The Denver Broncos have had a roller-coaster season so far. Starting with a 1-5 win-loss record, and now with a 7-7 win-loss record, with the hopes of making the playoffs. One of the key reasons for this positive turnaround is the defense.
The Denver defense is still at the bottom of the league in points allowed. To be specific, they are the 3rd-worst with 351, just behind the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders, respectively. But there is one defensive category where the Broncos are in the top 3, which has helped the team to turn the season around. This category is....
Defensive Turnovers
As we all know, and as I mentioned before, the Denver Broncos started their season with a 1-5 win-loss record. In those six initial games, Denver had 6 defensive turnovers, as detailed below.
- Week 1 vs LV: 1 interception
- Week 2 vs WAS: 0 turnovers
- Week 3 at MIA: 0 turnovers
- Week 4 at CHI: 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery (scoop and score TD)
- Week 5 vs NYJ: 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery (on special teams)
- Week 6 at KC: 1 interception
Vance Joseph, and the defensive guys, bounced back and since that Week 6 loss on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road, the Broncos have had 18 defensive turnovers, as detailed below.
- Week 7 vs GB: 1 interception
- Week 8 vs KC: 2 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries (1 in special teams)
- Week 9: BYE
- Week 10 at BUF: 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries
- Week 11 vs MIN: 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries
- Week 12 vs CLE: 3 fumble recoveries, 1 safety
- Week 13 at HOU: 0 turnovers
- Week 14 at LAC: 1 interception
- Week 15 at DET: 0 turnovers
Teams with the most takeaways this season:#49ers - 25#Jaguars - 25#Bills - 24#Broncos - 24#Chiefs - 24
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) December 21, 2023
Teams with the fewest:#Patriots - 14#Titans - 12#Rams - 12#Panthers - 11
With 24 total defensive turnovers on the season (18 in the last 8 games), the Denver Broncos are the second-best team in that category, just behind the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars (25). Denver is tied in second place with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, who also have 24.
Denver has three games remaining in the regular season, those three opponents have 64 combined offensive turnovers (New England Patriots - 16 interceptions & 6 lost fumbles, Los Angeles Chargers - 8 interceptions & 11 lost fumbles, Las Vegas Raiders - 18 interceptions & 5 lost fumbles). This means that the Broncos can take advantage of it and have a strong regular season finish.
Can the Broncos finish the 2023-24 regular season leading the league in defensive turnovers?