ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos are back in the postseason for the first time since 2015, when they won Super Bowl 50 on the back of a stellar defensive performance. So it’s significant that their journey to ending their drought truly began early last season after the worst defensive performance in franchise history.
On Sept. 24, 2023, the Broncos allowed 10 touchdowns to the Miami Dolphins in a 70-20 loss. They gave up 726 yards (the most in franchise history) and 350 rushing yards (third-most). It was the first time since 1966 (and fourth time ever) an NFL team has allowed 70 points in a game.
The loss incited the fury of coach Sean Payton, who roared, “This will never happen again. Ne-ver.” Linebacker Alex Singleton still calls it “the most embarrassing game I’ve ever been a part of, the most embarrassing game I’ve ever watched.”
But many players also say it’s when the Broncos found the “grit” that Payton often refers to when talking about the 2024 team. His volcanic postgame words drew a line in the proverbial sand. And a little more than 15 months later, the same defense that was overwhelmed in Miami has become the foundation for Denver’s playoff return.
“We want to be one of those units that impacts things, that wins,” Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said. “I just feel like the sky’s the limit. But no question, Miami made us think, made us step back.”
The defense — which ranks first in the NFL in sacks (63) and third in scoring (18.3 points allowed per game) — will be put to the test in the wild-card round, when No. 7 seed Denver travels to face the second-seeded Buffalo Bills on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+). If the Broncos have Super Bowl aspirations, they will likely need to lean on the unit much like they did the last time they went to the playoffs — when Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller & Co. led Denver to a title.
EARLIER THIS SEASON, former Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib pointed out a connection between current Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Wade Phillips, his coordinator with the Broncos in 2015. Both returned to the team after previously being fired as the franchise’s head coach.
“They came back, man, came back to go again,” Talib said. “Not everybody would do that.”
Joseph was hired as head coach after Gary Kubiak stepped away from the Broncos for health reasons after the 2016 season. But without an answer at quarterback following Peyton Manning’s retirement a season earlier, a roster in post-championship flux and back-to-back unimpressive draft classes, the Broncos went 5-11 in 2017 and 6-10 in 2018. Joseph was fired after losing his final four games.
Fast forward to February 2023. After a five-win 2022 season, Payton was hired as the Broncos head coach to get the franchise back on track. One of his first moves was bringing Joseph — who had spent the past four seasons as Cardinals defensive coordinator — back to run his defense. Joseph said he decided to return because he coveted “wins with the Broncos” and cited the franchise’s history as proof of what could be accomplished.
“This league is about winning,” Joseph said. “We didn’t win enough. … [If] you don’t win, there will be change.
“I didn’t carry anger back here. I was, and am, excited for the opportunity here every day I walk in this building. And these guys play hard. They are a joy to coach.”
His return didn’t get off to a good start, though. The Broncos lost their first two games, both at home, before the debacle in Miami in Week 3. Players have given Joseph credit as a calming presence in the aftermath of that game. He emphasized accountability and pushed for improvement while taking the heat and providing a shield for the players.
One former Broncos player said, “VJ was right there, he took it all and he got on our asses, too. We all knew we executed nothing that day, but he was right there for us.”
After a 1-5 start to the 2023 season, Denver put together a five-game win streak and emerged in the wild-card race. After ranking last in scoring defense in the first six weeks (33.3 allowed points per game), it was seventh (19.4) from Week 7 on. Even so, the run defense faltered in a crushing December loss to the Lions, one of six 2023 games in which the Broncos allowed at least 170 rushing yards.
Despite signs of improvement, it was obvious the run defense needed fixing.
With some offseason upgrades — including trading for defensive end John Franklin-Myers and signing defensive tackle Malcolm Roach — and another year under Joseph, the run defense has taken a big step forward. Denver finished the regular season third-best in rushing yards allowed per game (96.4) after being 30th a year earlier. It was also second in yards allowed per carry (3.9).
Payton has said Joseph’s tactics and personnel usage have been a big part of the turnaround. Joseph has been more aggressive with the front seven. He calls his attacking front a “gap-and-a-half” defense with an emphasis on, in the words of Roach, “always getting upfield” and playing the league’s second-most man coverage in the league behind it (56.3% of opponent dropbacks).
“He’s done a great job each week of really looking closely at like, ‘What do we have to take away and then force them to do something that they haven’t done much of?'” Payton said. “There’s a lot of confidence and complete buy-in. His communication skills are outstanding.”
ALL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT the Broncos’ defense begin with cornerback Pat Surtain II, who last week was named to his third Pro Bowl in his four seasons and is squarely in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Opposing quarterbacks had a 39.1 passer rating over the past month when Surtain was targeted. The way that statistic is constructed, QBs would have had a better passer rating (39.6) had they simply thrown the ball into the ground.
“Pat influences everything we do, how we cover, how we align, how we decide when the pressure, everything,” Joseph said of Surtain, who set a career-high with four interceptions.
Surtain has locked down a who’s-who of receivers this season including Seattle’s DK Metcalf, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy, Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers and Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Those six players ran a total of 136 routes against Surtain and combined for 11 catches and 100 yards.
“He’s the best corner in the league,” defensive back Riley Moss said.
Surtain’s brilliance has made Moss’ life busy. Moss was thrown at 22.5% of the time when he was on the field, the highest rate among cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps. And his importance was best illustrated when the second-year corner missed three games in December with a knee injury. Prior to Moss’ Week 12 injury, the Broncos surrendered more than 30 points once. They did it twice in the three games Moss didn’t play.
“Pat can play man against anyone, but if his partner can’t do it, you can’t [pressure the quarterback],” Joseph said. “[Moss] has allowed me to pressure at will.”
Denver ranks 10th in blitz rate (31.2%) and second in pressure (34.9%), thanks to the reliability of the secondary. And it has in turn boosted Denver’s emerging pass-rush stars.
Edge rusher Nik Bonitto, the Broncos’ second-round pick in 2022 and a Pro Bowler this season, got first pressure on 15.5% of his pass rushes in 2023, third-best in the league. But he didn’t always turn those pressures into sacks, finishing with eight. This season, Bonitto has found the target, finishing with 13.5 to become the first Bronco with double-digit sacks since Von Miller (14.5) in 2018.
“As a pass rusher, you have to understand how to get home, how to finish,” Joseph said. “I thought last year, Nik had a chance to finish plays and he didn’t do that. He kind of missed because his target was off. This year he is finishing plays.”
Beyond Bonitto, Cooper added 10.5 sacks, marking the first time since 2018 that the Broncos had two players with at least 10 sacks.
Defensive tackle Zach Allen also had his best season as a pro. The additions of Franklin-Myers and Roach have allowed him to escape double-teams, and Allen ranked 10th in the league in pass rush win rate against single blockers this season (23%), behind only the Chiefs’ Chris Jones and the Jets’ Quinnen Williams at defensive tackle. Allen finished with career-highs in quarterback hits (40), tackles (61) and sacks (8.5).
“It’s impressive,” Payton said of Allen. “They play a different position, but I had [defensive end] Cam Jordan for all those years in New Orleans, and he was the same way. Some guys have that staying power and that stamina and strength.”
WHILE THESE BRONCOS are a surprising playoff upstart, both Talib and former Denver cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said last month they could see the similarities between the defense they played in and the current Broncos unit.
It’s difficult for players from that 2015 team to put anyone in their tier until they win a Super Bowl, but Harris and Talib said they saw the same pursuit of turnovers in the 2024 Broncos that they had when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
The 2015 Broncos had 52 sacks, 14 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries in the regular season before adding 14 sacks, three interceptions and four fumble recoveries in the playoffs. The 2024 Broncos? Along with the league-leading 63 sacks, they had 15 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.
“It shouldn’t be surprising. We had Wade, and VJ worked for Wade, and I think he talks to Wade all the time,” Harris said. “Now it’s just about doing it in those next [level] of games. That’s what separates. But they have potential, they’ve got the pieces.”
The Broncos’ defense has done plenty of heavy lifting after the team was given a 12.6% chance to reach the playoffs before the season, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. Denver started rookie quarterback Bo Nix and was hindered by a historic dead-money charge of $53 million against the salary cap, thanks to the March release of quarterback Russell Wilson. It seemed more likely the franchise would be rebuilding than contending. But the defense proved to be a difference-maker.
Now that unit will get an up-close look at one of the MVP favorites, Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen has 40 touchdowns this season — 28 passing, 12 rushing — and his six interceptions are a career-low. He’s joined by running back James Cook, who rushed for 1,009 yards and scored 18 touchdowns from scrimmage, tied for second in the NFL.
Stopping Allen, Cook and the rest of a Buffalo offense that averaged 30.9 points per game is tall order for the Broncos. But it is one the franchise has waited for years to have.
“Biggest games, biggest times, make those plays,” Talib said. “Maybe people didn’t see them coming this year, but here they are. … You have defense like we had, you get those rings.”
