The Denver Broncos are sitting atop the National Football League standings with an 8-2 record, but it isn’t because of the offense.

The Broncos defense has been great, leading the league in sacks (46) by a wide margin. Despite losing star cornerback Pat Surtain II to a pectoral injury against the Houston Texans, the rest of the defense has stepped up in his absence.

Denver has only allowed one touchdown the last two weeks, and it came on the ground in their 10-7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football. This unit has been on the field a lot because of the offense’s struggles to get anything going in the first three quarters of games.

That will need to improve if the Broncos want to make a deep push in the playoffs. But, as long as the defense keeps Denver’s offense in the game, they’ve displayed the grit and courage to steal games from teams in the fourth quarter.

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is starting to pick up steam as a head coach candidate in the offseason. Joseph has head coaching experience with the Broncos from 2017 to 2018, and though the 11-21 record got him fired from this position, head coaches usually adapt from their first experience and do better the second time around.

The New York Giants recently fired head coach Brian Daboll and Joseph’s name is circulating as a potential hire for New York.

“The league is very impressed with what Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph -- who has head coach experience -- is doing in Denver,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote Wednesday. “He's likely to get interviews along with the Packers' Jeff Hafley and the Chargers' Jesse Minter, who's of the same coaching lineage as leading Coach of the Year candidate Mike Macdonald in Seattle. Any or all could end up on the Giants' list of interview candidates, and it's not out of the question they'd take a look at their own two-time former defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who has had Super Bowl success in that role in Kansas City.”

At a time when offense in this league is at a premium, having a great defensive play-caller as head coach could be a great weapon.

Of course, Joseph is focused on his current job, making sure the Broncos defense is ready for anything. He will look to stifle the Kansas City Chiefs offense that is coming off a bye week. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is 22-4 lifetime coming off the bye.