Defense racks up six sacks
Tua Tagovailoa came into Denver riding a rookie high as the first Miami quarterback to start his career 3- 0.
He left Empower Field on Sunday having been benched, his momentum checked thanks to a dominating, disrupting performance by the Broncos’ defensive front.
Denver tied a season- high with six sacks, and a frazzled Tagovailoa was replaced early in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 20- 13 victory.
“We knew ( Tagovailoa) had been doing a good job the past three weeks running that offense, so we knew it was going to be a battle and a challenge to get back there and make him uncomfortable,” Broncos outside linebacker Malik Reed said. “We wanted to get a rush at him, so it’s amazing to see us end up with six sacks, because that’s what we strive for as a defensive front. To really get after him, that was the goal.”
The Broncos’ sacks took away 33 yards from the Miami offense, starting with one by Dre’Mont Jones in the first quarter and culminating with Bradley Chubb’s sack in the final quarter. That sack resulted in Tagovailoa’s benching on Miami’s next series, a move Dolphins coach Brian Flores said was not injury- related.
Journeyman DeShawn Williams, promoted to Denver’s active roster Sept. 25 after a fouryear NFL hiatus, paced the Broncos’ rush with two sacks. Reed had 1.5 sacks, Chubb and Jones each had one, and DeMarcus Walker chipped in with a halfsack.
The Broncos also had five tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits.
“We did pressure some more ( than we have before this year), but I was actually planning on doing it even more than we did,” coach Vic Fangio said.
Fangio was pleased with the sack total, calling them “hard to get” while crediting the secondary’s role in Sunday’s success up front.
“The sacks came a little bit later in the down, so our coverage was good and we had to keep grinding,”
Fangio said. “We had our chance at a couple other ones, but Tua and ( Ryan) Fitzpatrick are elusive guys and good scramblers.”
Chubb felt like the pressure the Broncos generated on Miami’s first possession, a three- and- out where Tagovailoa was hurried into two overthrows downfield, set the tone.
“We wanted to get to him early, rattle him up a little bit early, and I feel like we did that,” Chubb said. “For the rest of the game, we kept getting back there. The key was keeping him in the pocket, and once we did that, the hits started adding up.”
The offensive side took notice of the sack party on the other side of the ball. Running back Phillip Lindsay, who ran for 82 yards, acknowledged the offense settling in during the second half accelerated the defense’s domination.
“It’s hard when we go threeandout and put the defense in a bad spot ( like we’ve been doing),” Lindsay said. “If we can do this every game, you’ll see a defense that’s top two, top three. When you put them in a situation where their backs are ( constantly) against the wall, it’s not a good thing. But when we’re doing our thing, and moving the ball and driving and keeping them off the field to get rest, you’re going to see a better defense out there, a more confident defense out there, and the Denver defense that ( fans) are used to.”
Denver also held Miami to 56 rushing yards on 17 carries, about half of the 98.7 rush yards the Dolphins had been averaging. The secondary’s sound tackling helped, with safety Justin Simmons pacing the team with seven tackles, while Reed and inside linebacker Alexander Johnson both had six tackles apiece.
Tagovailoa, meanwhile, never found any rhythm in the passing game following his first- quarter touchdown pass to DeVante Parker. The No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft finished 11- of- 20 through the air for 83 yards, with one touchdown.
And a seat on the bench.