Renck: If Nik Bonitto wants to be considered among NFL elite, Broncos edge rusher must play his best when it matters most

Ok, Saint Nik. Time for an escape Claus.

The Broncos squandered an 11-point lead against the Chargers, cratered their four-game win streak, and were left still needing a single victory with two attempts remaining to end their long playoff drought.

The first arrives at Cincinnati.

Ruh-roh! Here comes Joe Burrow.

If not for the Bengals’ terrible record and abysmal defense, the quarterback would be a serious MVP candidate. He has thrown for a career-high 36 touchdowns, including multiple scores in 11 games. If not for the Bengals’ terrible record and abysmal defense, receiver Ja’Marr Chase would be the frontrunner for offensive player of the year. He boasts 102 receptions, 1,413 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The point of all this? The Broncos need their defense to regain its footing, starting with Nik Bonitto delivering an eye-opening performance after a pedestrian outing in Los Angeles.

Bonitto entered the defensive player of the year conversation when he turned into a cornerback and jumped the route on a throwback pass against the Colts. It was one of the most remarkable plays made by a Broncos defender not named Von Miller over the last decade.

It gave him touchdowns in back-to-back weeks. This is the type of production that forces national attention. And reframes expectations. When the season started, it was unclear if Bonitto would ever be a three-down player. Now, depending on how you view Pat Surtain II’s weekly blanket routine, he is arguably Denver’s most valuable player.

This brings added responsibility.

This season has been viewed through the prism of Bo Nix’s development. Under the guidance of coach Sean Payton, he has answered the question of whether or not he can be a franchise quarterback with an exclamation point. The Broncos’ return to the postseason, however, can not be his burden to bear alone. Denver’s defense is slumping, leaving the onus on this group to return to the standard set over the first 13 weeks to upset the Bengals.

Yes, Cincinnati will be favored. They are at home and feature an offense that has been held under 20 points only three times this season.

Nik, you’ve got next.

If Bonitto wants to be considered among the league’s elite, like Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, he must play his best when it matters most. This is who he has become. Late December calls for edge rushers to be game wreckers.

Bonitto will likely spend a large chunk of his snaps squaring off with left tackle Orlando Brown. Brown is a four-time Pro Bowler but is suffering through his worst season, undermined by injuries and ineffectiveness. He enters Sunday ranked 83rd out of 132 tackles by Pro Football Focus.

Burrow averages 40 dropbacks per game. He has been sacked 33 times.

Grab a bib. Time to eat, Nik.

The Broncos cannot afford another quiet performance. The Chargers’ Rashawn Slater neutralized Bonitto on Thursday. He finished with one pressure on 21 rushes, a rate of 4.8%, per Next Gen Stats. Compare that to his season average of 14.4%.

Here is why it becomes even more salient. While Burrow protects the ball when passing, he is no stranger to fumbling. He has put the ball on the ground nine times this season, losing seven.

This is the kind of math that made Von famous. He became so closely linked to the strip sack you would have thought he invented it. Bonitto has Von’s height, but his moves conjure images of Elvis Dumervil, who left a legacy of sacks and a fax mishap during his six years in Denver.

“Bonitto is an unbelievable talent. He’s everything I wanted to be as a pass rusher when it comes to getting off the ball,” former Broncos defensive end and Super Bowl champion Alfred Williams said recently. “When he juked under and used his punch to get a sack (earlier this season), those are things you talk about doing as a player, but you are never able to pull it off. Those are things that Dumervil, Von and DeMarcus (Ware) did.”

The return of cornerback Riley Moss would help Bonitto, if not the defense, significantly. With Moss sidelined because of a knee injury, the Broncos, among the league leaders in man coverage, have employed more zone. It makes it harder to attack the quarterback with different looks, leading to receivers getting open faster against linebackers in the middle of the field.