We know about the Denver Broncos offense...duh, but it's long past time to start appreciating the contributions their defense has been making to their dominance this season.If last week was all about quarterback Peyton Manning and his breaking of the all-time touchdown record while putting up 42 points on the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday Night Footballof Week 8 was a reminder that the Broncos defense is playing at an extremely high level this season as well.Against a very potent San Diego Chargers offense and quarterback Philip Rivers, who is playing at an MVP-caliber level this season, the Broncos defense was as stellar as could be. Holding the Chargers to only 21 points (their second-lowest scoring total of the season) is far more impressive than scoring 35 points against a defense missing numerous members of the defensive backfield.The Broncos defense managed two sacks, six extra quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions. Linebacker Brandon Marshall led the way with 10 tackles on an effort that held Chargers running back Branden Oliver to only 36 yards, with much of that coming on a garbage-time draw.Even so, the stats don't even begin to tell the story.The story begins early in the week when the Chargers clearly saw that the Broncos defense was a force to be reckoned with. From there, the Chargers decided to dial back their already quick-passing offense to an almost instantaneous passing attack in order to give the Broncos' feared pass rush of linebacker Von Miller and defensive end DeMarcus Ware no time to reach Rivers.Rivers even admitted as much to Nicki Jhabvala ofThe Denver Post earlier in the week:You got two of the top pass rushers in the league now on the same teamone that's way up there in sacks as far as on the all-time list, and one that's already there. One that's alreadywayup there," Rivers said of linebacker Von Miller and veteran defensive end DeMarcus Ware, respectively. "They're two impressive guys. They can change a game in a hurry.The Chargers offense is normally built around quick-hitters anywayshallow crossing routes, tunnel screens, slants and heavy doses of tight end Antonio Gates are supposed to set up deeper routes down the field. It's a managed attack that has done wonders in the post-Norv Turner era.Against the Broncos, it seemed as if Rivers' internal QB clock had sped up quite a bit, and he was feeling a lot more pressure than just the box score would seem to indicate. One could blame the Chargers offensive line, but in truth, the Broncos have done this to plenty of opponents in 2014.The story of how the Broncos shut down the Chargers and Rivers continued when they didn't allow Oliver any room on either runs (2.8-yard average) or receptions (3.9-yard average) on the night. Early in the game, I tweeted how both offenses were pressuring the other team's defensive backs to click and close against shorter plays, and the Broncos defense easily won that battle.Cornerback Aqib Talib had one of his best games of the season, with a season-high seven tackles and a bunch more plays he was in on. His high level of play helped force Rivers into throwing away from Talib's side of the field and holding on to the ball longer than he was comfortable with. The offense may have scored 35 points thanks to fantastic nights by Manning, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and running back Ronnie Hillman, but the defense was the story ofThursday Night Football.This isn't a slight, in any way, against the Broncos offense.It's just...it's a known commodity. Manning is going to continue to be Manningeveryone knows that. With a defense ready to hold up its end of the bargain, though, the Broncos have a chance to be truly dominant.MichaelSchotteyis an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on hisarchive pageand follow himon Twitter.
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