Zach Allen on Broncos' Pass Rush: 'It's a Race to the Quarterback'

Zach Allen and his defensive teammates are having a ball in Vance Joseph's defense.

Oct 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) flips over after being sacked by Denver Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers (98) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Under Vance Joseph's ultra-aggressive leadership this season, the Denver Broncos defense has become defined as a frenzied, all-out attack. Six-sacks against the New Orleans Saints further attest that Joseph's caveman approach to applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks is undoubtedly working.

Of course, playing with a nice lead always helps, but nobody characterizes the Broncos' current defensive identity better than defensive lineman Zach Allen. This season, Allen has lived up to the huge free-agent price tag it took to acquire him from the Arizona Cardinals last year, the 27-year-old has already registered four sacks, and has also provided a constant disruptive force in opposing backfields for Joseph.

"The group is awesome," Allen said via Aric DiLalla of the team website. "The cool thing too is it's not like, 'Oh, I'm in it for me. I'm in it for me.' We genuinely want to see everyone get it. We've got a really special group, and really, it's a race to the quarterback."

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While togetherness and having fun within Joseph's player-friendly scheme has been successful to date, it's the race to get to the quarterback first that's keeping the Broncos hungry for even more.

"You've got to make sure you're winning, and you're winning fast, or else a guy like [Nik] Bonitto or somebody like that's going to beat you there," Allen said.

There was a momentary fear that the absence of star Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II might have led to a more passive defensive approach against the Saints last Thursday night. Getting after Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler ended up taking precedence, and while Joseph mixed in more zone coverages, Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian came up with a strip sack on a well-timed blitz that was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Cody Barton.

Surtain should return to the lineup this weekend against the badly listing Carolina Panthers, which should allow normal service to resume. Surtain's return will be well received by Joseph, but he's bound to be eyeing the far tougher challenges the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs will present in short order.

The group's youthful exuberance is allowing Joseph to do more attacking, and the recent return of rush linebacker Baron Browning only helps flesh out the Broncos' pass-rushing rotation. As far as Allen is concerned, it's all about the Broncos maintaining the lofty standards they've already set for themselves and pushing it even further to the next level.

"The standard's high," Allen said. "And we've just got to keep on pressing."

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