Broncos are winning despite a sputtering offense and leading the league in penalties

DENVER (AP) — There are really only two things pretty about the Denver Broncos this year: their defense and their record.

They’re on pace for an NFL-record 76 sacks and are so deep on defense that they’ve withstood the absences of Pat Surtain II and Dre Greenlaw for long stretches and they sit atop the AFC at 9-2 heading into their Week 12 bye.

Their offense sputters on a weekly basis and they lost their best offensive producer in running back J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending foot injury. Their special teams feature All-Pro returner Marvin Mims Jr. and kicker Wil Lutz, but Darren Rizzi’s units are a weekly adventure and cost them a win at Indianapolis in September.

They lead the league in punts (57) and penalties (93).

Quarterback Bo Nix has scuffled aplenty in Year 2, yet he’s led five fourth-quarter comebacks this season and eight of them in his career, which is the most by any player in his first two years in league history.

The Broncos’ 22-19 thriller over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend marked their seventh comeback of the season, their seventh win in a one-score game, their eighth consecutive victory overall and their NFL-best 11th straight triumph at home.

“Just being able to find ways to win, each and every way. Whether it’s a blowout, a close game, come from behind, it doesn’t matter,” outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said. “We got a resilient team, so just finding ways to win, it’s really special for us.”

Usually, it’s the quarterback who’s the great wart remover on championship contenders, but the Broncos have used their dominant defensive formula before when Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and the “No Fly Zone” defense carried Peyton Manning across the finish line in Super Bowl 50 a decade ago.

Can they recapture a similar success?

That will be determined over a stretch run that includes trips to Washington, Las Vegas and Kansas City on Christmas Night and home games against the Packers, Jaguars and Chargers — who are the last team to beat the Broncos this season (23-20 in Week 3) and the last team to beat them in Denver (23-16 on Oct. 13, 2025).

Their path may be rocky and their wins ugly, but 9-2 is nothing to scoff at.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” tight end Evan Engram said. “It’s super hard to win in this league. Just the way that we’re finishing games, the way that we’re fighting, the adversity that we’re facing and the adversity that we overcome in games. It’s just an incredible feeling coming in here after games, whether it’s here, on the road, just our celebration is the way we just kind of just enjoy the moment. It’s a special team.”

The Broncos have a couple of signature wins that stand out.

They rallied to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions 21-17 by outscoring the Eagles 18-0 in the fourth quarter in Philadelphia, and they topped that comeback in a 33-32 win over the Giants in Denver by snapping a streak in which NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final six minutes of a game.

“We prepare tons for those situations and we’re just waiting for it, on all phases,” right guard Quinn Meinerz said. “Until the clock hits zero, the game’s not over with and we believe in everyone that we are in the huddle with and it’s really cool to be in those huddles and in these moments where everyone is just locked in and ready to go and it doesn’t matter.”

The Broncos are counting on the returns of Surtain, the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and leading tackler Alex Singleton returning after the bye to bolster an already stout defense. Surtain has missed three games with a strained pectoral and Singleton underwent surgery to remove a testicular tumor earlier this month and missed the Kansas City game.

“I mean, we just have grit,” safety Talanoa Hufanga said. “We just know how to handle adversity. I think that’s one thing that is a testament to this team, regardless of the situations we are in. I think we are just built for whatever. Whatever comes our way.”

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