This stat says the Broncos have the NFL’s worst defense since at least 1981

The Broncos have the worst defensive DVOA (38.5%) through four games since the metric started being tracked in 1981.

The Denver Broncos have a historic defense, but not in a good way.

Vance Joseph’s unit has a DVOA of 38.5%, marking the worst percentage through four games since DVOA started being tracked in 1981.

DVOA is a metric created by Aaron Schatz that measures success on each play compared to the league average based on “variables including down, distance, location on field, current score gap, quarter, and opponent quality.”

Granted, allowing 70 points in a single game will skew season-long results, but it’s not just a 70-point hiccup that has the Broncos ranked so low. Denver also allowed 28 points to a previously hapless Chicago Bears offense, and the Broncos allowed 35 points to a seemingly-mediocre Washington Commanders offense.

Denver is allowing 461.5 yards per game to opposing offenses and 37.5 points per game to opponents. The Broncos have a historically-bad defense, perhaps the worst in franchise history. Admittedly, four games is a small sample size (and help might be on the way this week), but Denver’s defense is off to a troubling start in 2023.

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