Freshmen, unsung heroes who define the Broncos' dominant defense

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Four weeks into the 2024 NFL season, the strength of the Denver Broncos defense has already been tested. And it has clearly answered the questions posed to it this offseason.

“We have guys … that do things the right way,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “It allows me to help them understand the game plans. It's a smart group. She's young in some areas, (but) she has enough veterans to push us forward, and I was proud to watch them play and have fun every week.”

The Broncos began this season with a revamped defensive line, two new safeties, a new inside linebacker and a fairly significant opening at the busy cornerback spot opposite Pat Surtain II. Life in the NFL allows for some changes every season, but There has been a huge amount of change in Denver's defense this year.

Additionally, linebacker Alex Singleton – the Broncos' leading tackler the last two seasons and the team's three-game leader in 2024 – suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 and will miss the remainder of the season.

And yet the 2-2 Broncos are among the top four in the league in sacks per pass play (first), total sacks (second), red zone defense (second), total defense (tied for second) and point defense (third). . , defensive efficiency (third), pass defense (fourth) and third down defense (fourth). The only major statistical category in which they are not in the top four is run defense (tied for 12th), but they have allowed 287 yards in the first two games (both losses) and 155 in the last two (both wins). yards.

“(Former defensive coordinator and longtime Broncos coach) Wade (Phillips) taught me this years ago – it's not the scheme, it's the players first,” Joseph said. “We signed a number of (defensive) linemen who were edgy, quick and active. So you kind of adapt the scheme to the abilities of these guys. It's always about the players first and then the scheme. … It's all about calling and having plays.” Game plans to stop doing what they do best.

And no player may mean more to the Broncos' defensive all-in than linebacker Justin Strnad, who was added to the lineup for Sunday's 10-9 win over the New York Jets because of Singleton's injury. Strnad, a fifth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2020 draft, had not played a single snap on defense since Oct. 31, 2021, before Sunday's game began.

All Strnad did was sack Aaron Rodgers on the first play from scrimmage of the game, one of five times the Broncos sacked Rodgers. Strnad finished with four tackles and two tackles for a loss.

“As I was coming through the gap, Aaron didn’t see me coming,” Strnad said. “I was like, 'I'm about to fire Aaron Rodgers.' … We practiced it during the week and (linebacker) Cody (Barton) came into the huddle with the call and I said, “Okay, let's roll” … I started the game with a blitz, I love it.

“But honestly… once it’s been three years, you start to think you might not get another chance.”

Strnad will get plenty of opportunities in Singleton's absence.

Up front, the results of the offseason change were almost what the Broncos had hoped for. The arrival of defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers in a trade (with the Jets) as well as defensive tackle Malcolm Roach in free agency has freed Zach Allen from the double-teams he often faced last season. In return, Allen has had a tackle for a loss in every game this season. Both Allen and Roach rank among the league's top 11 defenders in pass-rush win percentage against single blockers (No. 5 and 11, respectively), a testament to Franklin-Myers' influence in deflecting blocking assists.

The Broncos have nine players with at least one sack and trail only the Minnesota Vikings (17) in the NFL with 16 total sacks. Denver's five sacks against Rodgers on Sunday marked the first time since Week 15 of the 2020 season that Rodgers was sacked five or more times in a game.

“Aaron is hard to fire, and it seems to be harder every year,” said Franklin-Myers, who played with Rodgers on the Jets in 2023. “…And they came into the game without giving up many sacks (five). first three games combined) so it shows what we can achieve if we do it right and deliver something every time.”

And then there's cornerback Riley Moss, a third-round draft pick in 2023 who earned the right to be one of the league's hardest-working defensive backs at corner opposite the rarely challenged Surtain. Moss has already been tested extensively this season. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, his 27 targets as the closest defender are the fifth most among all NFL defenders. And while he's seen some flags thrown his way that the Broncos haven't always agreed with — three pass interference calls, including two on Sunday — he's welcomed the challenge.

In four games, Moss has 29 tackles (21 solo), two passes broken up and recovered a fumble. Joseph said before the season that the Broncos' “other” cornerback would have to have the “strength” for the job. Surtain, for example, believes that Moss is all about that steadfastness.

“Sometimes a call doesn’t go the way you want it to, you can get frustrated and it can get to you,” Surtain said. “But (Moss) doesn’t do that, he just moves on to the next play and that’s a big deal for him. Sometimes players get frustrated in moments like that, they feel a certain way and… it has an impact. “He just takes it one game at a time… he's one of those guys who came in with the right attitude and the right composure. “

After Sunday's win, Broncos defenders almost unanimously ended every sentence about the good they've done with some version of “still a long way to go” or “still a lot of work to do.” But they're a far cry from where they were last season, when they gave up 28 or more points in four of their first five games, including 70 in an infamous Week 3 loss to the Dolphins.

“(We’re) resilient,” starting safety PJ Locke said after Sunday’s rain-soaked win. “Last year we didn’t do that, we started 1-5. And we had all kinds of distractions this week when we went to Greenbrier and it was raining, and then we came here with lousy conditions. … We just… “did things and played.”