Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has been on an absolute tear to start the season, and his dominant outing against the Philadelphia Eagles lands him his first-ever AFC Defensive Player of the Week award.
Not only did Bonitto rack up 1.5 sacks against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, but just six days later, he got to Jalen Hurts 2.5 times to bring his 2025 sack total to seven, which leads the NFL.
He has a two-sack cushion lead over everybody else right now, which earns him the honor of being the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week. Not only did he win that, but Bonitto should also be the frontrunner five weeks into the NFL season for Defensive Player of the Year.
In Sunday’s win against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was dominant and NFL’s Next Gen Stats put his performance into deeper perspective.
Per Next Gen Stats, “Nik Bonitto’s 31.4% pressure rate is +5.8% higher than that of any other edge rusher (min. 80 pass rushes) in any season since at least 2018. Bonitto’s 17.4% rate of forcing quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds) is 4 percentage points higher than any player in that same group.
In Denver’s win on Sunday, the Broncos generated 10 of their 14 pressures and 5 of their 6 sacks when sending four or fewer pass rushers against the Eagles offense. Zach Allen had a team-high five pressures, while Bonitto added four pressures and 2.5 sacks. Bonitto now leads the NFL in total pressures (31), quick pressures (15), and sacks (7) this season.”
After receiving a massive contract extension before the regular season began, Bonitto has shown that he’s worth every single penny.