It seems like only 39 years ago that the Broncos won their only game in Philadelphia.

They must repeat the feat.

The Broncos whacked the Eagles, sacked quarterbacks  Ron Jaworski and Randall Cunninham four times, packed running back Keith Byars for 21 yards, hacked coordinator Wade Phillips’ defense for 195 yards rushing by Sammy “Mississippi Mud” Winder and Gerald “Highlight” Wilhite, jacked Philadelphia for 33 points (while limiting Philly to just one touchdown) and constantly clacked the Liberty Bell.

Backup Gary Kubiak got to clean-up for quarterback John Elway.

The Broncos dined on Philly Cheese Steaks for the flight home after winning the third of their first six games in route to “The Drive’’ in the Cleveland comeback conference championship and their second advancement to the Super Bowl.

Memory made.

However, the Broncos haven’t scratched in Philadelphia since – losing 30-0, 31-13, 30-27 and 51-23 in their last trip to the Penn-itentiary in 2017.

Now is new. Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, fresh from a four-year contract extension that could earn up to $120 million, is the early-season preference for NFL defensive player of the year – an award bestowed on 2024 recipient Patrick Surtain II. Two different players on the same team haven’t received the honor since linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed in 2003-2004. Pat & Nik have a chance. Bonitto is second in sacks (by a half) with 4.5 and leads in 27 quarterback stresses and 31.42 pressure percentages.

He would need a Randy Gradishar-Von Miller kind of game in Philadelphia to keep up the pace. But Bonitto’s ambition is loftier. “We are “trying to go win the game,’’ he says. “We know we’re a good team. We can go into an opponent’s house and win a football game . . .  We’ve been so close on the road multiple times this year, and being finally able to get over the hump against a team of this caliber, as great as they are, Super Bowl champs, it would be a major boost for us as a team to be able to go on the road and win a game like that.”

Yet, the Broncos haven’t proven themselves so far. They lost by a point in Indianapolis and a field goal in Los Angeles to the Chargers.
  
They’ll have to win against the No. 1-rated team in the league in a city where the franchise has prevailed only once since 1971, a season following the merger. Elway won’t be playing for three quarters, and Peyton Manning isn’t the quarterback for the Broncos at Mile High in 2013 fracking the Eagles 52-20 when Brock Osweiler actually did enter the game briefly.
 
The Eagles will be offering Jalen Hurts at quarterback and Saquan Barkley at running back – and the provocative rump thump. Truth is, however, Bo Nix and J.K. Dobbins have produced individual superior results through four games despite an unsatisfactory 2-2 record. Nix is ranked 17th — 7 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and only 3 sacks with 861 yards passing. Hurts has thrown 5 touchdowns without a pick, but his sacks have totaled nine while compiling 609 yards in the air – with an overall ranking of 28th.
 
Bonitto should get his pressure probabilities against a weaker offensive front.

Barkley’s rushing is pedestrian at 237 yards (3.1 per) in a rare 21st place with 3 touchdowns, while Dobbins, replying from his first 101-yard game with the Broncos, has gained 323 yards (5.7), and he also has scored three TDs among the league’s top five runners.

The Broncos struggled on both sides at the end of two games; the Eagles have been offensively inconsistent throughout one half of all four. They average 27.6 points on offense and allow 22 on defense, while the Broncos are 24 and 16.8.
 
This game is promoted as the Broncos’ most difficult trip of the season, while the Eagles could be confronting their strongest non-division Lincoln Financial Field opponent.

Neither will be scorched for 50 points or accumulate more than 50. But Both could be in the 25-30-point range.

Win, and the Eagles stay at the summit. If the Broncos triumph, though, they are back in playoff play in 2025 and where they were in 1986.

The Broncos should take a hint from former famous Philadelphian Ben Franklin. “If you think the cost of winning is high, just wait until you get the bill for regret”.