Historic Broncos Defense Will Be Without Superstar DB

File this under "uh-oh" in the drawer as the Denver Broncos head into Week 9 of the NFL season.

During their decisive Week 8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, defensive superstar Pat Surtain II suffered a pectoral strain that could sideline him for at best several weeks, at worst much longer if he ends up on injured reserve.

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Surtain has been part of a defensive unit on a record breaking pace with 36 sacks so far. He actually appeared injured earlier in the game with a leg issue, but Broncos fans were relieved to see him make his way out of the blue medical tent and back onto the field.

Not too long after, he made a tackle where he sort of swung around a Dallas wide receiver before going down to the ground, then waving his arm as if to stretch out his shoulder, obviously having tweaked something.

It was later revealed that last year's Defensive Play of the Year actually had a pectoral strain. When this was first announced, many thought "oh how bad could that be?" As the days have passed since the game, turns out it could be pretty bad.

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The chance does exist that if he doesn't bounce back quickly, he could be placed on injured reserve, forcing him to sit out at least 4 games. The good news is only being at the halfway point of the season, and having young rookie CB Jahdae Barron already playing some pretty good ball, hopefully Surtain can rest up and be back in time for a late season run at the playoffs at beyond.

The Broncos play the Texans this weekend down in Houston. It will be an early game with kickoff at 11 AM mountain time.