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Denver Broncos: 6 Biggest surprises so far in 2019

By Sayre Bedinger

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 3: A.J. Johnson #45 of the Denver Broncos carries the U.S. flag onto the field next to a service member in recognition of Veteran's Day during player introductions before a game against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High on November 3, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 3: A.J. Johnson #45 of the Denver Broncos carries the U.S. flag onto the field next to a service member in recognition of Veteran's Day during player introductions before a game against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High on November 3, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 27: Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos warms up before the start of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 27: Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos warms up before the start of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

Surprise 6: The curious source of sacks

Prior to the start of the 2019 season, if you had told me that Derek Wolfe would be leading the Broncos in sacks through nine games, I would have thought you were insane.

The Broncos had Von Miller and Bradley Chubb fully healthy at the time.

Yet here we are at the bye week, and Wolfe is one sack away from his career-high of six (2012) and 0.5 sacks away from his most since 2016 (5.5).

Meanwhile, Von Miller is tied with DeMarcus Walker — yes, the second-round pick everyone has loved to hate over the past two years — for second on the team with four sacks.

Bradley Chubb is out, and a bonus seventh surprise is the fact that Vic Fangio’s defense really started to take shape after Chubb’s injury. I am not trying to say the Broncos’ defense is better without Chubb, but they have managed to play at an incredibly high level without him.

They’ve also played at a high level without a ton of sacks in general. The Broncos’ 19 sacks ranks 24th in the NFL through nine weeks, and while the pressure has been solid most of the season, the sack production just hasn’t been there for whatever reason.

Next. 7 things to look forward to after the bye week. dark

The fact that Derek Wolfe and DeMarcus Walker have combined for nine sacks while Von Miller and all of the other edge rushers have combined for seven is pretty wild.

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