The Broncos defense brings the heat, recording 6 sacks from Saints QB Spencer Rattler

The pressure on the rookie came from all over the place, as seven different Broncos defenders recorded at least half a sack on Thursday. In seven games, 12 different Broncos were credited with at least half of a sack.

“The group is great,” Allen said. “The cool thing too is that you don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m in it because of myself. I'm here because of me.' We really want everyone to get it. We have a very special group and it’s truly a race for the quarterback.”

Third-year outside linebacker Nik Bonitto (5.0 sacks) currently leads all Broncos defenders in quarterback takedowns, having recorded a sack in five consecutive games. Bonitto is the first Bronco since Von Miller in 2018 to have a sack streak of at least five games.

However, the pressure doesn't end there. Outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper (4.5), Allen (4), inside linebacker Justin Strnad (3) and defensive end John Franklin-Myers (3) have all recorded at least three sacks this season.

“I thought we made the run and then were able to generate enough pressure,” head coach Sean Payton said of Thursday’s performance.

A week after allowing the Chargers to convert eight of their first 10 third-down attempts, the Broncos held the Saints to 5 of 17 on third downs. Denver also allowed just three points the rest of the game Jake Haener threw a touchdown to cut the Broncos' winning margin.

As Denver's defenders celebrated a win, they also made it clear that they expect to continue to maintain the same level of play.

“The standard is high,” said Allen, “and we just have to keep pushing.”