The Denver Broncos fell to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season, but there was quite a bit to like on defense. It was a loss that was probably going to happen eight times out of 10, so it's not like this was some historically bad performance by the offense or defense today.
There were a few things to like from the Week 1 loss; Denver actually won the time of possession battle, converted their lone fourth down attempt, were stellar on special teams today, and perhaps most notably, got constant pressure on Geno Smith. The team only sacked Smith twice, and both went to Jonathon Cooper, but if you watched the game, that defensive line was fierce.
It was a treat to watch, as the defense truly shut down the Seattle Seahawks in the first half. Seattle opened up the run game more which made things difficult, and the offense not being able to sustain a drive was also putting more strain on defense, but the DL looked great today and should be looked at as something that could brew into something stellar the rest of the way.
Cooper, Baron Browning, and Zach Allen especially stood out in my opinion, and they were somehow able to come away with two safeties in the first half, which was a historic sight. Denver held Seattle to just nine points in the first half, and it looked quite promising for a while there.
What ended up being this team's undoing on Sunday was the offense and the typical rookie QB struggles. Bo Nix having a mostly-down game is not the end of the world, but there did end up being some positives to take from this game for Nix.
The offense is going to get better as time passes, and Nix is going to settle into the offense more.
But the defensive pressure in Week 1 was something that the Denver Broncos obviously addressed this offseason. They brought in DE John Franklin-Myers and signed a quality DT in Malcolm Roach. You can also tell that they had a feeling that Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning would improve in their 2024 seasons.
To cap off their moves along the defensive front, they also took a rookie pass rusher in Jonah Elliss. Seeing those defensive additions pay off immediately tells me that the unit is going to get even better as we progress through the 2024 NFL Season. It wasn't all bad in Week 1, folks.