The Denver Broncos pulled off a tight win on the road against the New York Jets 10-9 and as you would imagine with a final score like that, the defense was lights out. And frankly, that may not be giving them enough credit.
Through the first four games this season, the Denver Broncos' defense has been absolutely outstanding. Vance Joseph has that unit playing exceptionally well, especially when it comes to getting pressure on the quarterback. Aaron Rodgers was looking like his old MVP self last week against the Patriots, and even with extra time to prepare for Denver, he could barely drop back without being pressured, hit, or sacked.
Denver Broncos pass rush dominated Jets in Week 4 win
Take a look at some of the numbers posted by the Denver defense against the Jets in Week 4:
- 5 sacks
- 14 QB hits (!!!)
- 8 tackles for loss
- 4-of-17 3rd down conversion rate
- 0 TD allowed
- 0/2 red zone
The Broncos had eight different players with at least one QB hit in the game against the Jets, and Zach Allen led the way with three of his own. Five different players had at least two QB hits.
The eight tackles for loss by the Broncos in this game were crucial, especially the ones they got on Jets running backs. For the first time since he came into the NFL, Breece Hall was bottled up by the Broncos to the tune of just four rushing yards on 10 carries, including a long of just three yards. Considering it feels like Hall has at least one carry of 70-plus yards each time the Jets play the Broncos, it was a nice change of pace.
The Broncos' ability to bottle up the Jets' running game in a game with the rainy conditions we saw on Sunday was critical. The pass rush was able to find success all throughout the game thanks to putting the Jets in clear passing situations and forcing Aaron Rodgers to use his legs and hit the ground way more than he would have obviously wanted.
The Broncos are the first team to hold an Aaron Rodgers-led team without a touchdown since Week 1 of 2021.
— Aric DiLalla (@AricDiLalla) September 29, 2024
Rodgers' opponent that day? Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints.
This was also the first time in Rodgers' career that he was held without a touchdown pass in a loss, which is another wild statistic among many notable numbers for Denver's defense so far this season.
It's a little funny to look back on the comments about how bad Denver's roster was overall this offseason. Certainly, the offense has a ways to go, but the defense has been arguably the best in the entire NFL so far this season. And Vance Joseph should be emerging rather quickly as a head coaching candidate once again.