The Atlanta Falcons head west with their collective feathers between their tails after a rough Saints loss. However, it’s time to lock in on the Denver Broncos defense. Surprisingly, a team coached by an offensive-minded coach in Sean Payton actually deploys a balanced defense at all three levels.

The Broncos have the No. 4 scoring defense and the No. 5 overall defense in the NFL heading into Week 11. That unit is a big reason why Denver is a surprising 5-5 with a rookie quarterback and an NFL-high $82 million in dead money on their salary cap.

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The Falcons need to leave Colorado, avoiding a two-game slide, heading into late-November. On paper, Atlanta can match up well with Denver. Now, let’s see how that could look on the field on Sunday.

Hit the Boundary

The Broncos utilize the 3-4. Vance Joseph, the defensive coordinator/former head coach wants to disrupt at all costs. He believes in heavy blitzing and man coverage behind it. As aggressive as you will find, Denver will throw caution at the wind and get upfield. The stats bear that out as they rank in the top ten league wide in several defensive categories including No. 2 in sacks.

The outside linebackers leave the sideline-to-sideline pursuit to the inside ‘backers. The edge rushers, Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper want to bend the corner, leaving the spots they vacate empty. As a result, swing passes to Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier force matchups versus Justin Strnad and Cody Barton. 

Both Strnad and Barton play well in space but lack the explosion to prevent the Atlanta backs from gaining the perimeter. Meanwhile, faking a jet sweep will draw the defense away from the far side of the first few yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Misdirection could help Atlanta open up the offense early. 

Safety Unconcerned

For as stellar as cornerbacks Pat Surtain and Riley Moss played so far in 2024, the same does not apply to safeties P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones in pass coverage. Jones has replaced Justin Simmons well and leads the team in tackles, but he’s not as strong against the pass (when the Broncos aren’t sacking quarterbacks). Tight end Kyle Pitts in games like this, must see the majority of the targets not intended for the running backs. 

Intermittently, Pitts shows the skillset that made Atlanta select him in the first place. Too often, he vanishes into thin air. Now, against a team with strong corners but safeties and linebackers that allow roughly seventy percent of opponent targets completed, the best answer remains the simplest. 

Allowing Pitts to climb the route tree in the intermediate to deep areas benefits the Falcons. On top of that, using the crossing routes to pick or wash the defender away will work as well. 

Overview

Make no mistake, the Atlanta Falcons will line up versus a top-10 defense in the Denver Broncos. This is the best defense, by some distance, that they will have played since Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Yet, holes exists and prosperity will arise all over the field. Granted, Denver thrives against the run and possesses two excellent corners on the outside.

Yet, a veteran like Kirk Cousins can find a seam, a sliver of daylight to move the ball. While this may not end up a high scoring affair, the Falcons possess the talent to not only succeed but win the game.

Provided that they do not fall prey to playing into the Broncos; strengths, Atlanta can escape with a quality road win.

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