The Denver Broncos are supposed to have one of the league's best defenses in 2025, but if they don't make significant improvements over what we saw in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts, that's not going to happen.
The Broncos were beaten by the arm of Daniel Jones and by the ground attack led by Jonathan Taylor on Sunday, giving up 473 total yards of offense. The Colts were able to go up and down the field on them, forcing the offense to get into somewhat of a shootout.
It's early enough in the season that the Broncos can correct the mistakes they made in this game, mainly with missed assignments on the defensive side of the ball, but the biggest improvement the team can make would be to get Dre Greenlaw healthy and on the field.
The Broncos knew there would be an injury concern with Greenlaw after he missed most of the 2024 season, dealing with a torn Achilles that he suffered in Super Bowl LVIII. However, he suffered a quad injury during the offseason and hasn't been able to do much of anything with the Broncos.
Dre Greenlaw better be on the field next week.
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) September 14, 2025
He did return to practice this past week, but wasn't ready to play against the Colts. Broncos insider Mike Klis noted last week that the plan might be to bring him along steadily in practices this week and then plan to have him on the field in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
That should be the absolute worst-case scenario. If that doesn't happen, then Denver should have just placed him on injured reserve and had him miss the first four games, giving the roster spot to another player, temporarily.
The Broncos need that thumper in the middle. They need a player to be an enforcer on the defensive side of the ball to go with all of the other talent they have. Talanoa Hufanga has been great so far, but adding a healthy Greenlaw into the mix is the piece that makes this defense what so many thought it would be.
It's a long season, and the Broncos need to take things one step at a time. It would be ideal if Greenlaw could play in Week 3 when the team takes on the Los Angeles Chargers. But having him in Week 4 against the Bengals is a must.
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