The Broncos found their identity during their two-game road trip

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This Denver Broncos team already knows what it is.

That’s more than could be said of other editions of the club in the post-Super Bowl 50 era. Climbing aboard a QB carousel for what seemed like a ride without end meant a constant quest to figure out what this team’s bread-and-butter aspects actually were. And in the meantime, the club stagnated and wandered around a cul-de-sac of irrelevance, always moving but ultimately headed nowhere.

It’s a team with a developing quarterback who still struggles with consistency. And while rookie Bo Nix continues to grow, it’s a team that will rely upon other elements.

Sean Payton spoke of those in months long before the Broncos’ 10-9 win over the New York Jets on Sunday when he said — multiple times — that the two things that could help a rookie quarterback most are a running game and a strong defense. The former often wasn’t there in the first three weeks of the season, but it finally awakened Sunday. The latter has been there for all but 15 minutes of the season to date and kept the Broncos in Sunday’s game long enough for Nix to lead one touchdown drive that proved to be all the Broncos needed.

And even that drive was about the team’s identity as well. Because the offense showed resilience after spending the first half drowning in an ocean of three-and-outs.

“The making of a good team, you gotta find a way to win the close games, the ugly games,” defensive lineman Malcolm Roach said. “And, we stuck with our formula, what we preached all week, how we were gonna win the game, and we stuck with it and ended up coming to fruition.”

And Sunday was indeed ugly, from the first-half punting exhibition to the rain that fell throughout — and seemed to follow the Broncos north from West Virginia, where their three days of practice saw them constantly dodging raindrops before finally being chased inside on Friday.

“Resilient. Grit. Just willing to play any conditions,” safety P.J. Locke said. “Super focused. Don’t matter what the distractions are. And just coming out on top.

It’s a formula that can work, although it likely will require more white-knuckle rides like the one Denver took Sunday, in which most of the game was spent wondering whether the offense would cross midfield of its own volition while the defense holds an opposing offense in check.

Sunday’s performance was probably the finest for the defense this season, as it rarely allowed Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers to get comfortable.

The moments in which he looked like the old Aaron Rodgers were rare. More often, he looked like an old Aaron Rodgers, rattled to the point where he sprayed makeable passes all over MetLife Stadium.

And Rodgers’ failings were the result of another part of the defensive identity: pressure.

The Broncos are developing an identity, and safety P.J. Locke explains what it is:

"Man. Resilient. Grit. Just willing to play any conditions. Super focused. Don't matter what the distractions are. And just coming out on top. That's us." pic.twitter.com/pkNgQOhiES

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 29, 2024

THE BRONCOS PRESSURE GAME BEGAN ON THE FIRST PLAY

And it commenced with perhaps the most unlikely candidate: inside linebacker Justin Strnad, making his first start since Week 7 of the 2021 season at Cleveland.

For two-and-a-half seasons, Strnad focused on special teams while waiting patiently for another opportunity. With Alex Singleton’s season-ending torn ACL, that chance finally arrived Sunday and he delivered.

Almost perfectly bracketing that first-play blitz was a fourth-and-10 rush from P.J. Locke that blindsided Rodgers.

It was a perfect call from defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for the situation, as it created enough confusion in Jets protection to set the veteran safety free.

“We got a call where I had the blitz,” Locke said, “and we were showing pressure, and I seen a back kind of show in the A-gap, and I knew we had an A-gap blitz.”

Edge rusher Nik Bonitto also pressured from the same side as Locke. Jets left tackle Tyron Smith took Bonitto while running back Breece Hall got set to pick up the rush from the middle.

By the time Hall saw Locke streaking off the left edge, it was too late. He had missile lock on Rodgers and it was game over.

“I just kind of used what we’ve been working on as a team, and it was dipping under the tackle and going,” Locke said. “

“I had a clean shot. So, it was a clean shot. A great call by V.J..”

This has been Joseph’s plan all along. As defensive end Zach Allen said in June:

“We play now an attack style. Simple. Only a few calls. And that’s all you can ask for — especially as a guy up front. My successful years in Arizona with ‘VJ,’ that’s kind of how we played, and that’s the way I think that football is meant to be played.”

It’s working for the Broncos. After withstanding a few more tense moments, they stood victorious after an exchange of missed field goals.

And with that, “Club Dub” — which transforms the locker room into a smoke-filled, bass-throttling party in the moments after a win — was open for business.

“We keep going out there and playing ball and keep coming back in the locker room and hearing the music. That’s the goal at the end of the week,” Roach said.

It’s a goal that the Broncos know how to reach. Because unlike other recent years, this team has a firm grasp on what it is and how to accentuate its strengths while masking its deficiencies.

In a rugged AFC, this gives the Broncos a viable chance to navigate the terrain by playing a brand of football that makes up in grit what it will lack in glamour.

Some might call it boring. But the only boring football is losing football. There’s been enough of that around these parts in recent years.

How often in recent years have we discussed the Broncos and said they had no identity?

That's changing. The 2024 Broncos have found it, built on pressure defense, patience on the ground and resilience, all of which led to a 10-9 win Sunday.

My take from MetLife Stadium: pic.twitter.com/vzWEPHNtpY

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 29, 2024