Schrager's Cheat Sheet: Vance Joseph's resurgence; Jayden-Lamar must-see showdown

Every week, FOX Sports NFL reporter Peter Schrager opens his notebook and opines on three of the biggest storylines around the league. 

1. Vance Joseph's Resurgence

The best story that's not gotten enough press this year is what the Denver Broncos are doing on defense. And the man at the helm has a story to tell, himself. Vance Joseph, who has now been coaching in the NFL for 20 years, finally got his head coaching opportunity with the Broncos in 2017. But the results were mixed — the Denver fan base never took to him and it all was over in 24 short months. Joseph was out. Fired. He resurfaced as Kliff Kingsbury's defensive coordinator in Arizona, but when Kliff lost his job, too, an opportunity came in Denver when Sean Payton took the head-coaching gig with the Broncos. Payton met with Rex Ryan and others for the DC position, but Vance Joseph was a name that kept coming up in conversations. But could Joseph go back to the place where he was fired as a head coach and return in an assistant role? It takes someone devoid of ego and someone who just loves the profession to do so. When the job was offered, he accepted the gig. The fan reaction was mixed. And after giving up 70 points to the Dolphins in Week 3 last year, it looked like it was a mistake on all fronts. 

But something happened. A few weeks later, they held Patrick Mahomes in check in a rare Broncos win over Kansas City (Mahomes' first-ever loss to Denver). Over the second half of the 2023 season, Denver's D showed great improvement. 

And this year, Denver ranks both third in the NFL in total defense (256.5 yards/game) and scoring defense (13.8 PPG). As rookie quarterback Bo Nix gets acclimated and comfortable, Joseph's defense is leading the way. Payton's got his