ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Outside linebacker Von Miller earned a nod of respect on Wednesday when he was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack performance against the Indianapolis Colts.
After practice on Wednesday, Miller got even more praise from his teammates and coach.
"Von's obviously playing at a high level," Head Coach Gary Kubiak said. "Well deserved. Von's off to a great start."
Miller, who has racked up four sacks to begin the season, also recorded a forced fumble against Indianapolis that helped the Broncos secure a 2-0 start.
"There's no words to describe what kind of player he is," cornerback Aqib Talib said. "In my eyes he's definitely, by far, the best defensive player in the league. He impacts the game more than any other player on the field. There's no question. It's a no-brainer in my eyes."
The award is Miller's third conference recognition of his career and ties him with Ring of Fame linebacker Karl Mecklenburg for the most Defensive Player of the Week awards in Broncos history.
Miller tied his career high for sacks during the performance and added seven tackles and a pass defensed. He now has 64 career sacks, which puts him in a tie for sixth place with Trevor Pryce for the most sacks in Broncos history.
"Von is a beast," inside linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "He's an animal. He deserves every bit of that $114 million he got. I hope he saves some of it. He's an animal, man. I saw a different Von coming into training camp. He works harder.
"It's almost like when he got his money, he took it as a challenge. Like, 'OK, it's time. Now I've got to level up.' He's done that. Four sacks in two weeks. I hope he breaks the record. I'll be the first one to say that I'll be extremely proud of him if he does it."
Michael Strahan currently holds that record with 22.5 sacks, but Miller's blistering pace through two games would leave him with 32 sacks for the season. When he plays at that level, the defense's job gets exponentially easier.
Recently it's become so commonplace that members of the secondary have started to accept Miller's performance as normal.
"That's kind of what I expect from them guys," Talib said. "They do it so much, [if] there's like a guy running the route and the quarterback gets to scrambling, we're like, 'Man, where is Von and D-Ware [DeMarcus Ware]?' We get spoiled. We get spoiled. They do it so good. That's just what we think they're supposed to do."
Through two games, Miller has held up his end of the bargain, and people within the Broncos organization have certainly taken notice.
