The Denver Broncos defense has been setting records for most of the season, and today’s division showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs will have them hunting for yet another sack record.
The gold standard in Denver is the old Orange Crush defense, which set the standard back in 1977. That team led the league in yards allowed, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, and the defense also had 50 sacks in 14 games while posting a 12-2 record.
This year’s version of the OC is actually better when it comes to sacks. They’re just four sacks shy of getting 50 sacks in 11 games, which seems remarkable given how much emphasis teams are putting on protecting the quarterback.
Only three other teams have reached this standard, according to Florio. The 1967 Oakland Raiders had 61, the 1989 Minnesota Vikings had 53, and the 1987 Chicago Bears had 51. No other team has had 50 sacks in the first 11 games of a season.
The current pace of this year’s defense has the Broncos on track for 78, which would be six more than the single-season record for sacks, which was set by the Bears back in 1984. The Broncos current total of 46 sacks leads the next two teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, by 14, although both of those teams have played just nine games each.
Number aside, that kind of sack rate will be important in today’s game against the Chiefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been sacked just 17 times this season, which translates to less than two a game.
The Broncos will need to get Mahomes on the ground today, and they have the speed rushers who can get the job done. Sacking Mahomes isn’t just a matter of generating pressure, though. The Kansas City quarterback comes with a unique level of escapability, and keeping him in the pocket and forcing a bad throw is often just as important as finishing with a sack.
The importance of the Broncos pass rush just got ratcheted up a notch with the news that J.K. Dobbins will miss today’s game, and likely the rest of the season with a foot injury. That means Denver probably won’t have much of a running game, and the Broncos need to make this a defensive battle. The best way to do that is to limit Mahomes, and getting four or more sacks would be a great way to do just that.