The 2015 Denver Broncos had one of the historically great defensive seasons in the history of the league. In fact, Denver’s defensive dominance makes an interesting case for the Orange Crush 2.0 being the greatest defense ever.

When thinking about the best defenses in history, a few teams come to mind. Teams like the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2000 Baltimore Ravens, or generally the 1985 Bears. Are the 2015 Denver Broncos in that conversation?

Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan believes they are. “You’re going to ask me? No. 1. No. 1 in my opinion, over ’85 Bears,” Trevathan said, according to Around the NFL writer Dan Hanzus. “If not No. 1, No. 2. I feel like we did a good job playing our games. It wasn’t ever pretty, but when you put it in our defense’s hand we always come up with that win.”

Trevathan is not wrong about the Broncos defense, they were truly special all season. Denver was the only team in the league to win a game without scoring an offensive touchdown in the game, and the Broncos did it twice. (Baltimore and Oakland).

Even President Barack Obama raved about the Wade Phillips-led defense in a phone call with Gary Kubiak and DeMarcus Ware. “I want to let you know that that’s about as good a defense as I’ve seen since the 85’ Bears,” Obama said. Notice the well-known Bears fan raved about the Broncos defense without saying which prestine defense was better. (Smart politician).

http://www.nfl.com/videos/denver-broncos/0ap3000000635307/President-Obama-congratulates-Broncos

The POTUS has a good point though. Denver posted impressive statistics all season, leading the league in overall defense (283.1) and sacks (52). While posting the No. 3 rushing defense in the league, Denver was just as effective against the pass. In a pass-heavy league, where the recent rule changes favor the offense, and teams are putting up record statistics, Denver as he only team in the league to allow less than 200 yards per game for the regular season (199.6).

On top of the fact that Denver did not have much offensive production of their own, the Denver defense had a razor thin margin for error. Most defenses would crumble after bailing their team out week in and week out. The Broncos seemed to do the opposite.

In the postseason, they were more impressive. Denver shut down some of the most explosive offenses in the league, dominating the league’s elite quarterbacks in the process. Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Cam Newton combined to produce four offensive touchdowns in the playoffs, only one of which came through the air.

In the postseason, opposing offenses were 7-for-42 on third down conversions, and the Broncos were +4 in the turnover margin. The only word to describe that performance is dominant.

When the lights shined brightest, so did the Denver superstars. Each and every week, somebody from the prestigious Orange Crush would show up, just when it seemed there was no hope.

What was even more impressive about the Denver defense, was the depth that seemed to exist at every position. When Chris Harris was banged up with a bum shoulder, secondary players like Bradley Roby made up the difference. When DeMarcus Ware was facing back issues and missed a few weeks, Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray stepped up to save the day.

Looking at the pass rushers, linebackers, and secondary, this Denver defense was by far the deepest in the league. This team constantly picked up each other’s slack, and as great as the Denver superstars were all season, it truly took all the players on the field to perform at such an elite level.

Related This list of accomplishments makes a strong case for Denver's defense being the greatest of all time

The 2015 Denver Broncos were not handed anything all season. When the going got tough, Denver imposed their will on opposing offenses. If they are not the greatest defense of all-time, they are definitely in the conversation.

In reality, it is really tough to compare the best defenses in history, because the league has evolved so much over time. So maybe it is not fair to declare one defense as the best ever, but if you asked me to pick any defense of all-time when the game was on the line. It would be the 2015 Denver Broncos.