Seven weeks into the 2015 season, the 6-0 Broncos hosted the 6-0 Packers on “Sunday Night Football.” Denver’s “No Fly Zone” secondary had an amazing night, limiting Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to 3.5 yards per attempt and a 69.7 passer rating.
Rodgers was sacked three times and threw no touchdown passes as the Broncos won 29-10 before going on to eventually win the Super Bowl that season.
So what was the key to shutting down Rodgers?
“We were able to play man-to-man and bring the heat every time,” cornerback Chris Harris said Tuesday. “We can’t do that. It’s hard to do that now.”
Denver’s defense has changed drastically since that game four years ago. Most notably, star cornerback Aqib Talib is no longer on the team, leaving Isaac Yiadom as the No. 2 cornerback with Bryce Callahan injured. Bradley Roby is gone, too — De’Vante Bausby is the new No. 3 cornerback.
And while Bradley Chubb has a promising career ahead of him, he’s certainly not a DeMarcus Ware-caliber of player — not yet anyway.
Through two weeks of the 2019 season, the Broncos’ defense has forced no turnovers and has totaled zero sacks. That will need to change if Denver wants to beat the Packers on Sunday.
“We have to rattle the quarterback,” Harris said. “We haven’t been able to rattle him. Most teams are running the ball a lot more verses us. We have to try and get them in third-and-long, second-and-longs.
“We have to win first and second down better. That will help us get in more pass-rush situations and also try to figure out a way to get a lead. Once we get a lead, then we can sick the dogs out on them and really let all our d-line loose.”
Sunday’s game will begin at 11:00 a.m. MT and will air on Fox.
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