Broncos snaps and analysis for the win over the Rams
DENVER, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 27: Talanoa Hufanga #9 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with teammates after a sack during the fourth quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Empower Field at Mile High on September 27, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThe Denver Broncos inactives against the Los Angeles Rams were: QB Sam Ehlinger, WR Marvin Mims Jr., DL Sai'vion Jones, TE Dallen Bentley, OL Kage Casey, WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey, and DT Tyler Onyedim.
Jones being inactive is a change since he played 33 and 21 snaps on defense in the first two games. The other inactives were fairly expected since LJH lost his active spot to Kolbe Katsis.
| Player | Pos | O Num | O Pct | D Num | D Pct | ST Num | ST PCt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Powers | G | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Garett Bolles | T | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Quinn Meinerz | G | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Mike McGlinchey | T | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Luke Wattenberg | C | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Bo Nix | QB | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Courtland Sutton | WR | 58 | 87% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Jaylen Waddle | WR | 49 | 73% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Pat Bryant | WR | 47 | 70% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Evan Engram | TE | 40 | 60% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| J.K. Dobbins | RB | 33 | 49% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Adam Trautman | TE | 27 | 40% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| RJ Harvey | RB | 24 | 36% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Nate Adkins | TE | 23 | 34% | 0 | 0% | 11 | 37% |
| Tyler Badie | RB | 12 | 18% | 0 | 0% | 14 | 47% |
| Troy Franklin | WR | 12 | 18% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Alex Palczewski | T | 6 | 9% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Adam Prentice | FB | 4 | 6% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 67% |
| Riley Moss | CB | 0 | 0% | 86 | 100% | 2 | 7% |
| Patrick Surtain II | CB | 0 | 0% | 86 | 100% | 0 | 0% |
| Alex Singleton | LB | 0 | 0% | 86 | 100% | 0 | 0% |
| Brandon Jones | S | 0 | 0% | 85 | 99% | 0 | 0% |
| Talanoa Hufanga | S | 0 | 0% | 83 | 97% | 6 | 20% |
| Zach Allen | DL | 0 | 0% | 61 | 71% | 6 | 20% |
| Nik Bonitto | LB | 0 | 0% | 58 | 67% | 0 | 0% |
| Justin Strnad | LB | 0 | 0% | 57 | 66% | 1 | 3% |
| Ja'Quan McMillian | CB | 0 | 0% | 54 | 63% | 0 | 0% |
| Jonah Elliss | LB | 0 | 0% | 53 | 62% | 8 | 27% |
| Malcolm Roach | DT | 0 | 0% | 53 | 62% | 7 | 23% |
| D.J. Jones | DT | 0 | 0% | 38 | 44% | 0 | 0% |
| Quandarrius Robinson | LB | 0 | 0% | 35 | 41% | 26 | 87% |
| Eyioma Uwazurike | DL | 0 | 0% | 35 | 41% | 6 | 20% |
| Dondrea Tillman | LB | 0 | 0% | 27 | 31% | 19 | 63% |
| Jahdae Barron | CB | 0 | 0% | 24 | 28% | 13 | 43% |
| Jordan Jackson | DL | 0 | 0% | 17 | 20% | 7 | 23% |
| Devon Key | DB | 0 | 0% | 7 | 8% | 27 | 90% |
| Jordan Turner | LB | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 21 | 70% |
| Tycen Anderson | S | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 27 | 90% |
| JL Skinner | S | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 67% |
| Kris Abrams-Draine | CB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 16 | 53% |
| Karene Reid | LB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 15 | 50% |
| Kolbe Katsis | WR | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 33% |
| Jeremy Crawshaw | P | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 27% |
| Wil Lutz | K | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 27% |
| Mitchell Fraboni | LS | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 27% |
| Matt Peart | T | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| Alex Forsyth | C | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
All five starting offensive linemen played all 67 snaps along with Bon Nix. Alex Palczewski played six snaps as the 6th offensive linemen.
Adam Prentice was active but only played four snaps on offense. He did play 20 snaps on special teams. JK Dobbins played 33 snaps at RB, while RJ Harvey got 24, and Tyler Badie played 12. Dobbins, Harvey and Badie had 18, 8, and 2 touches.
Evan Engram had the most snaps at tight end with 40, Adam Trautman got 27, and Nate Adkins got 23. That means that the Broncos used at least two tight ends on 23 snaps (or so, because we could have run 3TE sets). The tight end room combined for 91 snaps on 67 plays. Despite this, the tight ends combined for 1 catch for 8 yards and a TD on four targets.
Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Pat Bryant, and Troy Franklin played 58, 49, 47, and 12 snaps on offense. The WRs got targetted 17 times for eight catches and 1 TD.
The only active offensive players who did not play on offense were Kolbe Katsis, Matt Peart, and Alex Forsyth. Jarrett Stidham was the only offensive played who did not get in the game at all.
DefenseThe defense had three players play all 86 defensive snaps: Riley Moss, Pat Surtain, and Alex Singleton. Brandon Jones played all but one snap on defense, and Talanoa Hufanga played all but three.
The other cornerbacks, Ja'Quan McMillian and Jahdae Barron, played 54 and 24 defensive snaps. This was a huge jump for Barron who had only played five defensive snaps in the first two games. Devon Key played seven defensive snaps which is more snaps than he played in any game except the final game of last season against the Chargers.
The other ILB, Justin Strnad, played 57 defensive snaps. Jordan Turner got one defensive snap for the first tiem this year.
Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson, and Dondrea Tillman played 58, 53, 35, and 27 defensive snaps. Bonitto's 58 was the most he has played in a game that did not go to overtime. He played 72 snaps in the overtime loss to the Bengals and 64 snaps in the overtime win over the Commanders.
The hand-in-the-dirt DL guys, Zach Allen, Malcolm Roach, DJ Jones, Eyioma Uwazurike, and Jordan Jackson played 61, 53, 38, 35, and 17 snaps. Jackson was activated this game over Sai'vion Jones.
Defenders who did not play on defense (but did on special teams) were Tycen Anderson, JL Skinner, Kris Abrams-Draine, and Karene Reid. Key, Turner, Skinner and KAD all had tackles on special teams. Key had one tackle in kickoff coverage and one tackle on the final defensive drive.