During the 38-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto recorded his eighth and ninth sacks of the season. Bengals' edge rusher Trey Hendrickson leads the NFL in sacks with 11.5, and Bonitto, alongside Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, is in second place with nine total sacks.
Denver will travel to Las Vegas to play against the Raiders in Week 12, and not only will the Broncos have the opportunity to sweep them for the first time since 2014, but Bonitto will have the chance to end a tough drought for Denver defenders.
No Broncos defender has had double-digit sacks since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in 2018
Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller had 14.5 sacks, and Bradley Chubb had 12 in 2018. That was the last time a Broncos defender had at least 10 sacks. It has been six seasons since a Denver player has reached that accomplishment in a full season, and the former second-round pick Bonitto is one sack away from reaching that mark.
Bonitto tied and surpassed his career-high eight sacks in Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons, taking down the quarterback two times. Bonitto is having the best season of his young career so far throughout 11 weeks and is on the verge of joining a select group of Broncos defenders who have recorded 10 or more sacks in a single season. He needs one more and will have the opportunity to do it against Denver's AFC West division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders.
It is important to remember that Bonitto was not in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season. Baron Browning, who was dealt to the Arizona Cardinals before the trade deadline, was the starter alongside Jonathon Cooper, which makes Bonitto's season even more impressive.
Sacks were elusive for the Denver Broncos during the 2023-24 season, as they finished with 42 (2.47 per game on average). In 2024-25, with an upgraded defensive front, they have 39 in 11 games. As I previously mentioned, Nik Bonitto is the closest to double-digit sacks, but let's not forget about the rest of the defensive unit.
Jonathon Cooper has 6.5. Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers have 5 sacks each, while Justin Strnad and Jonah Elliss have 3. Dondrea Tillman has 2, Malcolm Roach has 1.5, and then each of Ja'Quan McMillian, Cody Barton, PJ Locke, and Devon Key have one. As the season winds down, the Broncos not only aim to get a double-digit sack player for the first time since 2018 but also aim to surpass their record of most players with double-digit sacks in a single season (2).