ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In the four weeks to this point, the Broncos defense has established itself as not only a unit to be respected, but to be feared. With a ball-hawking secondary, two dynamic edge rushers, a stout line and a savvy linebacking corps consistently making impact plays, you might have forgotten that the defense was missing one of its starters.
Without defensive end Derek Wolfe due to a four-game suspension, the Broncos mitigated his absence by substituting Antonio Smith into that starting role while rotating in Vance Walker.
In the meantime, Wolfe maintained the physical shape he built up over the offseason and through training camp.