Broncos on Pace to Obliterate 2023 Sack Total & 40-Year Team Record

The Denver Broncos are on pace for a record number of team sacks this season.

Oct 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) reaches for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) in the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

One issue the Denver Broncos defense had last year was not getting enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks. For the 2023 season, the Broncos finished with 42 sacks.

This season it’s a different story. The Broncos are on pace to surpass their sack total from 2023, with 28 sacks in seven games.

The Broncos are averaging four sacks per game this season before reaching the halfway point, after averaging 2.5 sacks per game for the entire 2023 season. If the Broncos stay at their current place, they would finish with 68 sacks for the season, which would decimate the franchise's single-season record of 57 sacks (1984).

How did they improve? One thing worth noting is that multiple players are doing a better job of pressuring the quarterback.

Let’s start by looking at rush linebackers Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, who led the Broncos last season with 8.5 and eight sacks, respectively. Both are on pace to surpass their 2023 tallies.

Bonitto has five sacks in the last five games while Cooper's had 4.5 sacks. If both can maintain that pace, they would each finish with double-digit sacks.

Cooper had 22 total pressures and 13 quarterback hits last season and is on pace to surpass those numbers. He has 10 QB hits and 12 total pressures through seven games.

Bonitto, meanwhile, had 20 QB hits last season and is already halfway to that tally with 10 this season. He also has 15 total pressures and is on pace to surpass the 24 pressures he had last season.

Meanwhile, Zach Allen has emerged as one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. Last season, he had five sacks, 16 QB hits, and 27 total pressures. This season, he is already at 23 pressures in seven games with 16 QB hits and four sacks. Allen also has a shot at double-digit sacks for the season.

What has arguably helped is that the Broncos have a better secondary this year. Last year, Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons were the best players in the secondary but the Broncos didn’t have a reliable No. 2 cornerback and relied a lot on an aging Kareem Jackson as the second safety.

This season, the Broncos replaced Simmons with Brandon Jones, who has been impressive. P.J. Locke, while not a top safety, has played reasonably well. But the most significant difference has been Riley Moss' emergence as a good No. 2 cornerback. He’s particularly done well considering that opposing QBs have targeted him more often than Surtain.

Having a quality secondary helps the Broncos' pass rush because the quarterback may have to hold the ball longer than he wants or find ways to extend plays, allowing the pass rushers more opportunities to get hits and sacks.

Another factor is that Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is sticking to what he does best. Recall that, early last season, Joseph tried to run a defense similar to Vic Fangio, but it didn’t work, with the most blatant example when the Miami Dolphins put up 70 points against the Broncos in Week 3 last season.

Joseph dispensed with Fangio's system and deployed the scheme he knows how to run, and the players are clearly more comfortable. Joseph has also shown he can adjust as necessary, such as when the Broncos lost Surtain to a concussion against the Los Angeles Chargers and struggled on defense in the first half. But the Broncos made a few adjustments and played better defense in the second half.

The third factor, obviously, is that there is better talent in the lineup. Jonah Elliss is a rookie rush linebacker but he’s shown he can be a good rotational player thus far. John Franklin-Myers is an upgrade on the defensive line, and Bonitto is doing a better job as a pass rusher, even though his run defense still needs work.

The Broncos' improvement in the pass rush is one of several reasons why the defense is one of the best in the NFL this season. They can add to the numbers against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.

After that, the Broncos will face bigger tests because the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Atlanta Falcons have quality offenses. But at the rate things are going, who’s to say the Broncos won’t keep adding to the defensive tallies and stay on pace for nearly 70 sacks in 2024?

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