The Denver Broncos have had a historic start to the 2025 season on the defensive side of the football. Their 30 sacks are by far the most in the league, they have two edge rushers in Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper who have won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award in back-to-back weeks, and they still have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Pat Surtain II shutting down an entire half of the gridiron.
This defense has allowed the second-fewest points per game in the league so far. Every single time that unit steps onto the field, something great happens. And yet, they’re still missing an aspect of the defense that could turn them from being the best in the league this year to one of the best in the league all-time.
No, it’s not Dre Greenlaw. His Broncos debut should be coming in the near future, but he’s not quite what this team is missing. They’ve had fine linebacker play in the first six weeks of the season, and his presence on the field could help the Broncos defense generate what they’re missing most.
BRONCOS HAVEN’T BEEN FORCING TAKEAWAYS
Turnovers.
The Broncos have forced just four turnovers to start the season, three fumbles and an interception, a number that puts them in the same neighborhood as the injury-riddled Ravens and the winless Jets. Overall, the team’s turnover margin is -3. These numbers are strictly counting takeaways, and don’t include turnovers on downs.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph isn’t too concerned that his defense hasn’t been forcing a lot of turnovers.
“I think it speaks to how teams play us… The ball’s not being exposed a lot, especially in those one-score games, because we can turn games quickly on defense. So, that’s part of it also. I truly think, if we continue to search the ball and keep playing at our level, that will turn also,” Joseph said after Broncos practice Thursday.
The Broncos seemingly forced an important turnover in Sunday’s win against the Jets in London, but a review deemed that Garrett Wilson didn’t have possession of the ball, so Surtain had just broken up a pass instead of forcing a fumble.
This defense has had opportunities. One would think that they would have forced more fumbles with the pass rush by now, and they’ve had opportunities to, but the opposing quarterbacks have been strong with the ball in the pocket. Talanoa Hufanga had an interception fall through his hands against the Eagles after he made a great play to bat the ball up in the air. This unit has created numerous opportunities to force turnovers with their ferocious style of play, and is trending in the right direction towards forcing more of them.
If there’s a week to turn the page on the turnover battle, this week is the one to do so. The Giants offense has turned the ball over eight times this season, a number that’s tied for the eighth-highest mark in the league. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is still learning the ebbs and flows of NFL football, and has shown that he can be a little careless with the ball, highlighted by a two interception, one fumble performance against the Saints at the start of the month.
The turnover aspect is arguably the last missing piece for this defense to be one of those units that people around the league talk about 30 years from now. They have the right coordinator in Joseph, they have the star power and the depth across the board, and all they need to do is go out and attack the football.