Vance Joseph speaks on Bonitto’s character, defensive aggressiveness

Vance Joseph has gone from being a head coach who had a minimal amount of success in Denver to one of the most successful coordinators in the league in his second coaching stint with the Broncos. This season, he’s been the mastermind behind a defensive unit that boasts the best pass rush in the league and has allowed the second-fewest points per game through five contest.

Joseph’s squad had been led by Nik Bonitto, the Broncos’ fourth-year edge rusher who has made his new contract extension look like a steal throughout five games. His seven sacks and 31 pressures both lead the league, and he was just named as the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week as a result of his 2.5-sack effort in Sunday’s win over the Eagles. After receiving the award, Bonitto was very humble and down-to-earth about doing so. Joseph spoke on his star’s unselfishness and how it helps the success of the team.

“He’s been that way since I’ve known him. He hasn’t changed. You can’t tell after a game if he’s gotten two sacks or none. Again guys, what we asked him to do last week was rush together and not rush past the quarterback. That is hard to do as an NFL rusher when you have a 1-on-1 with a guy you can beat. His unselfishness kind of speaks to our entire defensive line, that they rush together and have success. He came out with 2.5 [sacks], but the quarterback had one scramble for three yards. That was the goal. The goal wasn’t to sack him; it was to contain him so they didn’t run around on us. That was done. That just speaks to the guys’ unselfish play,” Joseph said.

He spoke more on the unselfishness of the pass-rush unit as a whole and how each player’s individual sacrifice made Sunday’s comeback possible.

“I thought last week, we asked those guys to kind of rush together and kind of cage the quarterback. As a whole we did that. That takes unselfish guys. We have great pass rushers that play with speed and play with counters. We asked them to rush together, and we did it. It worked out for five sacks. That part is hard to achieve in this league. Guys want to rush the quarterback, but rushing as a team and together is the way to go versus [Eagles QB Jalen] Hurts. We did it, so that was a proud moment for me.”

While there are plenty of dominant pass rushers in the league who rack up the sack totals, there are very few units like Denver’s across the NFL that have four or more guys who can create problems for quarterbacks week in and week out. It’s not just because of their physical ability, but also because of their mental ability and knowledge of the opponent as well.

Another aspect of Joseph’s defense is the aggressiveness of it. The Broncos utilize Cover 1 on 34% of snaps, which is tied for the third-highest mark in the league. This leaves defensive backs on a one-on-one island, and allows the front seven to ramp up the pressure, as the Broncos have one of the highest pressure rates in the league and by far the highest sack rate.

Team coverage rates through Week 5

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— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) October 8, 2025

Joseph’s aggressiveness is calculated. He’s not a 13-year-old playing Madden who just blitzes on every single down and hopes the pressure get home. He spoke on how he goes about balancing out his aggressiveness in a game.

“I think when you say we’re a pressure group, I want us to be smart bullies. I don’t want to pressure and expose a corner or expose a linebacker to a pressure. Every pressure we have is calculated and it’s thought through on matchups and can we pressure the quarterback if we don’t? How do the matchups look? I think we do a great job of doing that. Sometimes it doesn’t work out in our favor, but that’s always our purpose,” he said.

This Broncos defense had two rocky games against the Colts and the Chargers at the start of the season. A month in, it seems that Joseph has found his feel, and his defense has found its rhythm. The Jets have not had the most potent offensive in the league thus far, so Sunday’s showdown in London should be a good opportunity for this unit to keep its momentum going.

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