Over the past two seasons, the Denver Broncos defense has been a forced to be reckoned with. Their penchant for sacks has been their forte. Without question, their ability to get after opposing quarterbacks is second to none. They have done well limiting big plays down the field and tout one of the top performing third down units in all of football.
Even so, the defense remains hungry. This year, the coaches and players are looking to build upon ‘the standard’ they have set for themselves in recent
seasons. Yesterday, after the team’s second ramp-up practice of training camp, safety Talanoa Hufanga took time to field questions on how the Broncos’ defense can make strides and be even better in 2026.
“What does that standard look like? It’s guys being in early, it’s guys staying late, it’s guys studying and it’s guys learning. At the end of the day, it’s really the type of style that you play. The schematics is always going to be down there and that’s game plan to game plan, but what’s the style that you want,” stated Hufanga.
Hufanga, one of the highlight free agent signings from last season, took quickly to Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph’s scheme. He was an impact player on the squad in his first season donning orange and blue. The stalwart safety started every game for the Broncos and amassed 106 tackles, 2 sacks, 11 passes defended, and one forced fumble. That top-tier play and production earned him second-team All-Pro honors.
His knack for bone-crushing hits, ability to cover well, and make plays against the run was a terrific addition to the backend of the Broncos’ defense. Entering his second season with the franchise, he feels a lot more comfortable with the playbook and what Joseph wants to call throughout the course of the game. Such knowledge should bode well for his gridiron endeavors in ’26.
However, he and his teammates know they can raise ‘the standard’ even higher this season. That means performing better in one key category—turnovers—which was the major point of emphasis for them at the advent of training camp and earlier in the offseason.
“For sure, it was the first thing. For us, it’s just really attacking the ball. Whether it’s in the air or in the ground game. For everybody, it was really just a lack of turnovers,” stated Hufanga.
“We did a really good job of getting sacks, but how can we get to sacks with a force fumble? Or how can we change this pass deflection into an interception or a tip just to get somebody else an interception? It’s been talked about and it’s been drilled.”
Last season, Denver’s defense was tied for the fourth least turnovers in the league with just 14 during the regular season. That’s nineteen turnovers shy of the Chicago Bears who led the NFL in that category in 2025, and about seven turnovers below league average.
Below average won’t cut it for this year’s Broncos. That certainly doesn’t meet ‘the standard’. In order to forge themselves into true Super Bowl contenders, fighting and clawing their way from the bottom of that list towards the top will be mission critical.
Just one big turnover can change the momentum and course of the game. The Broncos did well in one-score battles last season. Nevertheless, finding a way to create more turnovers through the course of the upcoming season will help turn some of those close games into decisive victories.
“I really messed up last year when it came to those things. I left a lot of—we call it money—but money on the field as a team. For me, I’m going in and working and hopefully coming down with a few this year.”
