Excitement is building as the Denver Broncos’ first-round pick, Bo Nix (12th overall in the 2024 draft), prepares to start as a rookie this week in Seattle. However, the key to the Broncos’ success in both the opener and the season is their defense. Denver must get stops on third down to support their rookie quarterback. Cornerback Patrick Surtain leads this defense which allowed 24.3 points per game last season, the sixth most in the NFL. The Broncos will have to step up more on defense to be successful in 2024.
The phrase ‘Defense wins championships’ is well-worn because it’s true. Last year the top three scoring defenses in the National Football League were: 1. Chicago Bears, 2. Kansas City Chiefs, 3. San Francisco 49ers.
Pressure Is On For The Broncos
The narrative surrounding the Denver Broncos in 2024 is that Head Coach Sean Payton has found his quarterback and now it is up to Payton and Nix to turn the Broncos around. There is a great deal of pressure on both men. However, Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph is under suffocating pressure.
In 2023 Denver started the season with one win and five losses. In Week 3 versus the Dolphins, the Broncos gave up 70 points and it could not have been worse. The Broncos’ defense ranked near the bottom in four of the five major defensive categories (29th in total defense, 22nd in passing yards allowed, 30th in rushing yards allowed, and 27th in scoring.) Joseph and the defense must use the much-improved play in the second half of the 2023 season as a catalyst to improve this year. If they can flip the script in 2024, the Broncos have a chance to shock the league. If they cannot, this season will be another disappointment.
Making Strides
In an interview with local reporters, outside linebacker Baron Browning said,
“I just like the strides we’ve been making.”
The Broncos’ defense during the 2024 preseason looked like a completely different unit than a year ago. They were ninth in total points allowed, seventh in rushing yards, 11th in passing yards, and eighth in total yards. Granted, it is preseason, and it is not a completely accurate measurement. But Browning is correct that the team appears to be making strides.
Along with the team needing to have good defensive performances consistently, No.1 wide receiver Cortland Sutton will need to increase his production. Sutton had one of the worst yardage seasons of his career in 2023, recording 772 receiving yards. The seventh-year receiver had a thousand-yard season in 2019. Maybe a new quarterback will click with him better and he can return to his 2019 success. If the Broncos can find a way to take the preseason success and carry that over into the regular season – Broncos Country has a reason to be optimistic.
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