The Broncos Defense Saves the Day Again

We take a look at the Denver Broncos defensive performance as they helped lead the team to a victory over the Carolina Panthers.

I traveled 2,000 miles to take my sister to her first NFL game on Thursday, and the night did not disappoint.

The crowd was electric, CJ took his game to another level, and Trevor Siemian looked pretty good except for the few times he looked staggeringly terrible. But the reason the defending Super Bowl champions are 1-0 is because the wild pack of hyenas that Wade Phillips calls a defense completely took over the game. Here are the Panthers 2^nd half possessions:

5 plays, 19 yards – Punt

3 plays, 0 yards – Punt

3 plays, -7 yards – Punt

2 plays, 6 yards – Interception

10 plays, 57 yards – Field goal

12 plays, 28 yards – Ganooooooooooo!!!

Chris Harris Jr. provided the spark the Broncos needed with “one of the great plays that you will see” according to Chris Collinsworth:

5’10” Chris Harris Jr. beating 6’3” Kelvin Benjamin to the high point of this throw is the play that decided the Super Bowl rematch, and it is a fitting symbol of why the Broncos have won both contests.

Wade Phillips’ defense plays with as much passion and energy as any in recent memory, partially because they have the depth to be able to go all out on every play.

Stars like Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Harris Jr., and Aqib Talib all had their moments in the sun on key plays – all the while Todd Davis emerged as the leading tackler while throwing in a couple QB hits to boot.

It doesn’t matter if you watch this defense in person or on TV, they look the same: the best in the league.

Shaq Barrett played a pro bowl caliber game, as he terrorized the Panthers offensive line on crucial plays all night.

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Even though the loss of Malik Jackson in the middle was clearly felt in the pass rush, it’s not crazy to think that the pressure from the edge may be better than last year with improvement from Von, Shaq, Shane Ray, and preseason superstar Dekoda Watson.

The Panthers held the pass rush at bay in the first half by continuously chipping rushers off the edge with tight ends and running backs, but the defense adjusted by calling more stunts in the second half, generating a ton of pressure up the middle. Once the Panthers adjusted to this tactic, Von and Ware started beating 1 on 1s on the outside to close the game out.

The Broncos just come at you in waves. You may stop some of the initial assaults, but eventually they will find a hole in your scheme, and that’s when the athletes on this defense become unleashed.

Meanwhile, Darian Stewart continues to be wildly underrated. I think he’s their best safety and I love Boss Ward – he’s the spiritual leader of the defense. Not only did Stewart blanket the deep middle of the field all game long, but he absolutely laid the wood on Mike Tolbert, human bowling ball.

But the only Stewart hit anyone is talking about is the vicious helmet to helmet shot on Cam Newton which exposed the hypocrisy at the heart of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

We witnessed the same situation at the end of Super Bowl 49 when Kam Chancellor leveled Julian Edelman with a straight shot to the head, yet he stayed in the game. The “protocol” is more like a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.

That was as intense of a regular season match as you will see, and both sides refused to yield a millimeter down the stretch, let alone an inch.

The Broncos intensity was more easily visible since it came into contact with Cam Newton’s once in a generation physicality. They weren’t dirty hits; the Broncos were quite literally doing everything within their power to keep the Panthers at bay in a game decided by one point.

Of course the NFL and its fans would want marquee players in marquee games to stay on the field during the most crucial moments, but properly diagnosing a head injury is a nuanced effort that cannot be confined to the final seconds of a football game.

The reality is that this physicality creates situations where our allegiance to our humanity is pitted against our allegiance to the sport. I got amped up and screamed from the upper deck when I saw the hit live, but became a bit squeamish after seeing the replay on my phone.

As much as we would like to, there is no way to legislate this kind of violence out of the sport. Regulated chaos is a big part of what draws us to football and other contact sports like hockey.

Hits like Darian Stewart’s on Cam Newton are going to happen unless we make a radical change to the way the game is played, and I don’t think many football fans would be in favor of that.

The NFL could avoid a lot of PR headaches if they simply acknowledged that treating potential concussions with proper care and staying true to the broadcast demanded by the fans, owners, advertisers, and TV networks is a difficult balancing act.

No matter what some pundits have said in the wake of this epic home opener, Broncos Country should feel no shame taking pride in this defense. These guys are a bunch of team first players who take physicality as a prerequisite for joining the herd. Intimidation is a serious weapon – even in a macho league like the NFL.

Bradley Roby let Kelvin Benjamin slip out of a tackle on a big third down which lead to three points for the Panthers, but other than that, the Broncos didn’t let Carolina do much outside of Cam Newton’s Elway-esque brilliance. Even though it’s only one game, it sure looks like the 2016 Denver Broncos are picking up right where the Super Bowl 50 champions left off.