For the better part of half a decade, the identity of the Denver Broncos has been built on one side of the football. The defense has been the backbone, the safety net, the unit that kept the franchise competitive even when the offense struggled to hold up its end of the bargain.
The numbers confirm it. Over the past five seasons, Denver’s defense has surrendered just 178 touchdowns, the fewest in the NFL.
That is not a single-season anomaly. That is sustained, league-leading excellence.
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But on a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, hosts Josh Dover and Cecil Lammey posed a question that would have seemed premature even two years ago: Is the offense ready to carry its share of the weight?
Dover framed the debate in straightforward terms.
“Are we looking at more of a balanced football team that the offense is — I don’t wanna say as good, but getting to be on the same level as the defense?” he asked.
It’s a question born directly from the growth the Broncos have experienced on offense under the guidance of Sean Payton and the continued development of quarterback Bo Nix. What was once a unit that needed to be sheltered by a dominant defense now appears capable of standing on its own — and perhaps even flipping the dynamic entirely.
Dover, however, wasn’t ready to abandon the alternative possibility.
“Or is again the defense dragging the offense around, and helping them win games?” he asked.
Lammey saw it differently. In his view, the Broncos may be approaching a tipping point where the offense doesn’t just keep pace with the defense — it actively elevates it.
“I think it could be the opposite of that,” Lammey said. “Where the offense is setting up your defense to go get more sacks!”
The logic is sound. An offense that sustains drives, controls the clock, and builds leads forces opposing teams into predictable passing situations — exactly the circumstances where Denver’s defense has thrived. Rather than one side compensating for the other, both units could feed off each other in a way this franchise hasn’t experienced in years.
Lammey also pointed to the change at play caller as a catalyst for the shift.
“I think the Broncos offense this year with Davis Webb calling the plays, is going to be more balanced,” he said.
Balance has been the missing ingredient for the better part of five seasons. The defense has done its job and then some. If the offense is truly ready to meet it at the same level, the rest of the AFC should take notice.
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