The Denver Broncos defense deserves credit for the win over the rival Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
That’s not a shot at Bo Nix, who played a solid game. But the Broncos ugly win over the Raiders was thanks to a dominant second half by the defensive unit.
Offense wins games, but defense wins ugly games. And sometimes, championships.
Denver Broncos defense was lights-out in the second half vs. Raiders
Anyone who’s watched all season knows the Denver Broncos defense has led the way this year.
Vance Joseph’s group has been phenomenal, and they even dominated against the Raiders despite not having their best lineman in Zach Allen.
In the first half, Las Vegas was decent. They moved the ball well, and led 13-9 at halftime. After forcing two punts to start the game, Denver’s defense gave up a touchdown. But it should be noted the Raiders were on a short field because special teams allowed a 59-yard kick return to Denver’s 40 yard line.
But that second half was special for the Broncos.
Brandon Jones’ interception to start the half was huge and set Denver’s offense up in the red zone. That led to a Bo Nix to Courtland Sutton touchdown to take the lead the Broncos would never relinquish.
They racked up five sacks in that second half, including Nik Bonitto’s strip-sack which gave him 10 on the season, tied for third-most in the NFL. He’s the first Broncos player to record 10-plus sacks in a season since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in 2018. The orange and blue even hurt Gardner Minshew and forced him out of the game.
Denver held Las Vegas to six points, with five sacks and two turnovers in the second half alone. And on the entire game, the Raiders were an abysmal 4-14 on 3rd downs (28.6%).
“Look, Gardner (Minshew) is tough when he gets out of the pocket,” Sean Payton said of his defense on Sunday. “Every time he got out of the pocket, I’m screaming at Vance, every defensive coach. We want to cage rush him. When we can keep him in there…But turnovers came. These really proved to be the difference. I thought we handled the run game. They give you some eye candy motion stuff. We missed a few with coverage assignments.”
Denver D has put together a superb season
It’s not like the Denver Broncos defense has just come on lately.
Rewind to earlier in the season and Denver’s defense kept them in games, too.
In Week 1, the defense recorded two safeties and kept the game close against the Seahawks, even if it resulted in a loss. The same could be said for Week 2, a grind-it-out 13-6 loss to the Steelers. In Week 4, the D sacked Aaron Rodgers five times and held New York to only nine points. And Woody Johnson called for Rodgers to be benched.
Even in the loss to the Chiefs, the Denver Broncos defense held Kansas City to their lowest point total of the year (16). They sacked Patrick Mahomes four times and made him look human.
And Joseph’s unit held the Atlanta Falcons to their worst day offensively. They scored a season-low six points and their 226 total yards was tied for lowest on the year.
When exploring full-season stats, the Broncos are an undeniable top-5 defense.
They are allowing 16.8 points per game, which is third, and are also third in yards allowed. Denver’s also sixth in rushing defense (yards allowed) and they lead the NFL in team sacks with 44.0. And they have four games with at least five sacks, the most for the team since 2012. That means they’re not only stoning the opposing rushing attack, they’re menacing quarterbacks, too.
While the Broncos are middle of the pack in 3rd down percentage (36.3%), they are No. 1 in red zone percentage (39.4%).
What it all boils down to is the Broncos can win ugly games, just like they did on Sunday, thanks to a domineering defense. And when the offense clicks, Denver blows teams out. See: Every game against the NFC South this year.
At 7-5 on the season, Denver is currently in the 7th playoff spot in the AFC and have a 73% chance of making the postseason. That would end an eight-year playoff drought. Their defense can keep them in any game, making the Broncos a difficult matchup for even the elite AFC teams.