Chiefs backup Carson Wentz will face a pass rush the likes of which the Broncos have never had

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos lead the NFL with a franchise-record 58 sacks, a number they aim to bolster Sunday when Carson Wentz fills in for Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs resting some of their stars ahead of the playoffs.

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph promised a more aggressive approach this season and his pass rushers have delivered more sacks than any other Broncos team in its 65-year history.

They're averaging almost four sacks a game.

“Still kind of taken aback by it,” said outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper. “There’s been so many great players that played on the D-line here. We’re just humbled, honestly. I’m humbled about it, just want to get back to work. I feel like our best ball still hasn’t been played for any one of us.

“We’re going to continue to grow as players and keep going. I just feel like the sky is the limit and this has given us a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Fifteen Broncos have registered a sack this season, led by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto with 11 1/2. He’s the first Denver defender since 2018 to reach double-digit sacks and Cooper, who has 9 1/2, can join him Sunday if he gets to Wentz.

Defensive end Zach Allen also is within striking distance after his career-best 3 1/2 sacks of Joe Burrow last week pushed his season total to a career-best 8 1/2.

Allen sacked Burrow on back-to-back plays in overtime. The last one, which he shared with fellow interior D-lineman John Franklin-Myers (six sacks), was the Broncos' 58th sack of the season, breaking the franchise record that had stood for 40 years.

“It’s really amazing, just knowing the types of guys that we have not only in that edge room but in the defensive tackle room," Bonitto said. "We always have a rush plan each and every week. Everyone always sticks to it, and we always are trying to find ways to work well together in the game.

"You can’t really just give it to one guy, there are so many guys that can contribute and help other guys get sacks. It’s me, Coop, JFM (John Franklin-Myers) and Zach, even the young guys like Till (OLB Dondrea Tillman) and (OLB) Jonah (Ellis). It’s just a collective group.”

Of course, the Broncos were in no mood to celebrate the accomplishment last weekend after Burrow bounced back from his seven-sack day to lead the Bengals to a 30-24 win in overtime that kept the Broncos from clinching a playoff berth.

“Yeah, Joe is elite for a reason," Allen said. "I think it’s pretty hard not to say he’s a — if not THE — top quarterback in the league. There’s a reason why he got to the Super Bowl a couple years ago, wins big playoff games. Give him credit. He’s a gamer.”

So is Mahomes — whom the Broncos sacked four times in Week 10 — but he'll sit out Sunday when the Chiefs (15-1), who have already clinched the AFC's top seed, visit Denver, where the Broncos (9-7) are aiming to end an eight-year playoff drought.

The Broncos will face a bevy of backups led by Wentz, who is hoping to parlay a good game at Empower Field into a starting opportunity somewhere else in 2025.

It's a similar situation to last year when Wentz filled in for Matthew Stafford in the Los Angeles Rams' season finale at San Francisco with both teams locked into their playoff positions.

The Niners held him to 163 passing yards, intercepted him once and sacked him twice, but Wentz led the Rams to a 21-20 win, throwing for two touchdowns and scoring on a 12-yard run with 4:56 to play and then converting a 2-point conversion pass to Tutu Atwell.

A win or even a tie by the Broncos would send Denver to the playoffs for the first time since they beat Carolina in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

That team was led by an iconic defense that featured the “No Fly Zone” secondary and twin quarterback terrors DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, the vanguard of a 52-sack unit that's considered the best in franchise history.

Two Broncos rookies have five sacks this season: Ellis, a seventh-round draft pick out of Utah, and Tillman, who went undrafted out of Indiana and played for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League. Safety Justin Strnad's three sacks include one of Aaron Rodgers in his first NFL start.