TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Denver Broncos outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman couldn’t help but smile as he was serenaded Sunday night by what may be the most physically imposing choir in the world.
As Tillman answered questions in the locker room, teammates bombarded him with shouts of “Tiiiilllll” and “Look at him, look at him…” Tillman, who had been on the practice squad just 48 hours earlier, had made history with two sacks in his first NFL game. He was part of Denver’s pass rush that provided significant fuel in a 26-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Tillman, who was signed in the offseason by the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League. “… I don’t really know what to say about it, but all these guys kept telling me I could do it, but until it happens, it’s a dream, you know. But now it’s real.”
By making two of the Broncos’ seven sacks on Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Tillman became the first Broncos player since at least the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have two sacks in his NFL debut. And he became the first NFL player since Detroit’s James Houston on Nov. 24, 2022, to have two sacks in his NFL debut. Other players since 2000 to have two sacks for the first time include T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa.
“I just had to trust myself to do what I do,” Tillman said. “So, a big thank you to my team.” [of teammates] for giving me that confidence, I was saying they told me all week that I could do it. … And we said, once someone has one, we all want one.”
The 270-pound Tillman had a winding path to his breakout debut, going undrafted in 2022 after a Division II college career at Indiana University (Pa.). He spent three seasons with the Stallions, in both the USFL and UFL, before signing with the Broncos last summer. Tillman was signed to the practice squad after rosters were cut to 53 players and was elevated for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
Sunday’s performance from Tillman and the rest of the Broncos defense highlighted how differently Denver’s defense has played through the first three weeks of this season than it has through the first three games of 2023. The Broncos have 11 sacks, which is tied for fifth in the league. They are sixth in scoring defense after Sunday’s games, allowing just 15.3 points per game. They allowed 40.7 after three weeks last season, which included a 70-20 loss at Miami in Week 3, and had just four sacks.
While Broncos coach Sean Payton liked the early defensive results, he wasn’t ready to draw a comparison between that unit and the one that got off to such a slow start in 2023.
“We made a unique choice: We took out the Week 3 game against Miami last year — is that what we do? — and compared it to this week’s game?” Payton said Monday. “Yes, this year the outcome was better.”
The Broncos entered this offseason trying to shore up a run defense that finished 30th in the NFL last season with 137.4 yards allowed per game. But their efforts to do so — via trading for defensive end John Franklin-Myers and signing defensive tackle Malcolm Roach in free agency — have also paid off.
The addition of Franklin-Myers has forced offenses to play more “fair” pass protection, as defensive coordinator Vance Joseph put it, to deal with the Broncos’ increased options. Defensive end Zach Allen, who was regularly doubled last season, has feasted on more easy blocks. In the Broncos’ Week 2 loss to the Steelers, Allen had a sack and four quarterback hits while being credited with eight pressures. He added another sack Sunday.
“Obviously, we have, in my opinion, better rushing teams next to him,” Joseph said. “So it’s not always Zach Allen picking up the slack. Last year, everybody looked to Zach. Now we have guys inside that can rush Zach, so it’s pretty even. He gets one-on-ones and he wins.”
The Broncos also got more out of third-round rookie Jonah Elliss than they bargained for, bolstering an outside linebacker rotation that already featured Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto and Baron Browning. Elliss had his first career sack against the Steelers, Cooper leads the team with three sacks (including one against the Bucs) and Tillman will have a chance to continue his winning ways with Browning (foot) on injured reserve.
“We need everybody,” Cooper said. “We guys from the [secondary]linebackers, everybody up front. … We showed some of what we can do, and [in Tampa] we really showed when coverage and rush work together.
The Broncos also have used former All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II in faceoff situations to force quarterbacks to hold the ball a little longer. Surtain followed Seattle’s DK Metcalf in the season opener and allowed Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans just one reception Sunday while he was in coverage on him. (Evans had two receptions total.) Joseph said he plans to find ways to keep opposing quarterbacks from avoiding Surtain.
“It’s definitely a great feeling to play against a guy like that,” Surtain said. “… I did my part, defensively as a whole, to do what we did, we played the way we prepared. … I’m not going to lie, it’s a great feeling to know [the pass rush is] back out there, knowing there is little time for the QB to figure out the read.
“It makes your job a lot easier, makes you more aggressive on defense when the pressure on the passer is there. … We’ve just got to continue to do those things, every week, with that consistency.”
The Broncos’ defense faces plenty of tests soon, starting with a game against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets this Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Matchups with Justin Herbert, Derek Carr, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are also on the docket before mid-November. But they’re hoping their performances over the first three weeks will provide a glimpse of what they’re capable of this season.
“We want the defense to continue to progress as we have done. [against the Buccaneers]”, Cooper said, “go to the quarterback, get turnovers, do what we need to do.”
