Defense Continues To Win Games For Denver

The Denver Broncos had to win with defense against the Los Angeles Chargers, and for a while it didn’t look like they were up to the task. But they finally rose up in the fourth quarter and got some key turnovers, and Nick Kosmider of The Athletic took a deep dive into how they did it. 

Start with the third quarter fumble by quarterback Bo Nix. It put the Broncos defense behind the eight ball, and they got further behind when running back Kimani Vidal was able to find a crease on a stretch run and break free for a 42-yard touchdown. 

Ironically, that was when the defense started figuring things out. They shut down the Chargers on LA’s final five drives, with the results including a fumble, an interception and a turnover on downs. 

It was then that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph started making crucial adjustments. The Broncos had both starting cornerbacks out, so they knew they had to get more from up front. 

That means Zach Allen, who’s been playing fantastic football for Denver so far this season. He’s already an All-Pro, but Joseph has asked him to do more, and Allen is doing exaclty that. 

Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey goes up against Allen in practice every day, and he said Allen is “very disruptive.” In this game, it was Allen who created enough chaos for linebacker Nik Bonitto to break through and have a pair of sacks. He figured out the Chargers’ offensive line configuratoins on the fly in the second half, and that’s when things begane to fall apart for LA.  

The other player who stepped up was linebacker Que Robinson, who recovered Herbert’s fumble to help turn the game around. The Broncos have been waiting for Robinson to step up, as they need him and edge rusher Jonah Elliss to produce with linebacker Jonathon Cooper still dealing with his court case and defensive lineman John Frankllin-Myers having departed for Tennessee. 

The Broncos defense is still working through some issues related to that, but they’re way ahead of the offense so far. The offense needs to be spoon fed and handed the ball, and the defense was able to do just that. 

The win improved Denver’s record in one-score games to 14-2 dating back to the beginning of last season, per Kosmider, and they’ll likely have to do it again versus the Seattle Seahawks. The Broncos can’t win games the easy way these days, and they can’t afford to slip back to .500.