This Key Stat Also Helps Explain Denver’s Struggles

The Denver Broncos have plenty of bad offensive numbers to contemplate these days, but there are others that matter. One that’s made a big difference so far is a defensive stat unearthed by Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, and it’s a telling number indeed. 

Simply put, the Broncos are having trouble getting off the field -- a lot of trouble, in fact. The defense was a huge strength last year, and one of its best attributes was the ability to get offenses off the field, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case this year. 

Last year, the Broncos forced a three-and-out 37.7 percent of the time, which is the fourth best in the NFL. This year, the unit is third-worst in the league at 20.5 percent, ahead of only the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions. They were dead last going into Week 4, and now they have some key injuries to deal with.

One is the loss of cornerback Pat Surtain II, who’s usually deployed as a defensive weapon. That won’t be happening this weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers, and Surtain also reduces the load on several of his teammates. 

Now they’ll have to step up to get the Chargers offense off the field. That hasn’t been all that hard to do so far, but it might not be easy this week given how much the offense has been putting the load on the defense. Fellow cornerback Riley Moss may also miss this one, although the reports on him are more optimistic. 

That means Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine may be stepping into what Nick Kosmider of The Athletic called “spotlight roles.”

But the Broncos can still get it done with out their two starting corners. They did it last year when Surtain went down with a pectoral injury, and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph did it by dialing back on the blitzes. Joseph also decreased the number of man coverages Denver went with, which left the new players less vulnerable. 

The numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. Per Kosmider, the Broncos use a lot of matchup up schemes that combine man and zone concepts, so sometimes separating the two isn’t easy. 

Joseph talked this week about using multiple players to “pull Surtain’s weight," and the pass rushers have to step up, too. They’ve been mostly missing in action so far, and the linebacking corps hasn’t looked nearly as fierce with Jonathon Cooper out as he continues to deal with his ongoing legal situation.