ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It might have been the glow of victory talking, but quarterback Bo Nix could have been speaking for almost everyone in the Denver Broncos' organization after this past Sunday's season-opening win.
"It's the best feeling when you have a great defense," he said.
The Broncos exited their 20-12 victory over the Tennessee Titans with the usual list of things to clean up, dissect and repair. But they also left with initial confirmation that their defense just might be ready for as much prime time as the team can earn.
"I mean, you do look around and think this is scary," Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton said. "I'm excited to be a part of it ... you just have to do what you're supposed to do because everybody around you is going to do what they're supposed to do at a high, high level. So, now we get back to work."
Denver finished Week 1 as the league's No. 1 defense in a pile of categories, including total defense (133.0 yards per game), defensive EPA (20.18), fewest yards per play allowed (2.4), pass defense (62.0 yards per game), sacks (six) and fewest first downs allowed (seven). Toss in a No. 5 ranking in scoring defense (12.0 points per game), and it was a quality introduction to the 2025 season.
The Broncos were able to overcome their own four-turnover day because the Titans could only turn those miscues into two field goals. And they held the Titans scoreless on two of Tennessee's five possessions that started inside the Broncos' 50-yard line, not giving up a touchdown.
But as Singleton said, the Broncos will indeed have to get back to work.
Starting with Sunday's opponent -- the Indianapolis Colts (4:05 p.m. ET, Lucas Oil Stadium, CBS) -- four of the Broncos' next five opponents scored at least 24 points in Week 1, with four also winning their season openers. By the time the Broncos leave London, where they'll face the New York Jets on Oct. 12, they will have played four teams who finished the opening week ranked among the NFL's top-10 offenses.
In that span, they are scheduled to face some of the NFL's best quarterbacks in the Chargers' Justin Herbert (Week 3), Bengals' Joe Burrow (Week 4) and reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia (Week 5). But their approach will remain constant.
"The standard is the standard," defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. "It's just kind of how we play, we do things one way. ...That's what we expect of ourselves."
Before that string of top QBs are the 1-0 Colts, who dismantled the Dolphins 33-8 this past Sunday. Daniel Jones finished with 272 yards passing and a touchdown in his Indianapolis debut after beating out Anthony Richardson Sr. -- the No. 4 overall pick by the Colts in the 2023 draft -- for the starting quarterback job in the preseason.
The Colts present multiple challenges for the Broncos' defense. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren had seven catches for 76 yards in the opener and could be an issue for a Denver defense that has had difficulty covering tight ends in recent seasons. But Indianapolis' rushing offense might present the biggest hurdle.
The Colts ran for 156 yards in their win against the Dolphins, while the Broncos' rush defense had a few hiccups against Tennessee. In the second quarter, in what was still a 3-3 game, the Titans had four consecutive run plays go for a combined 33 yards before a Nik Bonitto sack ended the drive. Denver also had some uneven tackling moments.
"We missed tackles," Franklin-Myers said. "[Better tackling] turns a great game into a dominant game ... we have to make the plays we're supposed to make."
"I felt like we settled in," Broncos coach Sean Payton added. "[But] they had a couple plays we had wrapped up."
The Colts rushed for 149 yards when they faced the Broncos last December. Indianapolis was poised to take a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter when running back Jonathan Taylor dropped the football just before he crossed the goal line on what would have been a 41-yard touchdown run.
After replay ruled that Taylor fumbled out of the end zone, the Broncos got the ball on their own 20-yard and outscored the Colts 24-0 the rest of the way for a 31-13 win. The Broncos plan on drawing on that sudden change when the teams face off again Sunday.
"We were talking on the sideline [this past Sunday], and I was just talking about this, that if stuff is going bad, we have to be like 'hey, it's our time,'" Broncos safety Brandon Jones said. "We've got to make plays, and we know we're capable of making those plays. It really doesn't change, whether we're losing or winning the game ... we're still playing our brand of defense."