Broncos coach Sean Payton ended his Monday teleconference call with his own question.

He asked reporters: “Nothing on the defense and holding Falcons rushing attack down?”

It’s true that rookie quarterback Bo Nix dominated the conversation after Denver hammered Atlanta, 38-6, at Empower Field on Sunday. Nix is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to complete over 80% of his passes for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in a single game. But Payton is correct.

The Broncos put on a defensive masterclass against the Falcons.

Explosive running back Bijan Robinson was limited to 12 carries for 35 yards. The Broncos didn’t allow a touchdown, gave up just 226 total yards and held Atlanta scoreless after halftime. Denver collected four sacks — from OLB Nik Bonitto (twice), OLB Jonah Elliss and DT Malcolm Roach — to now lead the NFL with 39 total entering Week 12 at the Las Vegas Raiders.

“Their wide-zone scheme, they do a great job with (Robinson). If that gets going, then everything else falls in place for the quarterback (Kirk Cousins),” Payton said following the game Sunday. “We felt like the primary key to winning this game was … who won the rushing battle.”

Safety P.J. Locke added in the postgame locker room: “This week we really honed in on communication. We had extra meetings and stuff like that to make sure everybody was on the same page, and I think it paid dividends (Sunday).”

The Broncos also created a key turnover in the third quarter with inside linebacker Cody Barton intercepting Cousins near midfield. Call it INT redemption for Barton after he dropped a pick in Week 7 against the Saints.

“It was a fun play,” Barton said. “Just doing my job and what I’m supposed to do. The big play found me. It happens fast. … When this team and defense forces a turnover and we get the ball back, your win percentage goes up immensely. … We all celebrate in the end zone together and it lifts up the whole team.”

The Broncos defense might lack star power considering cornerback Pat Surtain is its lone first-round pick. But it seems their reputation is growing after dominating Atlanta. Just ask Falcons coach Raheem Morris what he thinks about Denver’s defense.

“They were awesome,” Morris said following the game Sunday. “Great job by their coaches. Hats off to (defensive coordinator) Vance (Joseph). … They stopped us today.”