The Denver Broncos’ defense has encountered significant challenges in the early weeks of the 2025 NFL season, highlighted by a loss to the Indianapolis Colts that revealed vulnerabilities. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph admitted the squad’s high number of mental mistakes in their loss. These tactical miscues helped sink their chances of victory. The Denver Broncos are preparing to host Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. Joseph was clear that he wanted to see greater consistency and accountability out of his players themselves.
In a candid assessment following the Colts’ game, Joseph pointed out that the defense’s performance was marred by lapses in focus. “I felt like we had a lot of mental mistakes on Sunday,” Joseph said. Things that just never simmered down and eventually caused us to lose … me included. We have to be better than that.
This is something that has already been the case with every team so far through just two games for the Broncos. Joseph reminded us that elite defenses do not allow inconsistency to control their performance. “Top defenses don’t have one play, one half, one game, or even one month with consistency,” he stated. That reality has set in, particularly with the Broncos’ defense unable to stay consistently elite.
Her remarks resonated with many defensive players, who echoed some of Joseph’s concerns. Preventing the run quickly became their priority theme in practice. They consistently and ambitiously speak to a desire to do much better in this regard. They know their skill in stifling enemy attacks will be the key as the season unfolds.
The Colts game served as a wake-up call for the Broncos, with running back Jonathan Taylor’s 68-yard dash early in the fourth quarter serving to shake the team’s confidence. The Colts had four such plays and unnerved the hell out of Denver’s defense. That’s a scary number, particularly when they had given up just eight visible plays all of the 2021 season. This dazzling disparity drives home the imperative for corrective action to the present.
“We can’t punt,” Joseph said, stressing that mental mistakes cannot become a recurring theme if they hope to compete effectively in the league. The Broncos still have to clean up their execution some. They need to make sure they’re not susceptible to the explosive plays, particularly against world-class quarterbacks such as Herbert.
Sean Payton, head coach of the Broncos, recently commented about the up-and-down nature shown by his team so far. “It’s hard to sustain success in the league as a yo-yo team, up and down,” he noted. This lack of consistency has had fans and analysts alike wondering if the Broncos can right the ship on their sinking season.
Zach Allen, a new Pro Bowl defensive tackle for Denver, sounded undaunted when discussing his unit’s mission to bounce back. While he did admit to some of the same issues that were addressed in Week 2, he stressed a few positives. Allen stated, “We have a good scheme. Guys play hard. We have the right pieces in the right positions. In this league, every play matters. Someone can fall. Someone can miss a tackle. So it’s a fine line. It’s day-to-day, week-to-week.”
Moving forward, the Broncos will need to focus on improving their performance against Herbert and the Chargers. Adding to the intrigue, the Lions have one of the most explosive offenses the defense will face all year. It’s already gotten beat up for its dismal early-season performance.
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