Broncos' Imposing Defense Dominates Chargers, Keeps Denver AFC Favorites

We know about the Denver Broncos offense...duh, but it's long past time to start appreciating the contributions their defense has been making to the team's dominance this season. 

If last week was all about quarterback Peyton Manning and his breaking of the all-time touchdown record, Week 8's 35-21 win on Thursday Night Football over the San Diego Chargers was a reminder that the Broncos D is playing at an extremely high level as well.  

And against a very potent Chargers offense and quarterback Philip Rivers, who is playing at an MVP level this season, the unit was as stellar as could be.

The Denver defense managed to hold the Chargers to only 21 points (their third-lowest scoring total of the season), which is far more impressive than scoring 35 points against a defense missing numerous members of its defensive backfield. 

To answer Wessling, the answer would be "yes." The Green Bay Packers accomplished that feat in 1996. But it has been 18 years since it has been accomplished. Would still be an incredible feat if the Broncos accomplished that this season.

The Broncos defense managed two sacks, six extra quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions. Linebacker Brandon Marshall led the way with 10 tackles on an effort that held Chargers running back Branden Oliver to only 36 yards, with much of that coming on a garbage-time draw.

Even so, the stats don't begin to tell the tale. 

The story begins early in the week when the Chargers clearly saw that the Broncos defense was a force to be reckoned with. From there, the Chargers decided to dial back their already quick-passing offense to an almost instantaneous aerial attack in order to give the Broncos' feared pass rush of linebacker Von Miller and defensive end DeMarcus Ware no time to reach Rivers. 

Rivers even admitted as much to Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post earlier in the week:

"

You got two of the top pass rushers in the league now on the same team — one that's way up there in sacks as far as on the all-time list, and one that's already there. One that's already way up there [Ware]. They're two impressive guys. They can change a game in a hurry.

"

The Chargers offense is normally built around quick-hitters anyway—shallow crossing routes, tunnel screens, slants and heavy doses of tight end Antonio Gates are supposed to set up deeper routes down the field. It's a managed attack that has done wonders in the post-Norv Turner era. 

Against the Broncos, it seemed as if Rivers' internal QB clock had sped up quite a bit, and he was feeling a lot more pressure than just the box score would seem to indicate. One could blame the Chargers offensive line, but in truth, the Broncos have done this to plenty of opponents in 2014. 

The story of how the Broncos shut down the Chargers and Rivers continued when they didn't allow Oliver any room on either runs (2.8-yard average) or receptions (3.9-yard average) on the night. Early in the game, I tweeted how both offenses were pressuring the other team's defensive backs to click and close against shorter plays, and the Broncos defense easily won that battle. 

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Cornerback Aqib Talib had one of his best games of the year, with a season-high seven tackles and a bunch more plays he was in on that won't show up in the stat sheet. His high level of play helped force Rivers into throwing away from Talib's side of the field and holding on to the ball longer than he was comfortable with.  

The offense may have scored 35 points thanks to fantastic nights by Manning, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (three touchdowns) and running back Ronnie Hillman (109 yards rushing), but the defensive unit was the story of Thursday Night Football.

It's the defense that sets them up nicely against the suddenly explosive New England Patriots offense next week. It's the defense that makes them a much tougher team than last year's team—yes, even tougher than the team that got to the Super Bowl. It's the defense that makes the Broncos favorites (at least at this point) with any team they could possibly match up with in this year's Super Bowl.

This isn't a slight, in any way, against the Broncos offense.

It's just...the offense is a known commodity.  

Manning is going to continue to be Manning—everyone knows that. With a defense ready to hold up its end of the bargain, though, the Broncos have a chance to be truly dominant.

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.