A homecoming in the desert for Zach Allen and Vance Joseph as the Broncos face the Cardinals

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are bringing two former Cardinals defensive stalwarts into their game at Arizona on Sunday in All-Pro lineman Zach Allen and coordinator Vance Joseph, whose unit just throttled the reigning Super Bowl champs .

Both first arrived in the desert in 2019, Allen via the third round of the NFL draft out of Boston College and Joseph as defensive coordinator following his two-year stint as head coach of the Broncos.

Both burnished their credentials with the Cardinals and in 2023, Joseph joined newly hired Broncos head coach Sean Payton back in Denver. When free agency hit a month later, Allen followed Joseph to the Mile High City, where he's become a star.

“I owe a lot to V.J. and I really don’t think I’d be in this position without him," Allen said this week as the Broncos (4-2) prepared for their trip to face the Cardinals (2-4), who are coming off an impressive win over the Los Angeles Rams.

“I’m really, really blessed and fortunate to get drafted to Arizona with him and you know follow him here to Denver,” Allen said. “I owe a lot of my success to him and obviously we’ll see how the head coaching stuff goes again but selfishly I want to be with him forever. He’s the best.”

Joseph has similar thoughts about Allen, whom he said has taken his game to another level by becoming a stout run-stuffer in Denver.

“I think Zach’s been a good player for a long time. I think Zach is taking pride in being a great run-stopper. That’s elevated his game and you watch him one-on-one in the running game, he’s dominant in that part of his game," Joseph said. "The pass-rush part has always been there for Zach. He’s twitchy, he’s long, he’s got great hips and feet, but the run defense has gone to a place that made him a dominant player.

“So I’ve been proud of Zach, how he’s led this year."

Payton considers Allen on par with some of the best high-motor defenders in the game, guys such as Maxx Crosby or Cam Jordan, whose effort and technique are the same on their 60th snap as they are on their first snap.

“I do, Zach's one” of those rare players, Payton said, praising their high stamina and concentration. “There's a lot that goes into that. He would be one of those players, I would agree.”

Allen has followed up on last year’s All-Pro selection with 4 1/2 sacks through six games this year and has been a disruptive force for one of the league's top defenses. In Denver's 17-14 win over Seattle last week, Allen got in on a sack, joined the hit parade on Sam Darnold, who was hit 17 times in addition to his five sacks, and broke up two passes.

It's the work Allen puts in behind the scenes during the week that most impresses teammate Nik Bonitto.

“Everybody sees the stuff he sees on Sundays, winning in pass-rush one-on-ones, getting in the backfield, TLFs, but I think the thing that separates him from the others is how intelligent he is with the game and just how intentional he is with his study and just how he works," Bonitto said.

Allen will go against a reworked Cardinals offensive line, which has rookie Jayden Williams starting at left tackle after starter Paris Johnson Jr. was lost for the season because of a torn left biceps suffered three weeks ago.

It marks the first time Allen will face his former team.

“Arizona is where I grew up basically in this league, obviously facing adversity there my first couple of years in the league,” Allen said. "But I met V.J. there. I was able to have J.J. (Watt) as a mentor (in 2021-22), met really lifelong friends there. There's still some people and some staff members there that mean a lot to me. So it is a special place. So, it's going to be an exciting weekend."

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