The Denver Broncos dropped to 2-2 after a disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. And, once again, the shame issues were present on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Denver simply could not establish the run. They didn't throw the ball down the field, committed silly penalties, and just couldn't find a rhythm.
On defense, we saw an overall lack of pressure, again, and missed tackles, which continue to be an issue. This defense also loves allowing big plays, which is a trade-off with them wanting to rush the passer a lot.
Anyway, while the offense is deservedly getting criticized for how bad it's been, the defense has also struggled this year, and if this can't get corrected, especially as the schedule lightens up, things are going to look bleak.
Denver Broncos defense has struggled through four weeks of the 2026 season
The Broncos are struggling across the board on defense:
-10th-most passing yards allowed (981)
-6th-most 20+ yard passing plays allowed (13)
-2nd-most 40+ yard passing plays allowed (4)
-6th-fewest sacks (8)
-3rd-most rushing yards allowed (571)
-4th-most yards per carry allowed (4.8)
-Most 20+ yard run plays allowed (5)
-Most rushing first downs allowed (37)
-3rd-longest rush allowed (60)
-16th in points allowed per game (23.5)
Below from Pro Football Reference:
-Most missed tackles (38)
-Worst QB Hurry rate (1.3 percent)
-22nd in QB Pressure rate (17.7 percent)
Folks, these are bad numbers from the defense. Your immediate reaction might be that the Broncos have played an incredibly tough schedule so far, and you'd be correct, but can't we still call out the defense for playing poorly?
Not only is this team not getting nearly as much from the pass rush, but they're not an efficient unit on a down-to-down basis. They're allowing far too many yards on the ground, and what that does, in basic terms, is open up the passing game.
The team is clearly suffering from not having Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers, and the linebacking group is also a bottom-tier unit. Overall, the Broncos should feel lucky to be 2-2, as this defense has played some horrendous football for the most part this year, and it doesn't help that the offense has also struggled more than we're used to seeing.
This does come down to a personnel issue, in my opinion, and now with Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss both hurt, this unit could suffer even further. It's clear that Denver was hoping for some internal growth from some of their front seven pieces with Cooper and Franklin-Myers not being in the picture, but relying on depth can only get you so far.
It's still early in this season for this to turn around, but at the same time, the urgency to fix the main issues across the board has never felt higher.
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