Feel free to not be surprised, but the Broncos’ offense is ranked No. 1 in the AFC and No. 2 in the NFL.
The defense? Um, how about that Broncos’ offense?
There’s no sense in sweeping it under the carpet. The Broncos’ defense ranks last in the conference and 30th in the league.
It isn’t just a matter of not being able to stop opposing offenses. Strange as it may seem, the Broncos’ defense may be the only thing that can stop the Broncos’ offense.
How’s that? The longer opposing offenses stay on the field, the more the Broncos’ offensive players stand around. And the more they stand around, the more they lose their edge.
Football is the ultimate game of momentum, and it’s hard to maintain it if you’re standing around watching long drives that eat up big chunks of the clock.
Here’s a stat I gave you several weeks ago: The past two seasons, both of which ended without a playoff appearance, marked the first two times in the Mike Shanahan era in which the Broncos ran fewer plays than the opposition.
Translation: The Broncos’ defense was on the field longer than the offense. Before that, the Broncos often had a huge edge in plays, meaning the Denver offense, not the opposing offense, was dictating the tempo of the game.
This year? As awesome as the Broncos’ offense has looked, opposing offenses have been on the field virtually as often as the Denver offense. The numbers: The Broncos have run 191 plays, their opponents 180. That shouldn’t be, given how dominant the Denver offense has been.
In the end, there’s only one answer for the Broncos: If all these points and yards are going to translate into a playoff appearance, their defense needs to get off the field.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s sports updates on The Jimmy Page at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
