Mile High Sports
The Denver Broncos are in the playoff hunt currently, as the No. 5 seed in the AFC.
At 5-3 on the season, the Broncos are winners of three straight games. And there’s lots of praise to go around. Sean Payton’s coaching, Vance Joseph’s coaching of the defense, Bo Nix’s play; all of them deserve props.
But the reason they’re sniffing a playoff berth is the tremendous play in the trenches.
Halfway through the 2024 season the Broncos are a playoff team. Yes, things are about to get tough in a hurry, Denver faces Baltimore and Kansas City on the road, then they host the Atlanta Falcons. Those three teams would also make the playoffs if the season ended today.
But no one can argue the Broncos haven’t outperformed expectations. Their over/under for season win total was 5.5 games; one win in their final nine games will give them the over.
And people were right to question the team.
An offense led by a rookie quarterback is a unit likely to struggle. Plus, the Broncos don’t have enough playmakers around Nix, which is why they should trade for a receiver.
Defensively, the team lost star leaders in Justin Simmons and Josey Jewell. And yet, the group is top-10 in many categories, including 3rd in points allowed per game (15.0).
Plus, the special teams unit is improved, specifically in punt coverage.
But where many may not realize the Broncos are dominant is in the trenches. Both on the offensive and defensive line.
Ben B. Baldwin, AKA Computer Cowboy, shared rankings and graphs relating to the offensive line as well as run and pass rush win rates. And the Broncos are among the best in pass blocking, pass rush, and run stopping.
Pass block grades of offensive linemen in true pass sets pic.twitter.com/guRwooyILh
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Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) October
29, 2024
As you can see here, the Broncos are third-best in pass blocking when combining multiple grades.
All trench measures from PFF and ESPN
The Colts’ offensive line is a unit pic.twitter.com/1wLZDe6t5L
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Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) October
29, 2024
The top left graph here shows the Broncos as third-best in PFF grade and No. 1 in ESPN PBWR. Similarly, the top right displays Denver as the most-dominant pass rushing team in the league. The Broncos are almost among the top-10 in run stopping, and it’s tough to see but they are middle of the pack in terms of run blocking.
Winning in the trenches is old-school football.
The simplest way to win a game is by pushing the other team around, protecting your QB, or forcing the opponent’s QB to scramble rather than complete passes downfield.
And it’s the biggest reason why the Denver Broncos are in the playoff hunt.
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