Not many people had the Atlanta Falcons' offense pegged as the best in the NFL at the start of the season. But through four weeks, the Falcons have put up mind-blowing numbers en route to a 3-1 record and they currently hold first place in the NFC South.
Meanwhile, not much has changed for the Denver Broncos as they are one of three teams still undefeated, still possess one of the NFL's elite defenses and are comfortably in first atop the AFC West.
The two meet at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday afternoon in what may be the toughest test yet for both teams.
Injury Report
Denver Broncos: Denver are heading into Sunday's matchup with a fairly clean injury report. The notable name that has been ruled out ahead of the week 5 matchup is DeMarcus Ware. The 11-year vet fractured his forearm in week 2 and continues to recover from surgery on his arm.
The other big storyline on the Broncos injury report is quarterback Trevor Siemian, who has impressed in his young NFL career. Siemian hurt his shoulder in the week 4 route over Tampa Bay and sat out the rest of the game. The 24-year old was listed as questionable after remaining limited in practice and head coach Gary Kubiak said he may wait until kickoff to announce his starter.
If Siemian can't go, rookie Paxton Lynch will get his first career start after finishing the game in week 4.
Tight end Virgil Green is also questionable with a calf problem.
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have been bitten by the injury bug in recent weeks and will be without two key starters on Sunday. An already below-par defense will once again be without rookie linebacker DeVondre Campbell, who continues to be hampered by an ankle injury.
Atlanta will also be without their other rookie linebacker Deion Jones, who has been one of the NFL's standout rookies so far. Jones picked up an ankle injury in the win over Carolina and will miss his first NFL game in Denver.
Backup linebacker Paul Worrilow continues to miss time and has been ruled out for Sunday as he closes in on a return from groin surgery. The good news for Atlanta is that the wide receiver duo of Mohamed Sanu and Justin Hardy were both full participants in practice and are ready to go for Sunday, as are punter Matt Bosher and kicker Matt Bryant.
Key Notes
Matt Ryan currently leads the NFL in passing yards (1,473), touchdowns (11), total QBR (126.3) and completion percentage (72.1%).
The Denver defense rank second in total sacks with 17 and have two players ranking second in respective defensive categories. Aqib Talib has three interceptions on the year while Von Miller has racked up 5.5 sacks through four games.
The Atlanta offense are currently the number one offense in football, averaging 478.8 yards per game and 38 points per game. Meanwhile, their defense ranks as the third worst in the NFL, giving up 419.3 yards per game and allowing 31 points per game.
What to Watch For
Julio Jones - Chris Harris Jr./Aqib Talib: Last week against the Carolina Panthers, Julio Jones racked up 300 yards receiving and a touchdown. THREE HUNDRED. It's highly unlikely he repeats that feat against one of the NFL's premier secondaries but it'll be an intriguing matchup as both Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib both try their hand at covering the league's leading receiver.
Demaryius Thomas - Desmond Trufant: In the last couple of weeks, Trufant has found himself shadowing the opposing team's best receiver and may find himself doing so again on Sunday. Trufant has been excellent so far this season but faces his toughest test yet as Demaryius Thomas has 332 receiving yards through four games. With a weak pass rush, Denver's QB may have plenty of time to pick his throws and Trufant will need to be ready.
Von Miller - Atlanta's Offensive Line: Von Miller is a sack machine and has more sacks this season (5.5) than the entire Falcons defense (4). With that being said, Miller will have to be at his absolute best on Sunday as he faces an offensive line that performed very well in week 4. Miller has heaped praise on Atlanta's LT Jake Matthews and could find himself across from Matthews on more than one occasion.