I’m back with something other than a film review! This is a new weekly feature where I’ll break down the Eagles’ upcoming opponent strictly through the film. I’ve watched the most recent games of the opponents, focusing on specific areas: touchdowns, deep passes, turnovers, sacks, and explosive runs. Think of it less as a prediction piece and more as a scouting report. Each week, I’ll publish two articles on the opponent’s offense and defense to give a picture of what the Eagles will be up against.
Denver Broncos Defense
Touchdowns Allowed
This was tough to learn a lot from because the Broncos don’t give up many touchdowns! They’ve allowed only four this season, mainly short-yardage plays and nothing through the air that screams vulnerability. In the red zone, they bring numbers and trust their corners. It’s an aggressive philosophy, but it’s working: the Broncos rank near the top of the league in points allowed. Vance Joseph is a very good coach.
Explosive Passes Allowed
This is what stands out most on tape: they simply don’t give up deep plays. Across four games, Denver has surrendered just two completions of 20-plus air yards on around 15–20 attempts. That’s absurd considering how often they blitz and how many true one-on-one matchups they play outside.
One of the reasons for this is the play of Pat Surtain II. He’s a complete corner, a technician who can travel anywhere. He’s been lined up on the left, right, and in the slot, taking away WR1s every week. He’s rarely beaten deep and plays routes with uncanny awareness. There was a great example against the Colts where Surtain read Daniel Jones’ eyes, peeled off his man, and broke up the throw. This is elite.
Joseph crowds the line with five or six rushers and leaves his secondary in man coverage. Even then, they rarely bust. Their ability to line up in heavy pressure looks, send five or six, and still cover everyone downfield makes them incredibly tough to finish drives against. Sometimes all six come; sometimes two or three drop out. That unpredictability forces quick throws and bad reads, making it really tough to hit deep shots.
Still, the aggression has consequences. When they isolate their corners, Riley Moss (No. 21) becomes the target to go after. He’s not a weak link, but he’s the one getting true island reps while the safety rotates away. If the Eagles can move A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith onto Moss and keep Surtain occupied elsewhere, that’s where the explosives might come.
Even so, this defense ranks near the top of the league in fewest explosive passes allowed. That’s impressive for a unit that lives on pressure.
Turnovers Created
Turnovers aren’t the headline for this group. They’ve only recorded a single interception, and they’re not a ball-hawking defense. Their structure prioritizes pressure and coverage discipline rather than taking chances.
That said, the pressure creates chaos. Strip-sacks and forced fumbles are their turnover path. Their rushers’ timing off the snap is excellent, as Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper often win before the QB finishes his drop. It’s that pressure that leads to bad throws or tipped passes, rather than DBs jumping routes. We will get to the pass rush shortly!
Sacks
This is where Denver truly shines. They generate relentless pressure from all angles and are one of the league’s most productive pass-rushing teams. If you get to 3rd and long, they will bring 4 very talented pass rushers at you. It’s tough to pass on them because of this.
The edges are their best defensive players outside of Surtain. Nik Bonitto (15) and Jonathon Cooper (0). Both are explosive, violent, and smart. Bonitto’s first-step timing is elite. He’s consistently winning off the line before tackles can even set. Cooper brings balance: he’s powerful enough to bull-rush and agile enough to loop inside. Together, they’ve destroyed opposing tackles this season. The Titans’ line couldn’t block them, and the Chargers’ tackles completely overwhelmed.
Inside, John Franklin-Myers (98) adds a real power element. On this snap, he walked the right guard straight back into the QB for one of the ugliest reps you’ll see from a blocking point of view. When this front times the snap right, it’s outstanding. They seem to time it right a lot of the time!
It’s a coordinated, intelligent pass rush that takes advantage of having a good secondary. Because the secondary locks up, the rush has time to win. Because the rush wins so quickly, QBs panic and misfire. Look how good the coverage is on this sack. You’ll also notice Surtain in the slot on Ridley. Surtain can move around the field and play man coverage anywhere.
The Eagles’ tackles will need their best communication all season. Mailata’s ability to handle Bonitto’s speed off the edge could define the game. The film shows repeated examples of stunts and simulated pressures that confuse protections. They’ll show six rushers, but only three or four actually come, with the rest dropping into coverage. Against Cincinnati, they lined up seven on the line, dropped two linebackers, and still forced a hurry because Bonitto and Cooper timed the snap perfectly.
Explosive Runs Allowed
Statistically, Denver’s run defense looks elite. Only five runs of 10-plus yards allowed through four games is pretty amazing. But the film hints at some cracks…
When they line up in four-man fronts, their edges are very wide, leaving large interior gaps. Their DTs play more like DEs in those alignments, which can create open lanes in the A and B gaps if the blocking reaches the second level. This doesn’t show up in the stats, but it’s something I noted when watching the film.
Against five- or six-man fronts, those interior gaps close, but the edges can now be attacked. Toss plays and outside runs can beat their up-field angles, especially if WRs or TEs can pin the edge defenders. The Chargers had a great example of this with an outside zone toss play.
Against their wide alignments, gap-scheme runs (please do this this week, Eagles) look especially effective. The key is getting to linebackers Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell, who are instinctive but not fast. I do think there are opportunities against this defense.
In short, the numbers say they’re an outstanding run defense, but I think the film shows that there are some chances to be had. However, if the Eagles’ running game looks like it has the past few weeks, this one could get ugly on offense.
Overall
This is one of the most complete defenses the Eagles will face all year. They’re exceptionally well-coached, structurally sound, and extremely aggressive. They don’t give up explosive plays, rarely allow touchdowns, and generate constant pressure without sacrificing coverage integrity. However, they have played some bad offenses this year, and it’s possible the defense isn’t as good as it looks right now.
The aggression that fuels them can also be turned against them. If the Eagles stay patient, use motion and quick throws to exploit blitz looks, and run gap schemes to attack wide fronts, they can find success. The focus should be on protecting Hurts long enough to attack Riley Moss outside and running at the space this front leaves when it widens.
This will be a really good test.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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