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PHILADELPHIA — Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos were in desperate need of a statement win. They got one today in Philadelphia.
The Broncos scored 18 points in the 4th quarter to come from behind and stun the defending Super Bowl champs 21-17 and move to 3-2 on the season.
Bo Nix passed for 242 yards and 1 touchdown. Courtland Sutton caught 8 passes for 99 yards and 1 touchdown. Nik Bonitto recorded 2.5 sacks.
Here’s what stood out throughout the game.
Bo Nix comes up huge in the biggest game of his NFL career
Sunday was Bo Nix’s biggest game in the NFL. It was that way going into the game and he made the most of it.
After a very underwhelming first three quarters by Nix and the rest of the team, Bo had the biggest quarter of his life. And he did it on the road against the Super Bowl Champions.
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In the fourth quarter, Nix led the Broncos back from a 17-3 deficit with two touchdown drives, including a touchdown pass to Evan Engram.
Sean Payton then put all of the trust in his quarterback by going for two. Nix nailed that as well to give the Broncos the 18-17 lead.
Then to cap off the game, Nix an 11-play field goal drive to extend the Broncos lead to 21-17.
Broncos overcame an incredibly poor start
Midway through the second quarter, the Broncos and Eagles were tied 3-3 and the Denver was one play from getting the ball back with great field position.
Philadelphia faced a 3rd-and-17 from their own 22 yard line.
Instead of Denver’s defense getting off the field, the Eagles had other plans. Jalen Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 52-yard completion over Riley Moss.
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Two plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone to take a 10-3 lead.
Jalen Hurts 47-yard touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley to start the second half felt like the dagger in the game, even though there was still nearly a full half of football left.
Until the fourth quarter, it felt like the Broncos never had a shot. Trailing 17-3 entering the fourth quarter, the Broncos never gave up.
Penalties remain the Broncos’ biggest opponent
Entering Week 5, the biggest thing standing in between the Broncos and a 4-0 record was themselves. Crucial mistakes and numerous penalties were the biggest reasons the Broncos were 2-2 instead of 3-1 or even 4-0.
On Sunday in the city of Brotherly Love, Denver was once again their biggest enemy, despite facing the reigning Super Bowl Champs.
In the second quarter, Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense were easily moving down the field and in field goal range. But an illegal formation penalty pushed Denver’s offense back and killed all of their momentum. The series ended in a sack. Instead of at least kicking a field goal and taking a 6-3 lead, Denver punted the ball back to the Eagles.
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On the very next drive, penalties bit the Broncos in the tail once again.
On 2nd-and-4, after picking up a first down and near midfield, Garett Bolles was called for a false start, pushing them back five yards. Two plays later, the Broncos were punting. Another penalty derailed yet another Broncos offensive drive.
At halftime, the Broncos had five penalties for a whopping 55 yards.
The drive-killing penalties continued in the second half too. The Broncos’ first drive of the second half was derailed with an intentional grounding penalty that forced the Broncos into a 3rd-and-21 and knocked them out of field goal range.
Despite over 100 penalty yards, the Broncos were still able to beat the Super Bowl Champions on the road.
“RUN IT!!!”
A week after racking up nearly 200 yards on the ground in a dominant win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sean Payton went right back to the ground game to start the game.
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Denver’s first two plays were runs. For of the first five were runs. And seven of their first 14 plays were runs.
The Broncos’ commitment to running the ball wasn’t surprising, especially after the broadcast caught Payton’s play sheet say “RUN IT!!!” across the top.
Last year, when Denver’s faced the Chargers in Los Angeles, Payton had the exact same message at the top.
By halftime, however, the commitment to the run had vanished, as Nix had 18 passing attempts to the team only running the ball 10 times.
In the second half, however, Payton committed to the run and it sparked the Broncos’ offense, on the ground and through the air. J.K. Dobbins touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave Denver their first score of the game.
The Broncos ended game with 29 rushing attempts for 130 yards on the ground.
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