Broncos Must Solve Dolphins 'Cover Zero' Blitz To Snap Losing Streak

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- The Denver Broncos have a problem. They give the football away like they're Christmas presents. The Broncos have 21 turnovers, which is the most in the NFL and have given up at least one turnover in every game this season. With the Broncos turning over the ball five times in last Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Vic Fangio has made it a point of emphasis this week to protect the football.

"This will be a very important week for us to take care of the ball. As you alluded to, we haven't done a good job of that in several games this season and it's come back to hurt us," Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said.

"That's really the way it is, the understanding that you can't do that, you can't turn the ball over like we did against the Raiders and expect to win games," Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said.

Turnovers will hurt the Broncos even more this week as they host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Dolphins have forced 15 turnovers, which are the fourth-most in football. They have also forced a turnover in the last 15 games.

One of the biggest ways the Dolphins force turnovers is by putting pressure on the quarterback. They blitz 41.6 percent of the time, which is the fourth-most in the NFL. One of their favorite blitzes is using a cover zero blitz. This is when a defense uses a six or seven-man pressure while playing man-to-man defense in the secondary. Below is how the Dolphins used it to force Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff into mistakes.

Drew Lock saw a similar cover zero blitz against the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season and threw a pick-six to Daniel Sorensen. He knows he can't afford to make the same mistake if the Broncos are going to snap their two-game losing streak.

"You've got to figure out a way to sometimes scheme up a couple cover zero looks you might get in the game and just get ready for it. That's something that you have to react to and not necessarily overthink, so to say," Lock said.

The Broncos (3-6) will face the Dolphins (6-3) at Empower Field at Mile High at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday.