218 – The mention of the number casts embarrassment upon several Broncos defenders’ faces.

It represents disrespect. It represents how the Raiders bullied them in a prime-time loss last Sunday night at Oakland in each teams’ biggest game to date. It represents how far a once-dominant run defense has fallen.

The Raiders’ 218 rushing yards are the most the Broncos have given up in the past four years. Coaches yelled and challenges were delivered in the locker room.

“As linebackers, as defensive linemen, we take pride, that’s what we do – we stop the run. It’s a passing league, but you gotta run to win. And we have to stop the run to win,” Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said. “It’s an insult when teams line up and say we’re going to run the ball down your throats. We’re tired of it, but at the same time we gotta stop it. If we don’t stop it, they’re going to keep talking about it and doing it.”

The Broncos defense, a proud unit, is now picking up the pieces. Key injuries, free agency losses, technique errors, and a recent spell of poor tackling have contributed to the Denver decline.

The Broncos’ run defense has been leaky throughout the season.

Sunday night against the Raiders was a different, more troublesome problem. There weren’t many disguises or exotic schemes. Denver knew Oakland was running the ball, but couldn’t stop it.

How the Broncos respond to such a challenge, particularly on the defensive line and at linebacker, will have a large impact on whether this team is the Super Bowl contender it planned to be.

“Ultimate slap in the face”

Denver’s run defense ranks 29th in the 32-team NFL, giving up 128.6 yards a game. It also is in the bottom-10 in rushing yards allowed per carry (4.4), rushing touchdowns allowed (nine), 20+ yard rushes (eight) and 40+ yard rushes (three). Last season, it allowed 45 yards less rushing yards per game and a league-best 3.3 yards per carry. It also had fewer 20-plus (five) and 40-plus yard (one) rushes.

Why the drastic difference only one season later?

“It’s coaching probably. I always blame myself first. I think that’s where you start,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “Sometimes it’s not working enough on it in training camp, working in the preseason or utilizing the talent we have. We don’t have great size inside, so we have to do some things to help us there.”

Many Broncos defenders are adamant it isn’t a scheme problem, pointing toward their success last season with the same defense. Phillips said they ran more blitzes against Oakland than they have against other teams over the past two seasons.

Oakland went with big personnel packages using a sixth offensive lineman to control the running game. It also used two and three tight ends with single back and fullback formations.

Former Broncos’ defensive lineman Alfred Williams said offenses are challenging players who aren’t used to tackling consistently in the running game, such as cornerback Chris Harris. Linebackers and defensive backs have struggled to fill gaps.

“In football, the only way you get embarrassed is when somebody runs the ball on you. It’s the ultimate slap in the face,” said Williams, who said the Broncos should call more zone coverage in short-yardage situations.

Big rushing plays have boosted offenses’ yards-per-carry average. It hasn’t been a methodical destruction of the defense, but rather explosive rushes during inopportune times.

The Broncos’ recent defensive struggles against the running game can be summed up in two categories. Denver has been vulnerable to delayed handoffs to the running back, who then finds a lane, bursting past blocked or out-of-position defenders. Also, outside rushers have taken advantage of aggressiveness by Denver’s edge rushers and inside linebackers are failing to fill in the gaps.

“It’s a pride thing, it’s an effort thing and it’s a want to,” said Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, a leader in the locker room. “Stopping the run when you know they are going to use 13, 12 personnel, bring a big offensive tackle in there, it’s a grit thing,” Ware said. “It’s saying that no matter how many guys you bring in, we’re still going to be able to stop the run.”

Easier said than done considering how much the team has lost in talent. The Broncos leading tackler in two of the previous three seasons, linebacker Danny Trevathan, left in free agency along with one of its best run stuffers and playmakers, defensive end Malik Jackson. Defensive end Vance Walker was having a great training camp and was expected to replace Jackson, but tore his anterior cruciate ligament in August. Now, Broncos defensive end and top run stopper Derek Wolfe will miss 2-4 weeks with a hairline fracture of his right elbow.

“People underestimated the loss of Vance Walker,” Marshall said. “He’s stout in there. Malik, too. We lost some good guys.”

No easy fix

Sunday, the Broncos have another difficult challenge facing the Saints’ high-powered offense. Quarterback Drew Brees will get most of the attention, but New Orleans’ running game with power backs Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower might present the bigger challenge to the Broncos.

The Saints totaled a season-high 248 rushing yards last week against San Francisco and after watching film, they’re sure to continue attacking the Broncos’ pedestrian run defense. Broncos coaches know positive production, starting Sunday, is the only way they can put the stain of their struggles behind them.

“They’re telling us get off the block, stay in your gap, get to the ball with an attitude, don’t accept being blocked,” Marshall said. “It’s echoing loud enough because we don’t want to be the Achilles’ heel of this defense, and right now that’s what it is.”

Without Wolfe, the Broncos will need veteran defensive end Billy Winn and rookie defensive end Adam Gotsis to step up. But a larger role means more time to be exposed.

The Broncos’ defense has attempted to compensate for the offense’s struggles. Everyone wants to be a game-changer. It works when you’re winning, but now the Broncos’ defense has enough problems of its own.

“Especially being down early in the second quarter, you want to be the guy to make the play,” linebacker Todd Davis said. “And if you miss by one gap, you’re out of place and then a big play happens.”

Gotsis added: “Yeah, that can happen. Especially when you know they’re running the ball. You might know you have this gap, but you know they’ve been hitting it in the middle or hitting it outside. And the one time you jump out there to make the play, the guy cuts it up in your gap. You just gotta be disciplined and trust the guy next to you.”

NFL teams don’t win many games if they can’t stop the run or run the football. The Broncos say they will fix the problems. We’ll find out at New Orleans.

Running wild

The Broncos gave up 218 rushing yards to the Raiders last Sunday, the most in a game since giving up 251 in a Oct. 7, 2012 loss to the Patriots. Denver’s run defense looks little like the elite unit they fielded in 2015, and even pars in comparison to recent Broncos seasons. A look at the Broncos’ run defense over the last five seasons: