The Denver Broncos are making NFL history, and it’s happening on both sides of the line of scrimmage. 

The Broncos lead the NFL right now with 36 sacks. That part of their record-setting equation isn’t exactly news, as Denver has held that lead for the last few weeks. 

What is new is that the Broncos are also leading the league in sacks allowed with just eight. And according to a Pro Football Talk story written by Michael David Smith, that combination isn’t a just a league leader—it’s never been done in the NFL for the first eight games of any season. 

The numbers within the numbers are even more impressive. According to Smith, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has been sacked on just 2.7 percent of his pass attempts, while the Broncos’ pass rusher have gotten home of 12.2 percent of their opponents’ pass attempts. The league average for the latter stat is 6.8 percent. 

It’s a remarkable tribute to head coach Sean Payton and the rest of his staff, especially defensive coordinator Vance Johnson. The Broncos have had to overcome significant injuries on both sides of the ball, with both left guards, Ben Powers and Matt Peart, going out for extended periods due to injuries. 

Defensively, their primary free-agent signing, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, has seen the field for only one game this year due to an offseason quad injury and his recent one-game suspension against the Dallas Cowboys. 

They managed to hold the fort against Dallas despite losing cornerback Pat Surtain II to a pectoral injury, and Surtain just happens to be the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. 

The Surtain injury has Denver scrambling a bit, and it’s important to remember that the Broncos are coming out of the soft part of their schedule. No one is going to mistake the New York Jets, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys for anything resembling a murderers row, and now the tests start in earnest. 

The first challenge will be a road game against the Houston Texans, who currently have the best-rated defense in the league, sack numbers aside. Their quarterback, C.J. Stroud, can light up a secondary when he’s on his game, and he threw for 319 yards against the San Francisco 49ers last week. 

The Broncos get a break after that with a home game against the flailing Las Vegas Raiders, but then the Kansas City Chiefs come to town for the first of two division showdowns. Denver does have a couple of important games against non-division contenders from both conferences, but it’s those divisional games that will mostly determine if their historic run will continue.