Vance Joseph has no ‘ill feelings’ toward Broncos ahead of 1st matchup since firing

It has been more than four years since the Arizona Cardinals last played the Denver Broncos during the regular season.

In October of 2018, Denver was led by head coach Vance Joseph and defeated the Cardinals 45-10 in Glendale. Less than three months later, Joseph was hired as Arizona’s defensive coordinator after getting fired by the Broncos.

Joseph said Sunday’s Cardinals-Broncos matchup does not mean more to him because of his history with Denver, but he admitted his time as head coach provided beneficial experience.

“I don’t have a lot of feelings about the next game,” Joseph told reporters. “Obviously for the Cardinals, my focus is simply playing good defense and trying to get a win. It’s been a long month for us.

“… It was never any ill feelings. It was just a job and it didn’t get done. You move on. I don’t relive it at all. I mean, it was great experience. We had great people to work with there … I enjoyed my moments there.”

Joseph headed the Broncos for two seasons and went 11-21. In 2018, he commanded the No. 13 scoring defense in the NFL, which also ranked No. 6 in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), according to Football Outsiders. The offense ranked No. 24 in points and No. 15 in DVOA.

Four quarterbacks started multiple games over the two years, and reporters got a laugh out of Joseph when he was asked whether having a franchise quarterback would have made a difference.

“I’m assuming I would have won some games,” Joseph said. “Defensively, it was right, it was right. I mean, that’s been stated numerous times. But again, that wasn’t the case. It happened. It was a fast two years in Denver. … We didn’t win, they wanted to change and I was the guy to change. So that’s part of being a head coach.”

Denver has played under two head coaches since Joseph’s departure.

The Cardinals are looking for their first win since Nov. 13 on Sunday against a Broncos team that has not seen a win since Oct. 30.

Arizona’s defense is looking for a bounce back after a pair of critical errors cost it against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, a 27-13 loss for the Cardinals.

Neither team’s starting quarterback will suit up, and Arizona’s defense will be without defensive end Zach Allen and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.

Kick off in Denver is set for 2:05 p.m. on Sunday. Tune to Arizona Sports 98.7, ArizonaSports.com or the Arizona Sports app. 

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