Broncos pass rush dominating across the board through seven games

The Denver Broncos have been a defensive force this season. They’ve held their opponents to 17 points or fewer in four of the seven games they’ve played and have been anchored by one of the most dominant pass rush units in recent memory — giving fans memories of the stout defense in 2015 that led the franchise to its third Super Bowl.

The pass rush, led by Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, who won the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week honor in back-to-back weeks as a result of their stellar play, has dominated in every single game. Through seven games, that unit is at the top of almost every statistical category.

Key pass rush stats: pic.twitter.com/KEcvqN0NWO

— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) October 22, 2025

The Broncos’ pressure to sack rate is over 6% higher than the next best team, the Indianapolis Colts. Their overall pressure rate is just 0.1% behind the first place Rams, and a 12.8% sack rate is first in the league by nearly 4%.

It’s not just because defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is dialing up the blitz time and time again, as the Broncos have the highest non-blitz pressure rate in the league as well, nearly 42%.

All the spotlight gets put on Bonitto and Cooper because they’re the two guys who come screaming off the edge on most passing snaps and wreak havoc in the backfield, with eight and six sacks on the season, respectively. However, they wouldn’t be making the same impact without the guys lining up next to them. They have the right combination of talent inside to keep them from getting double teamed, and have solid depth on the edge to keep their legs fresh when the game gets into the fourth quarter.

Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers have three sacks apiece, but their impact week in and week out doesn’t show on the stat sheet. Those two are constantly making a dent in the pocket, preventing opposing quarterbacks from stepping up, opening the door for Bonitto and Cooper around the edge. Justin Strnad has also been great in the pass rush, as his 3.5 sacks are the third most on the team.

There are seven Broncos players with at least sacks at this point in the season. No other team comes close to having as much production evenly spread across the board from their pass rush unit.

This group has won a handful of contests single-handedly for Denver this year, most notably the games against the Titans and the Jets when they weren’t able to be blocked on the final drive with the Broncos up a score. However, Sunday’s game against the Giants was one of the less-impactful games that the group had, even though they finished with four sacks. There were a handful of plays where Jaxson Dart was able to extend plays with his legs and find open receivers down the field after the coverage broke down.

Here’s the bottom line. This pass rush has the potential to lead any team to a championship. There is too much talent across the board the line of scrimmage for most opposing teams to handle, and the Broncos have shown just how hard it is to have all their guys blocked on any given down. If the offense can clean things up, and if the team as a whole can crack down on the penalties, they have a formula for making it to the promised land.

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