Just a week after the Denver Broncos defense surrendered over 473 yards to Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts, they will have their toughest test yet against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday in a high-stakes AFC West divisional matchup.

Denver Broncos defense faces most challenging test yet Sunday vs. Chargers

Vance Joseph’s defense is known for being ultra-aggressive and sending waves of pressure at opposing quarterbacks, and the Broncos believe they have the guys who can cover on the backend. We’ve seen this be true for them, but we’ve also seen the other side when the pressure isn’t able to get home quickly enough versus a quarterback who gets the ball out fast.

Sunday’s loss to the Colts was an example of just that.

“I thought big picture-wise, the plan was to stop the run and put the ball in the quarterback’s hand,” Joseph said. “I thought [Daniel Jones] played a great game. We hit him a lot — he made plays being hit in tight windows. I thought we covered them really tight, but we didn’t finish well enough. That will get better. I thought we battled. It was an NFL game versus a good opponent, so I wasn’t disappointed about those things. I thought we didn’t make enough plays. That obviously comes from practicing better and making more plays in practice, but I thought we, at halftime, made the proper adjustments to come out and play good football.”

Week 2’s game is one the Broncos want to flush down the drain, but it’s important to remember. It’s early in the season, and Sunday’s game against the Colts wasn’t on trend with this unit, but they can’t afford to keep that trend going another week against Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense.

“He’s a special athlete,” Joseph said of Herbert. “He’s playing at a high level right now. He’s probably the MVP right now after two games. He is accurate. He’s obviously a big man, so he can see over the pressure. He’s escaping on major downs, second-and-long and third downs, keeps drives alive. So how we rush this guy is going to be key. How we cover the receiving targets and make him throw the ball is also going to be key. It’s a combination of rush and coverage to contain this quarterback. It’s a run first offense. The balancing act between stopping the run and defending the pass is going to be critical.”

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, through two games, Herbert has completed 44 of 61 passes for 560 yards, ranking 2nd in success rate (59.5%). “When blitzed this season, Herbert has completed 18 of 24 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos blitzed on 71.1% of Daniel Jones’ dropbacks in Week 2 against the Colts, the highest single-game rate of any team since the start of 2024. Jones completed 16 of 25 passes for 265 yards, the 4th-most against the blitz since 2016, and a touchdown against the Broncos’ blitz.”

So there will have to be a balanced approach for how the Broncos’ defense tries to get after him, but they also cannot let him sit back and dissect them. That’s the challenge in today’s game.

The Chargers swept Denver last season, and that was with Herbert not having a ton of weapons around him — this year, he has Ladd McConkey again, the return of Keenan Allen, rookie Tre Harris, tight end Tyler Conklin, and the rise of Quenton Johnston.

“We’ve watched him now for three seasons,” Joseph said. “He’s always had the physical traits, but he is playing with confidence. He’s making plays down the field, and he’s become the gadget player. He’s the jet sweep guy, the reverse guy. He’s made a big play in both games we’ve watched this season. He’s a first-round pick for a reason. The physical traits were always there, but now you’re seeing him mature as a receiver. He’s going to be a challenge.”

On top of that, they have Najee Harris and rookie Omarion Hampton at running back, but the run game hasn’t quite taken off yet for those two, at least in the first two weeks.