ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In many ways, the Denver Broncos team that just missed the playoffs this season was a one-sided affair.
While the team’s offense spent much of the year mired near the bottom of the league in running the football, struggled on third down and was 22nd in scoring, the Broncos defense finished No. 4 overall, No. 4 in scoring defense and No. 1 against the pass.
All that dulls the shine of that sparkling resume on defense was a season-long struggle to effectively stop the run. The Broncos were 28th in run defense -- they allowed 130.3 yards per game rushing and only four teams allowed more -- and were 5-5 in games they allowed at least 120 yards rushing.
So, at first blush it would appear the team’s offense would be at the top of the Broncos’ to-do list in the coming weeks and months. It’s just that John Elway, the Broncos’ top football decision-maker, doesn’t quite see it that way.
“Offensively, again I need to go back and I’ll say that the priority is offense, the priority is offense, but the priority is to continue to be great at defense,’’ Elway said. “The No. 1 priority is to stay there. That’s to not take a step back defensively and then continue to work on the offense.’’
Perhaps it’s because Elway watched the highest-scoring team in NFL history -- the 2013 Broncos set the league’s single-season scoring record with 606 points -- lose a Super Bowl by 35 points. Maybe it’s because the 2015 Broncos were flawed on offense with injuries at quarterback and spotty play in the offensive yet the team won a championship with the No. 1 defense in the league.
Either way, Elway made it clear Monday as he discussed coach Gary Kubiak’s retirement from the NFL that the Broncos offense will get plenty of offseason attention, but the Broncos defense is still the starting point.
“I always say I put my trust in John Elway,’’ said Broncos linebacker Von Miller. “I think he wants the Denver Broncos to be great on defense, to be great on offense and go to Super Bowls. But I think our defense isn’t going to fade or anything. We have the players to keep doing what we’ve been doing.’’
To that end, the Broncos are expected to give some attention to the defensive line in both the draft and free agency. Defensive end Vance Walker suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp and defensive end Derek Wolfe finished the season with a neck injury that forced him to miss the Broncos’ season finale. DeMarcus Ware, the most prominent unrestricted free agent-to-be in the defense, missed six games and finished the year on injured reserve.
The Broncos, even as they struggled on run defense, went through much of the season with just five defensive linemen on the gameday roster, one fewer than their preferred number. There is also the matter of the Broncos' coaching staff, which is now in limbo given Kubiak’s retirement.
That includes defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, whose two-year deal he signed in 2015 is up. Asked how many of the current members of the coaching staff would be retained, Elway said those decisions will come from the new head coach.
“I think when you look at it and you look at what we have and the team that we have, I think it’s a job that a lot of guys would have and would be an excellent coaching staff, but that’s going to be up to the next coach,’’ Elway said. “I’m sure we will retain a lot of them. Hopefully they’ll retain a lot of them. Obviously we would like to keep as much continuity as we can, too. If we can keep as much of them together, we’ll try to do that.’’
The Broncos have invested heavily in the defense in recent seasons with the free-agency binge in 2014 that included Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward. The Broncos also have re-signed the likes of Chris Harris Jr., Wolfe and Darian Stewart on the defense as well in the past three seasons.
And Miller signed the richest contract for a defensive player in league history last offseason -- $114.5 million with $70 million potentially guaranteed -- to fill Elway’s vision of a championship defense.
So, even in an offseason when the Broncos will try to upgrade their offense, Elway sounds as if he wants to remain true to his plan.
“We’re going to be good on defense, but as an offense we have to take it as a challenge,’’ Elway said. “The players have to take it as a challenge as well as the coaches who need to take it on as challenge. Listen, we are going to be solid on defense, we’re great on defense, but that should be a challenge to us offensively to want to be that great, too.’’
