Film Reveals the Secret Behind Broncos’ Record-Tying Sack Frenzy

The Denver Broncos tied a single-game franchise record with nine sacks vs. the New York Jets.

Oct 12, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) is tackled by Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On the way to an ugly win, the Denver Broncos sacked New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields nine times. The Broncos were dominant up front, and the Jets' offensive line could not hold their own.

However, not all of the Broncos sacks were due to great plays by the defensive front. While we won’t be breaking down all nine sacks, four of them are worth digging into a little more.

Given how much the Broncos' offense struggled, they owe much to the defense. Let's examine these four quarterback takedowns. 

Sack 1

A great play by the Broncos coverage unit to force the coverage sack. pic.twitter.com/tkP4emSsdP

— MHH_Film (@MHH_Film) October 13, 2025

Defensive end John Franklin-Myers gets the sack against his former team, and that likely makes it extra special for him. Granted, it was a different regime that shipped Franklin-Myers to Denver, and the current regime would likely love to have him back. Still, it means a lot to have a big game against a team that traded you, even if it's your second bite at that particular apple.

That said, Franklin-Myers needs to take the coverage unit out to a nice dinner for this one. They were superb across the board, and while he does a nice job of breaking through the line and chasing Fields down for the sack, this is a coverage sack through and through. 

The Broncos' coverage unit was on point and sticking with their guys throughout. Now, there was a last-second split where a receiver got open for Fields, but at that point, it was too late with Franklin-Myers and Jonathon Cooper coming down on him. 

Sack 2

The defensive front gets there in time with Justin Fields missing an open receiver because he is locked onto a tightly covered target. pic.twitter.com/kWn5bBZP2J

— MHH_Film (@MHH_Film) October 13, 2025

The Broncos get another coverage sack with Franklin-Myers being the force up front to create issues, and Cooper getting the sack. However, the secondary wasn’t as clean in this sack as they were in the first one. Thankfully, Fields isn’t a good quarterback. 

There is an open receiver underneath that, if Fields can hit, would give the Jets a shot at picking up the first down on this 3rd-&-9 play. However, Fields is locked onto a well-covered receiver and doesn’t see the opening on the shallow crosser that gives his playmaker a chance to make something happen. 

With the defensive front, the Broncos are spread out, putting a lot of pressure on the Jets' tackles. The tackles not only have the two edge defenders outside of them, but also have both interior defensive linemen lined up face up. Zach Allen works his way across the formation, freeing up Franklin-Myers to get the initial contact on Fields. 

On the outside, Cooper was able to break down the right tackle, rookie Amrand Membou, to clean up the play. While this was a good play from the defensive front, they should be thankful that Fields missed that shallow crosser, as a good number of quarterbacks would have seen it and hit it.

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Sack 3

Talanoa Hufanga has been a playmaker for the Broncos defense in every element of defense. pic.twitter.com/2ykzGvD31O

— MHH_Film (@MHH_Film) October 13, 2025

Talanoa Hufanga has been the Broncos' best free-agent addition so far this season as he flies around the defense, making plays in every element. Over the past few weeks, he has been making an even bigger impact as a blitzer, which was true for the Jets game. 

On this sack, Hufanga is playing on the line next to Nik Bonitto, so the Jets blockers have to pick their poison there. They have the left guard and tackle, along with the running back, taking on the two defenders. 

Hufanga is doing well against the double team of the tackle and the running back, but when the tackle diverts his attention, Hufanga kicks it up a notch. He makes quick work of the running back and gets to Fields for the sack. 

Sack 4

Olu Fashanu wasn't ready for Nik Bonitto to be shot out of a cannon. pic.twitter.com/FF5dh58Dma

— MHH_Film (@MHH_Film) October 13, 2025

The final sack is to highlight what makes Bonitto such a dangerous pass rusher, why he has been the best pass rusher this season in the NFL, and why he is the early favorite for Defensive Player of the Year. He blasts out of the cannon with such speed and quickness that tackles struggle to stay in tempo with him. 

Now, Olu Fashanu has been bad so far this season, but Bonitto's wins are impressive given the great tackles he has faced. Bonitto has such timing off the snap with such an explosive burst that he can get up and around the arch of Fashanu before the tackle is really able to catch what happened. 

The Broncos love to spread things out with their defensive line to force opposing tackles into one-on-one situations with Bonitto and Cooper, and plays like this highlight exactly why. When you have such an explosive pass rusher, you want them in one-on-ones as much as possible, and even force the issue as Vance Joseph has often done this year.