The Denver Broncos have deployed one of the truly elite defenses in football this season, and the results have shown on the field. Denver leads the league in sacks, and is pushing to either tie or break the single-season sack record set by the 1985 Bears. Denver currently sits 14 sacks off of the mark, which is still obtainable for the current group of pass rushers the Broncos deploy.
On top of sacking and getting into the backfield, the Broncos have excelled in limiting yardage against them. They allow the big play at times, but what team that plays man as much as they do doesn't, but the Broncos have limited total yards against them for the most part. Even with their incredible ability to limit yardage against them, something was missing from the Broncos defense.
Entering play on Sunday, the Broncos were struggling to take the football away from other teams. For a team with 58 sacks on the year, Denver had forced a total of zero strip sacks. As for their secondary, the Broncos' pass defenders only had seven interceptions on the season entering play. This changed in a big way on Sunday, and could be the final piece to the puzzle that makes the Broncos legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
The Broncos defense is finally beginning to take the ball away from opposing quarterbacks
The Broncos faced off with MVP candidate Jordan Love on Sunday, and they made him look anything but a top quarterback. Love completed 60% of his passes, only threw for 276 yards on 40 attempts, and scored just one touchdown. Most importantly, the Broncos took the ball away from Love twice, with Riley Moss and Pat Surtain bringing the football back.
Statistically, this was Love's worst performance of the season. It was his lowest passer rating, his most interceptions in a game, and the first time this season that he threw more interceptions than touchdowns in a game he scored. Love had just four picks on the year entering play, and the Broncos raised that mark by 50%.
If the Broncos defense can continue taking the ball away from opposing quarterbacks, it might actually be over for the rest of the AFC. Denver's squeaky wheel all season has been allowing solid scoring drives and losing the field advantage game, mostly because of their inability to create turnovers. Now, as the Broncos have three interceptions over their last three games, Denver finally appears to be forcing turnovers at a high rate, and it could be what propels the Broncos to being Super Bowl favorites.