Broncos OT Duo Ranks Top-5 in Critical Stat

The Denver Broncos have the components upfront for a championship-caliber offense.

Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles (72) and right tackle Mike McGlinchey (69) / Derek Regensburger / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

One of the core tenets of Sean Payton is that a football team is built from the offensive line out. It's a philosophy gleaned from one of Payton's mentors — Bill Parcells. The veracity of Payton's belief is made manifest in the Denver Broncos' offensive line.

Not only have the Broncos paid or extended four of their starting five, but that level of investment has come out in the wash. Alas, it hasn't been overly apparent in the Broncos' rushing attack, but there are a lot of reasons for that, most of which have little to do with the O-line.

This starting five does a great job setting the tone. Do the Broncos out-physical every opponent? No, because the other side gets paid, too, but more often than not, it's the Dancing Bears upfront that come out ahead in the tone-setting, physicality department.

Beyond the precedent being set at the point of attack, Denver's pass protection has been elite. A lot of credit goes to rookie quarterback Bo Nix, whose pocket presence belies his relative inexperience.

To quote Payton, Nix is "a tough sack." That makes life easier on the Broncos' O-line, especially the tackles. But with only two games left to go, we've got enough sample size to sink our teeth into relative to the O-line play, and the results are in: Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey are among the NFL vanguard in pass blocking.

Bolles and McGlinchey rank first (4.5%) and fifth (6.2%), respectively, in QB pressure percentage allowed. Wrap your brain around that. How many offensive tackles blocking for a rookie throughout an entire season in NFL history have been top-5 in lowest QB pressure percentage?

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I don't have those historic numbers, but I can't imagine too many tackle duos can throw their hat in that ring. It's a credit to Payton from a philosophical and schematic perspective. And it's emblematic of a highly efficient, symbiotic relationship between quarterback and offensive line.

With two games left to go, all the Broncos need is one win to punch their ticket to the playoffs. What Denver needs now is for Payton to wise up a little and parlay this blocking proficiency into a committed rushing attack.

With Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, and Quinn Meinerz rounding out the interior, the Broncos have the horses upfront to impose their will on opponents. All that's left is for Payton to stick to his guns in the run game and for the Broncos' running back stable to rise up and answer the bell.

After all, teams that can't run the ball typically don't make the playoffs. And if they do, they certainly don't last. Even Peyton Manning's record-setting 2013 Broncos offense could run the ball, although much of it was often out of the shotgun.

Knowshon Moreno delivered his one and only 1,000-yard rushing season that year, as well as double-digit touchdowns. Were the 2013 Broncos the best rushing offense?

No, but those Broncos stayed committed to it, and it was enough to help Manning do his thing with that prolific passing offense, which went on to score the most points in NFL history (606 points) — a record that still stands today.

It's a nice little history lesson. And the 2013 team's offensive line could barely hold a candle to the 2024 Broncos, even though some dogs were on that unit, especially left guard Zane Beadles, right guard Louis Vasquez, and right tackle Orlando Franklin.

Elite left tackle Ryan Clady was hurt that year, so he doesn't factor in. Across the board, the 2024 Broncos are built to last upfront, and it's time Payton started factoring that into the weekly game plan.

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