Vance Joseph on Broncos' Recent Defensive Lapses: 'It's on Me'

The Denver Broncos defensive coordinator has fallen on the sword.

Aug 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph on the sidelines in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Everyone buying in and being accountable will make all the difference in the Denver Broncos making the playoffs. A Broncos defense that has been sent reeling since Week 13 now draws a high-powered Cincinnati Bengals offense featuring MVP-caliber quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is taking ownership of his defense's recent struggles to stop teams.

"I would say this: As we push forward and try to play perfect defense, if it's not perfect, it's on me," Joseph said on Wednesday via Denver Sports' Andrew Mason. "We have to fix things. And as a young group, you know, we have to adjust quickly. And it's going to be plays in games where they have good plays called versus your coverage. But we have to learn how to minimize, and that's playing defense."

Rather than the Broncos patting themselves on the back for having a winning season, the very real prospect of breaking a nearly decade-long playoff drought has seen head coach Sean Payton shift expectations. Of course, Payton's bold strategy to ask even more of his young team backfired in a damaging Thursday night loss last week.

Finding redemption will take hard work and copious self-scouting from all concerned. The Broncos need to get back to basics. Furthermore, Joseph is well aware that the long and challenging NFL season also gives your opponents an abundance of game tape to pick out the flaws to exploit.

"We're in Week 13, 12, 13. 14, right? Every soft spot, every wart on your defense is on tape," Joseph said via Mason. "So, it's tough to play defense in the last month. So, we have to adjust quickly."

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Underneath coverages have indeed proved to be the Broncos' Achilles heel that opposing teams have targeted in recent weeks. Linebackers Justin Strnad and Cody Barton have struggled to keep up.

Last time out, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert hit 10 different receivers, so the urgency to sort the problems out on Joseph's part has become rather critical. If the Broncos should fall back into nasty habits, it would spell trouble for the defense. After all, Burrow has been playing up to NFL MVP levels all year.

Ironically, the Kansas City Chiefs provided a chink of light for the Broncos because they will head into the season finale with nothing to gain, having secured the AFC's No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Consequently, Kansas City is expected to rest several key starters.

That's a hypothetical right now, and it's not the issue facing the Broncos this week. It's the Bengals. Nobody within the Broncos' inner circle can afford to take their foot off the gas pedal, least of all their locker room leader, Bo Nix.

"We experienced a loss last week. None of us are very excited about it, so we're excited to get back on the field," Nix said on Christmas Eve. "It's kind of that competitive mindset to where you knock us down, but we immediately want to get back up and go another round. That's what we're looking at." 

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