Going into a Week 13 game against the Cleveland Browns at the start of December, the Denver Broncos‘ defense ranked third in total yards allowed (296.0) and second in points allowed (16.8) per game in 2024.
Four games later, the Broncos’ defense now ranks 15th in yards allowed (330.8) and fifth in points allowed (19.4) per game. The drop off was initially attributed to the Riley Moss absence, but he also struggled in his first game back from a knee injury last week.
Moss and Co. will look to bounce back when Denver hosts the Kansas City Chiefs to wrap up the regular season in Week 18. Vance Joseph’s unit ranks sixth in takeaways (25) this season and first in sacks (58). With a six-sack lead on the Baltimore Ravens (52), the Broncos will likely end up leading the league in sacks this season.
Denver has already broken the franchise record for most sacks in a single season, beating the previous record of 57 sacks set in 1984. More recently, the Broncos totaled 52 sacks in 2015 (and in 2012 and 1991).
It’s an impressive accomplishment for Denver’s current group of defenders to collectively total more sacks than the team’s historic defenses of years past that included Von Miller, Simon Fletcher, DeMarcus Ware, Karl Mecklenburg and Elvis Dumervil.
The Broncos’ leader in sacks this season has been pass rusher Nik Bonitto, who was named a Pro Bowl starter with 11.5 sacks. Not far behind is fellow edge defender Jonathon Cooper (9.5), followed by Zach Allen (8.5), John Franklin-Myers (6.0), Jonah Ellis (5.0) and Dondrea Tillman (5.0).
This week, Denver’s defense will face Chiefs backup quarterback Carson Wentz, who has been sacked an average of 2.57 times per start in his career. The Broncos’ franchise record could extend beyond 60 sacks after Sunday.
