Bitter Bengals Loss Exposed Broncos' Desperate Need at Two Positions

This Achilles heel must be remedied by the Denver Broncos in the 2025 offseason.

Denver Broncos inside linebacker Justin Strnad (40) tackles Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) in the third quarter of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Over the past few weeks, the Denver Broncos have struggled defensively, despite being one of the best units in the NFL for most of the season. While the Broncos have done well in generating turnovers, they've had some significant issues when those bounces of the football haven't gone their way.

In their last five weeks, the Broncos have allowed 25.6 points per game, compared to 16.6 points in their first 11 games. So what has been the difference?

Injuries, for one, have hit the Broncos, with cornerback Riley Moss missing three games, though he struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals in his first game back. That injury led to less frequent man coverage from the Broncos, which they executed so well. Denver went from running man coverage over 45% of the time with Moss in the lineup to 30% without him.

Every team deals with injuries, but the difference for the Broncos comes down to two positions that have been exploited. Safety Brandon Jones has been a great signing and has had a significant impact on the Broncos this season, but his partner, P.J. Locke, has been an issue.

The Broncos' safety depth is lacking. Now, Locke hasn’t been terrible, and he has made some great plays for the Broncos this season, but he lacks consistency snap to snap, and he has been at fault for some mistakes by the defense. 

The other, bigger issue is at linebacker. The Broncos have one of the worst linebacker rooms in the NFL, even with a healthy Alex Singleton.

Cody Barton has had a similar season as Locke, where he's made some big splash plays, but his snap-to-snap consistency isn’t there. Barton is at fault for some miscues on defense. Justin Strnad also had a hot start when he stepped in for Singleton, but he has been exploited recently. 

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Entering the season, there were a lot of concerns about the lack of talent at safety and linebacker. The scheme has carried the rest, while Jones has been a gem. These weaknesses create an issue when opponents figure out the scheme and expose the lack of talent. And that's exactly what we've seen recent weeks. 

The Indianapolis Colts started the game attacking these vulnerabilities. Still, Indy's offensive problems kept them from finishing, and the Broncos defense generated takeaways and turnovers to help mask those issues.

The Los Angeles Chargers attacked these weaknesses the following week with tremendous success, leading to the Broncos' sixth loss of the season. Justin Herbert to Ladd McConkey was such an issue because the Chargers could freeze the linebackers and hit the over-route under the safeties. It worked because the linebackers were late to the drops due to the play-action. 

This trend continued with Joe Burrow and the Bengals successfully attacking these two positions. The Bengals didn’t do it the same way as the Chargers, but they did it in their way without a heavy dose of play-action.

While the Broncos' scheme was able to cover up the deficiencies early in the season, teams have figured out how to attack it with success. The Bengals attacking the Broncos' linebackers and safeties will get overlooked because of how Moss was picked on throughout the game.

The Takeaway

It doesn’t matter whether it's through the draft or free agencybut Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton must strive to upgrade these two positions this coming offseason. 

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