Three numbers that tell the story of Broncos-Cardinals

Certainly, Justin Simmons benefitted a bit from the Broncos facing teams in quarterback tumult this month.

After posing just one interception through November, the seventh-year safety has four interceptions this month. Three of them came off backup QBs — one from Tyler Huntley and two Sunday from Colt McCoy and Trace McSorley. Another came via Baltimore RB James Proche’s ill-advised pass in the fourth quarter on Nov. 4.

But however you get them, they count. And in this age of football, his takeaway rate is exceptionally rare.

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4

Career seasons of at least 4 interceptions by Justin Simmons, all in the last four seasons. His two picks Sunday took his 2022 tally to 5, matching the career-high he set in both 2020 and 2021.

Since 2010, no safety has more 4-interception seasons than Simmons. His quartet of 4-pick campaigns matches the tallies of Kevin Byard, Jordan Poyer, Harrison Smith and Reggie Nelson.

His trio of 5-interception seasons gives him more than all but two defensive backs since 2010: Smith and CB Marcis Peters. Both have four years with at least 5 interceptions.

As interception rates have declined, seasons like that of Simmons have become less common. From 1960 through 2009, the Broncos had 44 individual 5-interception seasons — an average of nearly one per year. They had nine separate 5-pick seasons in an 11-season span from 1999-2009, a stretch that spanned from Tory James to Andre Goodman. Terrell Buckley, Nick Ferguson, Dre’ Bly, Deltha O’Neal and Champ Bailey also hit the mark, with O’Neal and Bailey each posing a pair of seasons with at least 5 interceptions.

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28

The streak of games for the Broncos in which they did not have back-to-back 3-touchdown performances that ended this month.

With 4 touchdowns against Kansas City and 3 against Arizona, the Broncos logged consecutive 3-TD outputs for the first time since they had 3 touchdowns in the 2020 regular-season finale and again in the first game of the 2021 season.

That was the second-longest streak in franchise history and the longest in three decades. From Oct. 14, 1990 through Oct. 12, 1992, the Broncos failed to score more than 3 touchdowns in consecutive games, a streak that included two playoff games.

Further underscoring the Broncos’ chronic offensive woes is that the third-longest streak also happened in recent years. From Dec. 9, 2018 through Oct. 25, 2020, the Broncos didn’t have back-to-back 3-touchdown outputs. That streak lasted 26 games.

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7

Number of different offensive-line combinations used by the Broncos in the last two games. The Broncos used four combinations in Sunday’s contest alone, necessitated by Quinn Meinerz suffering an eye injury five plays into the game, a short-term flare-up that sidelined Dalton Risner for three snaps and a back issue that felled Tom Compton in the third quarter.

If Meinerz does not return for the Christmas Day game at Los Angeles, the Broncos are also poised to have a 10th different starting offensive-line combination.

And one more 7 …

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7

Touchdowns scored in the last two weeks by the Broncos. Denver has as many touchdowns in the past two games as it amassed in the previous 6. Further, the Broncos’ season-long touchdown rate has improved from 1.17 per game after Week 13 to 1.5 today.

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