ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas likes to say, "Everybody loves touchdowns." True, but his teammates on the other side of the ball might like them more than most.

To Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Shane Ray, Shaquil Barrett and anyone else on the Broncos' defense who are set loose to chase opposing quarterbacks, it’s simple math.

“Our offense puts up the points, we get the lead and we get a chance to rush the passer," Miller said. “ ... And that’s my job; like I said, I just tell jokes and sack the quarterback."

Von Miller and the Broncos' defense are looking to rebound from finishing 22nd in sacks last season. Alex Brandon/AP

In the past two preseason games, the Broncos’ offense has shown some signs of revival from 2017’s doldrums. The Broncos’ first- and second-team offense had built a 23-10 lead against the Chicago Bears before Denver’s third-teamers struggled enough to turn it into a 24-23 loss.

Then the Broncos’ first- and second-team offense built a 23-3 lead over the Washington Redskins in what was a 29-17 win.

In both cases, an important piece of the Broncos’ regular season to come was revealed.

With just a skeleton of a game plan, the Broncos were then able to show some teeth in their pass rush on defense. And there’s a spiffy trophy in the lobby of their suburban Denver complex that was largely won when the team had its best pass rush since the days of the Orange Crush.

"Our defense is built to rush the passer," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said following Friday’s win against the Redskins. “If we can get a lead on teams, we can rush the passer. That’s our focus, to play with a lead so we can let Von and let Chubb, Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett go. If we are not playing with a lead, those guys can’t do their jobs. It’s fun to get a lead and fun to let those guys rush forward and play coverage behind."

Against the Redskins, the Broncos put 12 hits in all on the Washington quarterbacks with three sacks, including Miller and Chubb splitting one of those sacks. It was exactly what the Broncos’ envisioned when they took Chubb at No. 5 overall in the draft.

Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway has repeatedly called Chubb “the best pass-rusher in the draft," and Chubb has wasted little time in working his way into the starting defense.

Chubb can be the cure, or at least a 269-pound part of it, for what ailed the Broncos' pass rush last season. After leading the league in sacks (with 52) on the way to a dominating win in Super Bowl 50 to close out the 2015 season and finishing tied for third in sacks in 2016, the Broncos were a rather tepid 22nd in sacks last season.

While he had one of his best all-around season, Miller still finished with 10 sacks in 2017, his lowest total since 2013, when he missed six games with a league suspension and finished the year on injured reserve with a torn ACL. Opposing offensive coordinators simply turned all of their attention in pass protection to Miller much of the time because they didn’t believe anyone else in the formation could consistently make them pay for that.

“But now you have to decide," said Ray, who went on injured reserve last season after three surgical procedures on his wrist. “Whatever you do, you’re going to leave somebody with a one-on-one, and we have to make people pay for those one-on-ones."

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The Broncos have flashed a “NASCAR" package in the preseason that includes Miller, Chubb and Ray -- all three former first-round picks -- in the formation at the same time. And this year’s defense has enough depth that in the final minute of Friday's preseason contest, Ray, Barrett and Clinton McDonald -- he was one of the Broncos’ most significant signings in free agency in March -- were still in the game at the same time.

“We are a really good group with a lot of depth on our defensive line," said nose tackle Domata Peko Sr. “ ... We all know how to play the game and play really well."

“Von is a special player," Joseph said. “When you have players like that, your job as a coach is to try to put them in position to do special things. We still have to play games, but we like what our defense can do rushing the passer ... it will mean a lot to us."