Zach Allen has become one of the NFL’s most efficient pass rushers

Zach Allen is quietly becoming a monster.

His first campaign as a Bronco was solid enough, but so far this season — and particularly last Sunday — he’s made the leap to become one of the NFL’s best interior pass rushers. Even without John Franklin-Myers on the defensive line to help draw attention, Allen was dominant in the 13-6 loss to Pittsburgh.

The performance of Zach Allen was the strongest for a defense that settled down after a rocky start and neutralized Pittsburgh’s aerial attack. He ended the day with four total hits on Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, including a sack, giving him back-to-back games with a sack.

A closer look at some of the raw numbers reveal the magnitude of Allen’s surging start.

Among 95 interior defensive linemen with at least 20 pass-rush snaps as compiled by Pro Football Focus, Zach Allen has the following rankings:

• Pressure rate: 1 of 95 (one pressure every 5.08 pass-rush snaps)
• Pass-rush win rate: 2 of 95 (23.1 percent)
• Hit rate (including sacks): 9 of 95 (one hit or sack even 16.5 pass-rush snaps)

With work like this, the Broncos defense should grade out well up front.

PASSING DEFENSE: B-PLUS

Penalties were a problem and kept the grade from being higher. Denver held Pittsburgh down despite giving the Steelers five first downs on penalties — four of which came from the secondary for a total of 84 yards via a Pat Surtain II holding call, defensive pass-interference infractions against Surtain and Riley Moss and an unnecessary-roughness call against P.J. Locke.

As noted with Allen, the pass rush was largely on point and disruptive.

RUSHING DEFENSE: B-MINUS

This continues to be a concern spot, although the Broncos did well to prevent any explosive Steelers runs. Zach Allen got penetration throughout the day against the run. The Broncos tackled better, cutting their missed tackle down by more than 50 percent from Week 1. But the Broncos need to improve at the yardage they yield after contact; that total was 105 yards, per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus.

PASSING OFFENSE: C-MINUS

Understandably, there has been plenty of dissemination regarding Bo Nix and the opportunities that weren’t taken, as well as the unnecessary back-foot throws — one of which was intercepted. His downfield completion percentage remains low, as he missed on some makeable throws — including one to an open Nate Adkins in space.

But three passes were dropped, including two by Greg Dulcich. Among 33 quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts so far this season, Nix is coping with the seventh-highest drop rate in the NFL: one every 10.2 catchable passes.

Hope for Nix and the passing game rests in its function when running the two-minute offense; the Broncos minimized pre-snap substitutions during that final drive, leading to crisper function and higher effectiveness. Nix showed solid pre-snap command in the no-huddle and his scrambles helped keep Pittsburgh’s coverage honest and on its heels.

The Broncos would be wise to consider going to a hurry-up attack as a change-up at less obvious junctures of games to rouse the offense should it fall into slumber again in the coming weeks.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-MINUS

There were flashes — namely Tyler Badie’s 16-yard, tackle-busting burst — but it remained a game in which the Broncos struggled, with a minus-0.255 rushing EPA that ranked 28th of 32 teams this week.

Operating without Mike McGlinchey for the next few weeks due to the seven-year veteran’s MCL sprain could pose a problem; the Broncos got a one-game glimpse at life without McGlinchey in Week 18 at Las Vegas last year and it was ominous, as Jarrett Stidham faced pressure from the right flank throughout that defeat to the Raiders.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-MINUS

It was another game that saw excellent work from the punt team to play the field-position game effectively, helping keep the Broncos in the contest. Two penalties on punt returns sullied that aspect of the day’s work.

And while the decision to kick deep in the final two minutes wasn’t an execution issue, it was a curious choice given that the Broncos had multiple options — not only the chance to attempt an on-side kickoff, but the possibility of a low-trajectory kickoff that could cause fielding problems. Further, Corliss Waitman’s struggles at keeping the ball out of the end zone when punting from near midfield meant that a three-and-out following the on-side kickoff had a decent chance of resulting in a touchback and the last-gasp drive starting at the Denver 20-yard line.