Peter Schrager Says Broncos Are Built to Beat Patrick Mahomes, Not NFL’s Rules

NFL analysts keep heaping praise on the Denver Broncos – particularly the defense. 

On The Pat McAfee Show, NFL analyst Peter Schrager put the Denver Broncos in rare company, saying Sean Payton’s team has been built around defense specifically to deal with Patrick Mahomes. He grouped Denver with the Houston Texans as two franchises that have zagged in an offense-obsessed league by loading up on defense.

The praise comes as the Broncos sit at 9-2, on an eight-game winning streak and atop the AFC West, with a defense that’s top-three in yards allowed and among the league leaders in sacks.

Peter Schrager Says Broncos ‘Built Their Team Around Defense’ to Stop Mahomes

Schrager jumped off a cohost’s point about defense dominating the 2025 season and immediately went to Denver and Houston. On the Broncos, he said this was no accident — Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph have to see Mahomes twice a year, and “you have to build your team to beat Mahomes,” not just chase points.

“In 2025, every rule is built for the offense and to score points,” Schrager said. “And yet two teams in particular, Denver and Houston have built their teams around defense.”  

He pointed to Denver’s personnel choices as proof of the plan:

• Spending big on defensive lineman Zach Allen to fortify the front. 
• Poaching Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw from the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, importing All-Pro caliber playmaking and physicality to the back seven. 
• Using a first-round pick on Jahdae Barron, even with All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain II already in place, to give Joseph another versatile, high-end cover option. 

Those moves match what Joseph has already said publicly. After Denver took down Kansas City earlier this season, he explained that the Broncos were “built to beat the Chiefs,” describing his group as “smart bullies” that can rush, cover and change styles depending on the opponent.

Schrager went a step further on McAfee’s show, saying Denver and Houston have flipped the script in a league that keeps changing rules to juice offense. Instead of trying to out-Mahomes Mahomes, they’re daring teams to survive four quarters against deep, physical defenses that travel in January.

He even floated the idea that if both teams sustain this level, the Broncos and Texans could end up meeting in San Francisco this February with everything on the line.

What It Means for the Broncos’ 2025 Super Bowl Push

Schrager’s comments hit different because the on-field results back them up.

The Broncos are:

• 9-2 and first in the AFC West, ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers and a struggling Chiefs team. 
• Top-three in total defense, allowing under 280 yards per game. 
• Near or at the top of the NFL in sacks, with multiple outlets noting Denver’s league-leading pass-rush production through Week 11. 

That matters in the context of the AFC. The Chiefs have slipped back to 6-5, the Texans are hanging around the playoff race, and the Broncos currently own the inside track to the No. 1 seed in the conference.

When national voices start talking like this — calling Denver one of the two teams built “against the rules” to win with defense — it changes the way the Broncos are viewed heading into the stretch run.

If the Broncos keep winning with this formula, Schrager’s McAfee monologue may end up looking less like a hot take and more like an early call on how Denver finally built a roster that doesn’t fear Mahomes, it hunts him.

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