Denver Broncos to face another MVP QB in Matthew Stafford

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In weeks when the Denver Broncos are pitted against one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph often responds with a sigh when asked questions about how to stop them.

"That's our league, you know?" Joseph said. "Every week, every season, every time I look up I kind of feel like there is a quarterback waiting who can just punish you. Every week, man."

This is one of those weeks, as the Broncos will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night at Empower Field at Mile High (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford will stand across from Joseph's defense six days after his 69th career 300-yard passing game and his 22nd career game with at least four touchdown passes.

He is also the last remaining active player who has been an NFL MVP that Joseph will face since being hired as Denver's defensive coordinator in 2023. The Broncos have played against Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen at least once since, and Sunday's match-up against Stafford and the Rams will complete the set.

The five quarterbacks have won a combined 10 MVP awards, including the last eight. They've had 10 meetings (including playoffs) against the Broncos over the past three-plus seasons. Denver has already faced one former MVP this season, losing to Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 31-10 in the season opener. The loss to Mahomes makes those former MVPs 5-5 against the Broncos since Joseph became defensive coordinator.

The Broncos have allowed one 300-yard passing game in that stretch -- Mahomes threw for 306 yards in Week 6 of the 2023 season. They have thrown a combined 14 touchdown passes to nine interceptions and have been sacked 27 times (2.7 per game). Jackson had the best all-around day from that batch, completing 16 of 19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in the Ravens' 41-10 win over the Broncos in Week 9 of the 2024 season. Allen had 283 passing yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in the Broncos' overtime divisional round win this past January.

"Every week is a tough week because everybody has players who can make plays," Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II said. "... But those quarterbacks at the top of their games, they force you to pay attention to all the details because the smallest things, the little details, that's all they need to put you in a bad spot. And once they find a bad spot, they're not going away from it until you take care of it."

The Broncos' defense re-calibrated from their Week 1 loss to the Chiefs with a Week 2 win over Jacksonville. The Broncos improved from giving up 173 rushing yards to Kenneth Walker III and missing an alarming 19 tackles against Kansas City to allow only 115 net yards and three points to the Jaguars in the second half to spark a comeback win. The Jaguars had 64 combined yards in their final three possessions of the game, which included an interception by Broncos cornerback Riley Moss.

"We got back to ... [winning] first down," Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton said. "... Win first down and then get to second down, third-and-long, get off the field."

They'll have to continue that against the Rams and Stafford, who many defenders around the league consider the best pure thrower in the NFL. He had 327 passing yards and four touchdowns in Monday's 28-6 win over the New York Giants and is a player that Broncos fans aren't used to their team facing.

In a quirk of his career arc and scheduling, the Broncos are the team that Stafford has competed against the least in his 17 previous seasons -- 12 with the Detroit Lions and five with the Rams. Stafford has played against the Broncos only twice and in Denver just once, a 45-10 Detroit win in 2011 when Tim Tebow was the Broncos' starting quarterback.

His main target in his second trip to Denver could be veteran receiver Davante Adams, who had 195 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Week 2. The former All-Pro was forced into the premier pass-catching role when 2025 first-team All-Pro Puka Nacua was ruled out Monday with an injured groin. If Nacua misses a second consecutive game, the Broncos could choose to match Surtain on Adams.

In addition to Stafford's performance, the Rams added 163 rushing yards as their two running backs -- Kyren Williams and Blake Corum -- each averaged at least 6.6 yards per carry. The Broncos know another tackling performance like they had against the Chiefs will likely result in the same outcome.

"I've said [Week 1] wasn't our standard by any means," Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen said. "[Week 2] was better, but you always have to look at it and decide 'are guys in the right spots for the most part and we're just not tackling or whatever or are we making mistakes, not being where we're supposed to be?'

"I think we've been where we're supposed to be and when we finish, good things happen."