3 Stats That Should Worry Fans About Broncos' Defensive Penalties

Defensive penalties remain a concern with the Denver Broncos poised for the final stretch run.

Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) pulls on the jersey of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) for a pass interference penalty in the first quarter of the NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos' defense has been great this season, but the unit has a bad habit of shooting itself in the foot. Nothing highlights this issue more than the defensive penalties, and the timing of them, as Denver leads the NFL in first downs relinquished due to penalty. 

Cornerback Riley Moss still leads all NFL defenders in penalties, which we know he and the Broncos are striving to clean up. However, the Broncos' problems in this area stretch well beyond one player.

I examined every game this season to really dig into it, and it was even worse than expected.

33 First Downs

Denver has given up 33 first downs due to penalties this season, with 16 of them coming on third or fourth down, where the defense would’ve gotten off the field if not for the flag. 

It's worth noting that this counts only the accepted penalties. There were about five more that were declined. Obviously, accepted penalties are more impactful, and any flag that's declined usually means that the opposing offense had a successful play.

Two Takeaways Erased

On top of that, the Broncos have had issues generating takeaways this season. Having two penalties erase a takeaway isn’t ideal.

Sure, there have only been two such instances, but one of them would have been a Jahdae Barron pick-six against the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing that defensive touchdown kept the game closer than it actually was. 

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111 Points Allowed

Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) and safety Brandon Jones (22) fire each other up prior to a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

What’s more is that on drives with at least one defensive penalty, opponents have scored 111 points against the Broncos. This doesn’t double-count scores for drives with two penalties, since they were marked down as part of the same score. 

Now, some penalties are less significant than others and easier to overcome. On drives where at least one penalty was called on third or fourth down, resulting in either a first down and/or a score, Denver has allowed 38 points. 

That means 38 points were scored that can be directly tied to a defensive penalty, and that matters because 10 of those points came in one of Denver's losses. One field goal (three points) allowed was directly tied to a game-winning kick made by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, and even if you don’t want to count a special teams penalty, Denver had a drive kept alive due to a penalty that led to a touchdown in that game. 

The Takeaway

The Broncos have largely managed to overcome the penalties on defense, which is why they sit at 11-2 on the season, but as they close out the season with the third-toughest remaining schedule, this becomes a concern. All four remaining opponents have tough offenses to defend, and you can’t give them extra opportunities. 

This is something the Broncos have to figure out. They can’t allow these teams to keep drives alive because of a defensive penalty; that is the definition of shooting themselves in the foot.

Not only does it lead to extra plays to tire out the defense and create opportunities for the opponent to score, but it can be the difference in getting an extra drive for your offense. 

When you look at the Broncos' two losses this season, both featured drives that were kept alive by penalties. You can realistically say the Broncos' offense missed out on three drives over those two games. That comes from the additional time of possession allowed for penalties. 

Penalties have been an issue for the Broncos, and while they’ve cleaned up the total in the past two weeks, they're still damaging because of the situations in which the flags have been thrown. This is going to be an issue for the Broncos in their final four games if they can’t figure out how to turn the ship around.