Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are dirty. So what?

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:12 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

The Denver Broncos are dirty. Full stop.

If you happen to disagree and the helmet-to-helmet hits on Cam Newton, pile-driving tackles, other helmet-to-helmet hits on Cam Newton and hits on all areas of Andrew Luck's body aren't enough to sway you, just ask them about it:

Translation: Yeah, yeah we are. Do something.

Translation: Okay, we probably are, but we're not going to admit to it. Who admits to being dirty? Wait, what did Chris Harris say?

Translation: Look at the first sentence, take out the word "not" and voila.

Or ask the quarterbacks who take the brunt of Denver's aggressiveness.

Translation: (motions silently with eyes, gestures head in Denver's direction, then nods assuredly.

The Denver Broncos are dirty. So what?

Denver is 2-0. It won a Super Bowl on the strength of that defense, and the early part of the 2016 season has looked a lot like the title year -- passable quarterback play in defensive-led wins. They've played two teams most pegged for the playoffs and have emerged unscathed, not with a shutdown defense (giving up a first down on third-and-20, as Denver did on Sunday, isn't going to fly come January) but with an opportunistic one that comes up with key plays at the right times (e.g. Aqib Talib's pick-six on Sunday or Von Miller's game-clinching strip fumble that went for another defensive TD). They lay big hits high and big hits low and are unapologetic for any of it. Nor should they be.

Given that there's no column for reputation in the standings, who cares if the Broncos went hard at quarterbacks in Weeks 1 and 2. First, it hasn't cost them on the field. Denver got away with a ton on the opening Thursday because officials are officials and Cam Newton games are virtually impossible to call. Luck didn't get beat up as bad -- he appeared rattled -- but Stewart got that unnecessary roughness call on a drive that put Indy within three points of Denver with less than 10 minutes remaining. Second, I think the message has been sent, and the next 14 weeks will feature the same hard hitting but possibly not the headhunting and turf-tossing of the first two games.

Those hits on Newton and Luck were warnings not just to them but Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and every other quarterback the Broncos will face in 2016. It's sending a message via proxy. Brady and Brees aren't intimidated by much, if anything, but all it takes is a little memory sitting in the back of the brain that triggers when Von Miller is charging unabated to rush a throw or panic ever so slightly. (Brady and Brees are both older than 37. The nerves of athletes start to fray as they get older.) So if that means making one fewer read or getting rid of the ball an instant faster, then the Broncos have a built-in advantage.

Tom Brady, for as tough as he is and given the Secret Service level of protection he gets from the refs, is still a human who doesn't want to end up like his buddy Wes Welker. Maybe that leads him to getting rid of the ball quicker than usual. Maybe. Maybe not. But that reality is right there on the game film. The Broncos have given Brady and other QBs something to think about. It's a mentality as much as a strategy. You can have teams like Buddy Ryan's Eagles who were both dirty and menacing. Then you have the Broncos, who skirt the line of the first and embrace the second.

Marshall, in his confounding explanation of dirtiness, is actually on to something. Who's dirtier: Ndamukong Suh for stomping on a dude's arm or a Broncos linebacker who recklessly flies at Newton and makes contact with his helmet? Suh wins that battle every time. His is a premeditated, unnecessary act. The Broncos, on the other hand, are playing tough defense, and if somebody's head happens to get in the way of their tackling then so be it. You can still want to put a lick on Andrew Luck without wanting to intentionally hurt him. You can play fair and still want to send a message. It's all about rationalization. You're supposed to make a receiver afraid to come over the middle. (How many more catches would Terrell Owens have had if he didn't have alligator arms every time he felt footsteps?) If a quarterback feels comfortable in the pocket, he won't rush his reads or ever worry about getting hit from the blind side.

The Denver Broncos are dirty. They're also tough, mean, menacing, intimidating, confident and possessed with pure swagger. And all that's going to help them in their quest to repeat as NFL champs.