Broncos Defense Embraces Challenge vs. Ravens

Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos will be a battle of strengths.

On one side, there’s the Ravens’ high-powered offense led by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Through Week 8, Baltimore ranks first in total offense (452.1 yards per game) and rushing offense (200 yards per game), second in scoring (30.3 points per game), and fifth in passing offense (252.1 yards per game) . The addition of Henry, the league leader in rushing, has taken this offense to new heights, and both he and Jackson could have hardware in their future.

On the other side, there’s a stifling Broncos defense that has quietly emerged as one of the best in the league. Denver currently ranks third in total (282.6 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (15 points per game), fourth in passing defense (176.3 yards allowed per game) and seventh in rushing defense (106.3 yards allowed per game). The Broncos don’t have any stars on defense outside of cornerback Pat Surtain II, but it’s just an overall very solid unit.

However, Denver hasn’t seen an offense like Baltimore’s yet. Ahead of their toughest test of the season, the Broncos are embracing the opportunity at hand.

“It’s really challenging,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said, per the team’s website. “Obviously, this league’s based on having good players [and] having a good scheme. But they’ve got playmakers everywhere. Their running game obviously starts with Derrick Henry — and when you have Lamar adding 60 yards a game to that, between the scrambles and the call quarterback runs, it makes it difficult to get a stop. That’s why they’re so high as far as the numbers.”

When asked how he intends to stop the Ravens’ high-flying attack, Joseph knows that taking away their greatest strength is paramount to victory.

“You have to take something away,” Joseph said. “My preference is the running game and make them throw it. So, we’ll see how that works out on Sunday. But we have a plan to get both stopped. We’ll see how that comes out.”

From Baltimore’s perspective, this matchup is a great test as well. The Ravens have faced some good defenses this season, such as the Cleveland Browns last week, but a chance to better themselves against a quality opponent is always appreciated.

“[The Broncos defense] is playing at a really high level. [They’re] very confident. Their guys are really active; they play hard,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “That’s one thing you see on film. They’ve done a great job of building the core personalities of the players they’ve got playing on the field – I think that’s impressive [and] how hard they play and schematically how they challenge you with their pressure package.

“We’re up for it; our guys are excited. We’ve seen that for the last four weeks. We’ve seen teams that have decided to pressure us. To me, that’s where the league is going, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing it as much. So, we have to be on point with all of our IDs and where we go with the ball.”

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