The Denver Broncos have gone 2-2 across their first four games of the 2025 NFL Season, but they do have a major flaw on defense to fix. A troubling, consistent trend has plagued the Denver Broncos' defense through the first month of the season, and it's going to turn into a major concern if he cannot be remedied.
Denver has split their first four games for the second year in a row. Sean Payton, as you surely know by now, has ton about half of his career games as a head coach in September, so the Broncos are under or overperforming. They have been fine through the first month, but if Denver hopes to vault into contention at some point in the 2025 season, they have to begin playing more consistently on both sides of the ball.
Not only has the offense looked shaky at times, but even the defense has looked a bit rough. The defense did get back on track a bit in Week 4, but the Cincinnati Bengals' offense might truly be one of the three worst in the NFL, so I would take that defensive performance lightly for the time being, as this troubling defensive statistic proves that the unit could have a problem on its hands.
The Denver Broncos defense has allowed a score on every one of their opening drives so far
In every single opening defensive drive thus far, the Denver Broncos have allowed a score. Now, yes, it's been a field goal each time, but the defense has essentially gifted their opposition a three-point head start in every game this year, and this does include their wins againt the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals, two of the worst teams in the NFL.
Just think - had the defense been able to get off the field against the Colts and Chargers in that first drive, the Broncos are likely undefeated and atop the AFC West. Sure, it's not primarily the defense's fault that the Broncos lost two games in a row, but it's a consistent trend that has contributed to the team losing.
If defensive coordinator Vance Joseph cannot find a way to fix this issue, the Broncos will continue to fall behind early in games and get themselves into 'comeback mode' immediately. Perhaps against a below-average offense in Week 5, the Broncos can enjoy more defensive success, especially at the beginning of games.