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Know Your Foe | Jets-Broncos | Week 6

Denver Riding a Dominant Defense While Trying to Gain More Consistency on Offense

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The New York Jets (0-5) are in London in Week 6 for a clash with the Denver Broncos (3-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Let's take a deeper look at What To Expect from Denver.

Denver's Defense
Denver is riding high after defeating the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles, 21-17, on the road in Week 4. And while the Broncos' offense scored 18 points in the final quarter last Sunday, it was HC Sean Payton's defense, led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year — CB Patrick Suratin II — and the NFL's sack leader DE Nik Binotto, that guided them to the win.

"They kept us off balance," Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said. "Hats off to them. Coach Payton's obviously a really good coach, and a lot of respect for that opponent. That defense is strong."

Denver's calling card on defense this season has been its ability to pair dominant man coverage scheme with a elite pass rush.

Through 5 games, the Orange Crush have played man coverage on 57% of snaps according to PFF, the highest rate in the league, and have 21 sacks, also tops in the NFL.

"I'd be damned if I didn't give credit to the whole D-line today," Bonitto said after last week's victory. "The way we were rushing today, keeping [QB Jalen Hurts] in the pocket, making him uncomfortable. … We'll look to carry this through the rest of the season."

As a unit, Denver's defense is allowing 16.8 points per game, second fewest, 200.2 passing yards per game, eighth fewest, and 88.2 rushing yards per game, fifth fewest.

Denver LB and team captain Alex Singleton said they want to be one of the greatest defenses in league history.

"It's one of those things where we tell ourselves, 'Let's be better than the Broncos 2015 Super Bowl defense.' " Singleton said. "We are chasing all-time defenses like that."

Take a look back at the Jets vs. Broncos games across the last few decades.

Ground & Pound Stampede
The Broncos' fourth-ranked rushing offense (140.6 yards per game) has been the team's driving force on offense this season. RB J.K. Dobbins, an NFL journeyman having played for 3 teams in the last 3 seasons, leads Denver with 402 yards to go with 4 rushing scores, and rookie R.J. Harvey is second on the team with 150 yards and TD.

Dobbin's fifth-most rush yards in the league has helped the Broncos overcome an inconsistent start to the season from second-year QB Bo Nix.

Nix led the Broncos back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit against the Eagles. He completed 9-of-10 pass in the final frame for 127 yards and a touchdown.

"Man, you can feel his leadership when it matters, and then you can feel the confidence with his teammates when it matters," Sean Payton said of Nix. "So, he played exceptional in the second half."

Through the first 3 quarters, however, of Denver's Week 5 win, Nix had thrown for 115 yards. Nix's inconsistency has plagued Denver throughout the season. In their two losses this season, the Broncos took double-digit deficits into the fourth quarter and ended up losing by a total of 4 points across both games.

Nix has put together a strong season overall with 1,103 passing yards, 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Nix's slow starts, however, have put them in holes that his late-game heroics haven't been able to overcome -- he ranks 20th in passer rating among QBs with at least 30 pass attempts in the first half.

Nix has completed passes to 9 WRs/TEs. Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton leads the team with 26 receptions, 365 yards and 3 TDs. In addition, second-year wideout Troy Franklin has begun to emerge as a solid WR2, reeling in 21 passes for 231 yards this season.

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