 7-yard line. Franklin started up the field, worked inside and then whipped back to the corner of the end zone, leaving Bridges in the dust.

"(That) was matchup-driven," Payton said, noting Denver felt it could attack Bridges. "Boundary corner."

"We both know it's work," Franklin said of roasting a former teammate for a touchdown. "After the game, we were still talking and stuff. We're still cool and everything. When you're between the lines, you've got to get stuff done."

Franklin shrugged off a slump and is back to getting stuff done, indeed.

"For me personally, I think just with how I fumbled in London -- I'm actually pretty good with just flushing and getting to the next play," he told The Post earlier in the practice week. "With those two things -- the fumble in London and then the punchout (against the Giants), you just have to remember there's plenty of game left. We get into the game down the line, and I can make more plays for our team.

"It's one of those things where you really do have to flush it and know that you'll get it back."

What's happening in the moment matters, but the long game does, too.

That applies perfectly to Franklin's second season to date. It hasn't always gone exactly the way he's wanted, but he's also taken a sizable step forward.

Sunday's production sent the East Palo Alto, California, native zipping past all of his major numbers from his rookie season.

In 16 games over 2024, Franklin had 28 catches (53 targets) for 263 yards and two touchdowns.

Through eight games this season, Franklin now sits at 33 catches (54 targets) for 358 yards and four touchdowns.

He's on pace for 761 yards for the year. Courtland Sutton easily leads the team so far this season with 534, but Franklin is comfortably in second. The Broncos have only had one player finish second in receiving yards and eclipse 758 since Demaryius Tomas and Emmanuel Sanders each had 1,000-plus in 2016. That was Sutton with 829 in 2022, behind Jerry Jeudy.

If Franklin plays the way he has the past five quarters, he'll have a chance to put that mark in jeopardy.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton had to be convinced to smile in the post-game aftermath of a 33-point fourth quarter last week.

This time around? The veteran coach had his chest puffed out throughout his postgame news conference.

He said the Broncos offense knew Dallas entered with the last-ranked defense in the NFL and, "we wanted to keep them last."

"I just didn't think they could keep up with what we were doing," he said. "So I said to (our) defense periodically, 'Can you guys keep up with us?'"

The Broncos defense knew they'd need their running shoes regardless of who they were trying to race.

"There was just a heightened sense of urgency, at least defensively," said defensive tackle Zach Allen, who logged his fourth sack of the season and continued another strong start to the season. "You watch the tape, and it's two stud receivers. Tight end. The o-line -- a lot of money and a lot of picks invested in it. Quarterback's playing like a top-2 quarterback in football right now. Javtone (Williams) has been awesome.

"So for us it was like, it was almost great to have this matchup after last week."

Payton showed the team a stat that teams that come back from down 14 in the fourth quarter are 3-16 the following week.

"Then you watch the tape on Wednesday and you're like, '(shoot), this is going to be a challenge,'" Allen said. "So, guys really handled the preparation the right way, and it worked out."

Now the Broncos go forward uncertain about reigning defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II's status after a shoulder injury, but in first place and feeling good about what they've got going as a group.

"I think we're coming into our own a little bit," Allen said. "Obviously, being able to win ugly is really important in this league. But at the same time, starting fast is a big thing, too. When we start fast and we force teams to be kind of one-dimensional, it's pretty special. Now we've proved we can win both ways, and we've got to just keep chugging away."

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer made a curious decision in a game that was likely already decided.

Courtland Sutton got called for offensive pass interference on a second-and-goal incompletion from the 5-yard line. Instead of taking the penalty and forcing second-and-goal from the 15, Schottenheimer declined it to get to third down. Perhaps he thought that, trailing 37-17 with just 7:18 to go that he couldn't afford the extra time off the clock.

Payton, though, had a diabolical third-down call in his pocket.

To appreciate it, let's rewind to Harvey's first career touchdown against Cincinnati in Week 4 from a nearly identical situation: third-and-5 from the Bengals' 12-yard line.

The Broncos from the left hash aligned in an empty formation with Havey initially up as the widest man to the boundary. He motioned into the backfield and stayed to Nix's left, aligned about even with left tackle Garret Bolles.

One other piece to the puzzle: The Broncos have come to fairly frequently use Harvey as a coverage indicator. Defenses know he's a receiving threat, so moving him in motion often ends up giving Nix a clue -- or the full answer -- as to whether the defense is in man coverage or zone. If a defender follows Harvey, it's man. If the defense stays stationary, that's a clue toward zone.

So, Harvey motioned to the backfield against the Bengals, and it was man coverage. On the snap, he raced back to the left flat, the Bengals dropped the coverage entirely and Nix hit him for an easy, walk-in touchdown.

The Broncos were again on the left hash. They again lined up empty with Harvey out to the left. Nix again motioned him to the backfield and again got a man coverage indicator when linebacker Shemar James followed him in.

Harvey settled behind Bolles again, and James looked like he shaded to Harvey's outside. Perhaps that's just how the Dallas defense is designed, considering James didn't have help to the outside, but it could have also been a film study tip James saw and recognized.

Either way, he was wrong.

This time at the snap, Harvey darted all the way across the formation to the right. On that side of the field, Sutton and Franklin ran double slants to create traffic in the middle of the field.

"RJ's third-down call, we've had that in (the plan) for like five weeks," Payton said afterward.

A good example of one call building off another, and the way Payton and the Broncos try to stay ahead of what defenses learn when they watch Denver's tape.

Broncos veteran journeyman receiver Trent Sherfield has been a mentor to rookie Pat Bryant since shortly after the third-round pick out of Illinois arrived in town.

Bryant has taken most of Sherfield's playing time over the past few weeks.

Still, Sherfield was beaming Sunday night in the locker room after Bryant caught his first touchdown on a 24-yard dime from Bo Nix and also continued his standout work as a run-blocker.

"It makes me so happy," Sherfield told The Post. "I've said it all along, and I've seen it from the jump: He's fearless, he's a young guy and he's eager and willing to learn. Great hands, great route-running ability."

And, Sherfield said, Bryant's resilient.

Take the first drive when Nix threw a ball behind him that ended up an interception.

"He should have caught that ball and went for 60," Sherfield said. "Bo threw it a little bit behind him. But (Bryant) comes off the field and just his response to adversity, man. It's just so unique for a young player."

Sherfield called back to a preseason game in which he got upset and was complaining on the sideline.

"He was like, 'Man, big bro, it's over. Let it go.' You just don't see that a lot from young guys," Sherfield said. "To see him flourish -- he's going to be a great player. I was talking with Jaleel McLaughlin about it during our walkthrough yesterday. He's going to be a great player. I've been waiting for his breakout game, and I'm hoping that going forward this is something that's weekly for him."

Sherfield is a physical blocker in his own right and predicted that Bryant's crack block on Dallas edge Sam Williams to help spring Harvey's 40-yard opening touchdown run would get a bigger reaction in the film room than a toe-tap touchdown grab in the back corner of the end zone.

"Because that's not something that a typical receiver does," Sherfield said. "... That's a dying breed of receiver in the NFL. I told Pat when we came in for halftime, 'Man, I want you to go get 100 yards, but I also want some more good blocks as well, too.'"

Bryant's reputation has only grown in that department over his rookie season. Even the offensive linemen have come to enjoy watching the 6-foot-2 receiver work.

"He's an incredible run blocker," right guard Quinn Meinerz said. "He's putting his helmet and his hands on people all the time. When we watch the tape, you notice it. ... We take care of the first and second level and Pat, along with the other receivers, he's got the third level. That's when you start seeing those explosive runs.

"That's why we're seeing those explosive runs, the O-line and the receivers working together."

Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson entered Sunday with 51 catches and six touchdowns already this season.

The catch mark was No. 4 overall in the NFL through the first seven weeks. Not among tight ends. Among all pass-catchers. He had at least three catches in every game and seven-plus in five of the Cowboys' seven outings.

Against the Broncos: No catches and just one target. That one target: Intercepted by rookie nickel Jahdae Barron.

"It's not surprising," inside linebacker Alex Singleton deadpanned after the game. "You guys think I cover tight ends every play. I don't cover tight ends every play."

Singleton perhaps should have taken the credit for snuffing out one of the league's best and doing so on National Tight Ends Day, no less.

The veteran's point was well-taken, though. Coverage in the middle of the field is typically mixed responsibility, even with how much man defensive coordinator Vance Joseph plays. That's because the Broncos play match, they pass receivers off over the middle, so on and so forth.

"It was good," Singleton said. "They're a really good offense. They use him as a receiver, and he's a really good receiver. So to just be able to play the way we did today was huge."

The third-year undrafted man out of Illinois has settled the position down after Ben Powers and Matt Peart were injured in back-to-back weeks.

He turned in another solid outing Sunday, and the Broncos dominated in the trenches overall.

Nix was not sacked, and the Broncos averaged 7 yards per carry outside of a pair of kneeldowns.

Palczewski has a big challenge on his hands after not playing any left side in any capacity over his career -- college or pro.

His approach, essentially, is fake it 'til you make it. Perhaps "brawl until you figure out actual technique" doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same way, but it's slightly more accurate.

"It's definitely been a challenge, but (offensive line coach Zach) Strief has helped so much just with where my mind should go," he said Thursday. "Simple points. That's the biggest thing is I've just been trying not to overthink it too much. Just go back to, 'OK, what are my thoughts presnap,' simply just to put myself in a good position to just play good football. ...

"There's still a lot of stuff I'm working on. The nuances of, OK, I've got to find myself. I've got to get to a good brace. Everything's just different."

'Palcho' spent most of his pro career to date backing up Mike McGlinchey at right tackle and also serving as the reserve right guard behind Quinn Meinerz.

Now he's settled down a potential sore spot for Denver in a big way, and he might be doing enough to make the Broncos think they can not only survive but thrive as currently constructed. The team's hoping Powers will be back late in the regular season. If they like Calvin Throckmorton as depth behind Palczewski, perhaps there's less need to give up future draft capital to address the spot.

Not only that, but Powers has no guaranteed money left on his deal after this season and a big cap number in 2026. Those kinds of decisions can wait until the season ends, but the bottom line is Palczewski's played well so far, and more time on the left side is only going to lead to more and more comfort.

"If you sit on one side as Palcho has for the last, like, seven years or so, it's really, really difficult to switch sides," McGlinchey said. "Palcho goes from right guard or right tackle to all of a sudden, 'You're one of our best five. You've got to go out there.' The fight that he had, the technique he played with.

"Palcho, man, he's a throwback."

Denver scored 27 points in the first half and 44 overall against Dallas.

The four first-half touchdowns gave the Broncos eight in three quarters dating back to the 14:02 mark of the fourth quarter against the New York Giants.

Before that, Sean Payton's team had scored nine touchdowns over its past 20 quarters. That goes all the way back through the fourth quarter of the Broncos' Week 2 loss at Indianapolis.

When Harvey scampered into the end zone for his third touchdown of the day in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Broncos had scored on seven of nine full possessions Sunday and 12 of their previous 14.

The total in that span: 10 touchdowns, two field goals, a punt and an interception.

7b. The Broncos extended a pair of winning streaks when they won their fifth straight overall and ran their NFL-best home winning streak to nine games. Sean Payton's team hasn't lost at Empower Field since Week 6 of the 2024 season against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Broncos now will look to run the overall winning streak to six next week in a tough matchup at Houston, but then have two more home games coming over the first half of November against Las Vegas (Thursday Night Football, Nov. 6) and Kansas City (Nov. 16).

Nothing is certain in the NFL, but if Denver wins its next two home games to get to 11 straight at Empower Field, it would be, at worst, 8-3 on the season and tied atop the AFC West.

That's the kind of home-field advantage the Broncos have been talking about rebuilding, and it shows a pretty clear path toward being squarely in contention to end the Chiefs' stranglehold on the division. That's easier said than done, of course, especially against the Chiefs, given the way quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company have been playing. But everything the Broncos want is right there for the taking, and the way they've handled business at home in the early part of the season is a big reason why.

7c. The Broncos also happened to be riding a five-game winning streak last time they went to Houston. They lost on a last-second offensive failure deep in the red zone, which left Payton fuming over what he called a "chaos" play that resulted in Russell Wilson throwing a game-sealing interception.

Denver is in a much stronger position this time. They're 6-2 instead of 6-5 that year, but the group's got a bit of a bitter taste in its mouth still.

"Houston, obviously, the way we lost the last time we were there wasn't great," Allen told The Post. "We really want to try to get our revenge, but it's going to be tough. They're a good team. They've won a lot of games the past couple of years. They got the quarterback right. Any time you do that, you're going to be in a good spot. We just have to play kind of like this week. We did a really good job of moving on quick, and we've got to do the same this week."

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