Look up the phrase ” bull rush” in the dictionary and it’ll say “a direct forceful rush.” A better meaning is what Broncos’ defensive end Derek Wolfe did to New England offensive lineman Josh Kline time and time again Sunday.

Late in the first quarter, Wolfe squared up Kline, going through him instead of around him, and took Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon’s lunch money, too, when Cannon came to help.

Wolfe’s pursuit ended with quarterback Tom Brady getting thrown to the ground for a sack. Then Wolfe let out a yell, or maybe it was a howl if you listened hard enough.

Wolfe may be the quietest guy on the defensive line, but when he plays like he did against the Patriots his performance speaks loud enough.

The cold and snow didn’t bother him, either. It was his type of game.

“Man, I was having fun out there,” Wolfe said. “A lot of fun.”

It’s easy for Wolfe to enjoy being on the field now. The 25-year-old is playing his best football of the season, and possibly the best of his career.

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At 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, Wolfe always has been known as a stout run stuffer. He displayed his skill early against New England. The Patriots ran for a mere 39 yards — with Wolfe’s bone-chilling tackles for loss on running back Brandon Bolden a big reason for the struggles.

The difference in Wolfe, however, is his leap as a pass rusher.

He now has a sack in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 10 and 11 in 2013.

Wolfe admitted it was hard for him to watch as the Broncos’ defense destroyed offenses while he was suspended for the first four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

He enjoyed seeing the success of the Broncos’ top-ranked defense, but every time a player made a sack or a run stuff it felt like the team needed him less and less.

Questions began to arise in his mind: “Would this time away phase me out of the defense? In a contract year, what would this mean for my future?”

His teammates, however, never had a doubt.

“We know what type of player Derek Wolfe is,” outside linebacker Von Miller said.

Wolfe had a career-high nine tackles against the Patriots breaking a record he set earlier in the year against Green Bay, which earned him AFC defensive player of the week.

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The fourth-year defensive end says he can’t take all the credit. Wolfe has what you can’t teach — a tremendous work ethic, according to coach Gary Kubiak and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. But for what can be taught — technique, leverage, skill moves — much of that comes from defensive line coach Bill Kollar.

Phillips said when Wolfe was out on suspension, the defensive end called Kollar with a question: How can I get better?

Kollar’s response was simple: Get better at attacking the quarterback.

Wolfe took the message to heart focusing nearly all of his time and attention on the task. He’s always had the mentality that he could win every play, now he put the time behind the technique to go out there and do it with effort and skill.

“His pass rush has gotten a lot better. I think that Bill has done a really good job with him,” Kubiak said. “Derek plays extremely hard. Between the effort and the work with Bill, I think that he’s a much-improved player.”

That boost has been needed with outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware’s pass rush out because of a back injury the past three games (and now a fourth).

Wolfe believes he’s just getting started.

Cameron Wolfe: 303-954-1891, cwolfe@denverpost.com or @CameronWolfe

Cameron Wolfe, The Denver Post

Beware of the Wolfe

A look at five of the best games of Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe’s career, three of them coming in November 2015. Wolfe, who is known as a run stuffer, has 33 tackles and two sacks through seven games this season.

Year Game (result) Tackles Sacks 2012 11/04 W @ Cincinnati 6 0 2012 12/16 W @ Baltimore 4 1 2015 11/01 W vs Green Bay *7 0 2015 11/22 W @ Chicago 4 1 2015 11/29 W vs New England **9 1

* – Wolfe won AFC defensive player of the week

** – set career-high