Nik Bonitto isn’t spending much time worrying about the number next to his name.
That’s the part of the box score that says he still doesn’t have a sack through two weeks, but the Broncos outside linebacker knows that doesn’t tell the whole story. Bonitto has been living in the backfield anyway, stacking pressures and forcing offenses to feel him snap after snap.
He made that clear Friday, saying, "It's no pressure," Bonitto said on Friday via Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette. "I know I'm winning a lot of my rushes."
That confidence makes sense when you look at what he’s already done. Bonitto helped set up Riley Moss’ interception of Trevor Lawrence last week, a play that turned into a major moment in Denver’s 20-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the Jaguars’ first possession, Bonitto also appeared to deliver the kind of splash play that can swing a game outright, strip-sacking Lawrence from behind and forcing a fumble that Alex Singleton returned deep into Jacksonville territory. But an illegal contact penalty on Moss, well away from the action, wiped it out.
So while the stat sheet still shows a quiet start in the sack column, the Broncos know Bonitto has been a problem for opposing quarterbacks. Lawrence and Jacksonville’s line had to account for him all afternoon, and that kind of disruption matters even when it doesn’t always show up cleanly in the final numbers.
Bonitto isn’t sweating the drought. He pointed to the near-misses and the pressure that’s already been there.
"The one last week was taken away and there are some where the ball is thrown away just as I hit the quarterback," Bonitto told Tomasson. "I'm not really stressing on numbers right now.
I know I'm doing a good job rushing and we're rushing well together. We pressured the quarterback a lot last week.
It'll come eventually."
That patience is backed by plenty of production over the past two seasons. Bonitto piled up 27.5 sacks in that span, a big reason Denver led the NFL in sacks in back-to-back years. The Broncos are chasing a three-peat there, and Bonitto remains one of the centerpieces of that effort.
The next chance comes Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams, and the matchup gives Denver a familiar kind of opportunity. Matthew Stafford is 38, and if Bonitto can beat Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson off the snap while Jackson deals with a knee injury, Stafford could be under fire early and often.
Of course, Bonitto isn’t going to be left alone. A player with his track record forces a plan, and the Rams will have to decide how much help they want to give Jackson. Double teams, tight end help, chips at the line - all of it is on the table when an edge rusher has Bonitto’s reputation.
That’s also where the rest of Denver’s front comes in. The Broncos have been without Jonathon Cooper, Bonitto’s longtime rush linebacker partner, and that absence can’t turn into an invitation for offenses to overload attention on Bonitto.
Jonah Elliss needs to keep adding pressure after showing flashes, even if his sack total hasn’t broken through yet. One of his chances was erased by a Patrick Surtain II defensive holding penalty.
Inside, Zach Allen has helped keep the whole operation moving. He leads the team with two sacks and has given quarterbacks something else to worry about, which helps Bonitto on the edge by making it harder to simply step up and escape.
The sacks haven’t arrived for Bonitto yet, but the pressure has. And in this league, that usually means the finish line isn’t far behind.
In Other News...
Matthew Stafford Sparked A Broncos Debate With His Tunnel Exit
A postgame video from Empower Field gave Broncos fans something else to talk about after the win over the Rams, and it had nothing to do with the scoreboard. Matthew Stafford was seen walking through the tunnel and appearing to spit, with some viewers wondering whether it was aimed at Denvers 5280 sign, though there was no clear evidence or official confirmation of where it landed.
Stafford had just put together a big passing night in the loss, throwing for 390 yards and two touchdowns, but he also turned it over twice. For Denver, the on-field result was the headline, yet the tunnel clip added a little extra edge to a game that was already going to be picked over from every angle. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Fans Have A New Reason To Debate That Late Flag
Pat Bryant turned a chaotic late sequence into one of the defining moments of the Broncos comeback win over the Rams, and he did it with a little gamesmanship that will keep fans talking. Bryant acknowledged that he exaggerated the contact on the play that drew the pass interference flag, wiping out a late Los Angeles interception and keeping Denvers drive alive long enough for Bo Nix to finish it with the winning touchdown.
For the Broncos, the larger takeaway is that Bryant was productive beyond that one controversial snap. He caught multiple passes and scored a touchdown, giving Denver another useful piece in a game that swung on a handful of high-leverage plays. Still, the late flag is the kind of moment that tends to linger, especially when it directly helped set up the comeback finish. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Just Found A Huge AFC West Opportunity
The early part of the AFC West has already handed Denver a chance to breathe a little easier. The Chargers are off to an 0-3 start, and the issues have shown up on both sides of the ball, with the offense sputtering and the defense unable to steady things. For a Broncos team trying to keep pace in a rugged division, that kind of stumble in Los Angeles matters.
Justin Herbert has drawn criticism for some of his decision-making, while Jim Harbaugh has been publicly supportive and demanding at the same time, trying to push more from his quarterback and the team around him. There have also been signs of friction inside the locker room, with Derwin James calling out the sloppiness. Denver does not need a rival collapse to be perfect, but this is the sort of early opening contenders watch closely. [Read more 🡒]