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The Denver Broncos have put themselves right in the middle of the AFC Wild Card race on the back of their elite defense. Their next chance to solidify that position as a wild card team comes on Sunday when they take on the Atlanta Falcons, but they will have to do it without one of their most important players.
Safety Brandon Jones, who has been dealing with an abdominal injury, will not play on Sunday, according to Mike Klis of 9News.
“Tough one. Per source, Broncos safety and leading tackler Brandon Jones (abdominal) is INACTIVE today,” Klis reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Would expect Devon Key to start in his place.”
Jones leads the Broncos in tackles entering Sunday's game with 74 total stops on the season. He also has one forced fumble and an interception to go along with three pass breakups.
Without Jones, the Broncos will have to replace one of their most impactful players on a defense that has been one of the league's best all season long. As Sean Payton and Bo Nix have continued to build chemistry together on the offensive side, the defense has dragged them to multiple wins this season.
The thought in Denver is that as the offense continues to improve, they can have a very solid, playoff-caliber team led by this defense. The Falcons have a very good offense that will surely put that to the test on Sunday. Without Jones, that task gets even harder for the Broncos.
Devon Key has one sack and 19 tackles this season in a reserve role, so the Broncos are going to be playing a guy that does have some playing experience this season. Of course, his role will be much bigger today with Jones out of the lineup.
The Broncos need a win on Sunday to avoid falling below .500. They come into Sunday right at 5-5 and occupying the No. 7 spot in the AFC playoff picture, so they will want to keep winning while the rest of the conference tries to chase them down for that final spot.
