The quintessential Von Miller play of 2015 wasn’t in Super Bowl 50, when he earned the game’s MVP honors and battered Cam Newton with two strip sacks.

No, Miller’s star moment came on a mistake two weeks earlier in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots that sealed his reputation as perhaps the most threatening and disruptive defender in football. Quarterback Tom Brady sent a soft pass intended for tight end Rob Gronkowski, who slipped past Miller. As the ball sailed toward him, Miller corrected his positioning and swirled 180 degrees before leaping to snag the ball for an interception.

It was a not-so-subtle reminder that the now highest-paid defender in football is a one-man wrecking crew, capable of not just pressuring a quarterback but also dropping back in coverage and forcing opposing offenses to get creative in accounting for his presence.

“It starts with the get-off. He’s got a terrific first step, and then he has the ability to shake a guy,” Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “So you’re worried about his power, you’re ready to sit on that, and then he could slip you. You’re worried about his speed, and then he can convert to power. It’s kind of like the baseball pitcher that can throw the fastball by you, then you’re waiting on the fastball and here comes the changeup where you’re, ‘Man, I wasn’t ready for that.’ ”

The combination of speed and power has helped Miller rack up a league-high 5.5 sacks through the first four weeks of the season, and his 19 pressures are the third among 3-4 outside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He always gets there,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris said. “They can’t rush like him. He has God-given ability that nobody has.”

The full Von Miller Effect, however, cannot be quantified. As he finds new ways to wreak havoc, opponents have gone to greater lengths to try to contain him.

But doing so comes at a cost.

Against Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, the Super Bowl MVP notched three sacks, one a fourth-quarter strip sack that led to a recovery and touchdown by fellow outside linebacker Shane Ray.

At Cincinnati, the Bengals and their then-second-best passing offense used multiple blockers on Miller to try to keep him off quarterback Andy Dalton. Doing so left them with fewer available receivers against Denver’s stout secondary. Cincinnati finished with only 189 net yards passing and no passing touchdowns in the Broncos’ victory. Miller still had a sack, while Ray added three, a career high.

//player.performgroup.com/eplayer.js#0c59a4e84f15e6646cb98ce0e6.11hrrvnxxgcho15mv6dsnvd13y

At Tampa Bay, Miller had half a sack and two quarterback hits on Jameis Winston. Denver’s defense allowed only 143 net yards passing and recorded two interceptions. And defensive end Derek Wolfe had 2.5 sacks.

Teams might use a tight end or a running back to help block, or “chip,” Miller or have a player block him first before going out for a pass.

“Even though he gets off so quick, you can’t get that outside burst on people because they block you from the outside in,” Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “But we’ve got a few things that combat that. It makes it hard for them to complete the ball down the field when they don’t have anybody out — when they only have three receivers out. They lose a little bit trying to do that. We obviously lose a lot when they double-team our outside guys. Also, Wolfe is a good inside rusher, and that has made a difference. If you double the outside guys, he’s one-on-one inside, and he’s been able to beat people.”

As offenses load up on Miller, typically in the early part of the game, their passing is limited. When they ease off Miller later in games, he and Denver’s secondary operate in tandem to make offenses pay. Of Miller’s 5.5 sacks this season, 4.5 have come in the fourth quarter — as has a forced fumble and five of his eight quarterback hits. Before Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib intercepted two passes in the first half at Tampa Bay, all three of the Broncos’ interceptions were in the fourth quarter. And 12 of the team’s 23 pass breakups have been in the fourth.

“I don’t really try to get caught up in, ‘Man, I got chipped that play,’ ” Miller said. “Coach (Mike) Sherman, my coach in college (at Texas A&M), told me a long time ago: ‘Guys will start chipping you, but they’re not going to chip you all game. There’s no way they can chip you all game. If they do, we win.’ ”

By the numbers

19: Total pressures this season, third among 3-4 outside linebackers behind Buffalo’s Jerry Hughes (22) and Arizona’s Chandler Jones (21).

4.8: Career pressures per game. Only four players at any position are averaging as many through the first four weeks of the season.

5.5: Sacks this season, a league-high. Miller has more sacks than five teams, including the Oakland Raiders, who are coached by former Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

5: Sacks (at least) in each of his first six NFL seasons. He and Elvis Dumervil (2006-11) are the only players in Broncos history to achieve that.

65.5: Career regular-season sacks, fifth in Broncos history.

17: Career forced fumbles, tied for fourth (with Cliff Avril) in the league since 2011, when Miller was drafted.

14.5: Miller’s total quarterback knockdowns (7.0) and hurries (7.5), sixth among NFL defenders.

Sources: NFL and Pro Football Focus