The Broncos can make history Sunday. But not in a good way.

If Denver doesn’t force at least two turnovers — something they’ve done only four times this season — against the Raiders in the season finale, the Broncos will finish with the least amount of turnovers created in a single season in franchise history. They currently have only 12 — seven interceptions and five fumbles — with the record being 13 in 2008. 

The Broncos have gone six games this season without creating a turnover. And they currently rank second to last in the league in total takeaways, tied with Detroit and ahead of Houston, which has only eight this season. 

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“To say there’s one thing and one reason only would be wrong. I think it’s an accumulation of a lot of reasons,” coach Vic Fangio said when asked what the root of the problem is. “One of them being we’ve played a lot of good quarterbacks too that haven’t thrown a lot of interceptions. But we’ve got to do better at that, there’s no two ways about it. We’ve got to be able to take the ball away at a much higher rate than we have, and it’s held us back.”

Safety Justin Simmons, who leads the team in turnovers created with four interceptions, agreed with Fangio saying it’s a combination of playing good quarterbacks and not capitalizing on making a big play when they present themselves. 

“There have definitely been more opportunities and we just haven’t executed on the,” Simmons said. “The takeaway aspect — a lot of it is effort — and I don’t mean effort like getting to the ball, I just mean effort in conscious effort of attacking the football. Like I said, you got a lot of guys in the rotation mixing in and out throughout the season, constant injuries at the d-line and cornerback position, and it’s hard to go out there and execute at the highest of levels when the consistency of certain individuals aren’t there just because of COVID and injuries and things of that nature.

“You got guys that are kind of still learning everything and not playing fast and to the fullest ability just because of uncertainties of wanting to perfect your technique and everything that comes with it.”

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Simmons has a valid point — the Broncos losing six cornerbacks this season certainly hasn’t helped their case in creating turnovers. 

Whether or not the Broncos make history Sunday means little in the grand scheme of things this season. But with Fangio entering his third as head coach and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell by his side, the defense has to take a leap in 2021 if it wants to make the playoffs. And that starts with staying healthy, which in turn could lead to more takeaways. 

“We were hit with a big injury bug. First, we have to get our guys back,” said Donatell, who has coached alongside Fangio in Chicago and San Francisco. “We grew knowledge wise, but we had a lot of different guys in there. That will prove to show depth for us with the guys we’re playing with right now at various positions — defensive line and defensive backs. It’ll add good depth to us when we get our other players back next year. Every year and every third year is different. You can see that in San Francisco we kind of got going a little sooner and had a little bit of a deeper roster. In Chicago, that’s when we spiked — in the third year.”

Fangio and Donatell’s third year starts Monday, but right now, Simmons is hoping to help the Broncos finish the 2020 season on a high note and avoid being on the wrong side of history. 

“My job as a leader of the defense is to figure out a way to get us to that point of doing better in that area,” Simmons said, “because at the end of the day no one cares what you’re going through or if you’re playing games without X, Y and Z person. All that matters is a win or a loss.”