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Pat Surtain’s DPOY case is real – and so is the defense fueling the Broncos

Vaseline October 7, 2024

DENVER – The Broncos honored the lone winner of the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award before Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

They then watched as #2 made his case to become #2.

There are plays that turn the momentum of a game around. Broncos coach Sean Payton says there are usually about five who can tell the story of a win or a loss. But Pat Surtain’s steal on the threshold of the goal line in the second quarter was in a category of its own on Sunday. It was hitting a reset button. It was like tying a buoy in the middle of a churning ocean and then feeling that buoy turn on its rocket engines and launch you out of the icy water.

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Bo Nix, secondary shines in Broncos’ 34-18 win vs. Raiders: Takeaways

The Broncos trailed 10-3. The Raiders had completed their first nine passes of the game and were moving the ball freely against a defense that had allowed just one touchdown in the previous two weeks. They were five yards away from a 17-3 lead.

Then the ball hit the chest of Denver’s All-Pro cornerback, and everything felt different.

“That completely changed the game,” defensive end Zach Allen said.

“I was vibrating and just cheering him on,” said cornerback Riley Moss, who was running a route on the opposite side of the field when Surtain picked off the pass intended for tight end Brock Bowers and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.

A 100 YARD PICK 6!! @PatSurtainll pic.twitter.com/Xh3CG05U9J

—NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

“I saw him catch and saw how their offense was on the sideline and I didn’t think anyone was going to make the tackle,” said quarterback Bo Nix, who was on the bench next to position coach Davis Webb at the time. “I just sat there, watched it on the jumbotron and enjoyed celebrating.”

Randy Gradishar, the Broncos linebacker who won the league’s top defensive honor in 1978, was honored for his recent induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was part of a weekend-long celebration for the 1977 Broncos team that earned the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance, before beating the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game. Surtain has been the focus of the team’s marketing around the throwback 1977-style uniforms that first received rave reviews on Sunday, and a promotional video featuring Gradishar was shot this offseason. He had entered the game having largely obliterated the best wide receivers on every team Denver had played this season. He hasn’t had an interception because it’s hard to pick out passes when they’re not thrown your way.

Hall of Famer No. 373

Congratulations, Randy Gradishar!! pic.twitter.com/oIL8y7m4bE

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 6, 2024

But at a time when the Broncos needed their best player, Surtain delivered emphatically the playing in Denver’s 34-18 victory that snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Raiders. He returned it just before Champ Bailey, the Hall of Fame cornerback who came before Surtain Surtain for the Broncos. The two exchanged signed jerseys before the game, Surtain’s fresh throwback No. 2 for Bailey’s navy No. 24.

“That was pretty legendary to say the least,” Surtain said. “That’s something I always wanted to have in the inventory.”

The play did not come without drama. As Surtain casually strolled into the end zone, holding the ball high in his right hand, the officials gathered to discuss a flag thrown during the return. It was in the area where linebacker Jonah Elliss, who provided the pressure that helped force Gardner Minshew’s overthrow, then blocked Minshew.

“There’s no way, right?” Moss said when he saw the flag.

Surtain’s reaction when he turned around and saw the officials standing together: ‘I was worried. I was scared. And I was tired. So that is not a good combination.”

The officials quickly picked up the flag. The party continued.

“We felt like we needed that momentum going forward,” Surtain said. “We were in a situation where we had to take advantage of the opportunities we could get. I had to make a play. I felt the momentum shift and you could tell from the team that we felt the urgency to raise the energy and our play.”

Surtain’s touchdown was part of a streak of 34 unanswered points by the Broncos in their highest-scoring game of the season. It was also a wake-up call for a defense that turned in another dominant performance in an already stacked season. Contributions came from everywhere. Moss intercepted his first career pass. Allen, Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto had sacks. Justin Strnad, who moved into a starting role in place of injured linebacker Alex Singleton, led the team with nine tackles, including one for loss. And Surtain even added a second interception.

Tip drill. 👐

📺: FOX | @PatSurtainll pic.twitter.com/uaO3d78XnC

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 6, 2024

The Raiders completed their first nine passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. After that, Minshew and his second-half replacement, Aidan O’Connell, were 13 of 28 for 116 yards and three interceptions. The Raiders rushed for just 5 yards in the second half.

“That’s what makes great defense, agenda-free football,” Moss said. “We go in and we’re working. (Malcolm) Roach does a great job in the huddle after we give up some plays and says, ‘Guys, let’s go. We’re doing well.’ Everyone has their role and they own their role.”

Surtain’s big play also provided a fresh start of sorts for Denver’s offense. The Broncos were struggling early, coming up early on their first five third-down attempts. At one point late in the second quarter, the team’s wide receivers had caught just one pass. But Nix led the Broncos into the end zone three times in the second half. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, his third rushing score of the season. He also finished a third straight game without throwing an interception.

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Bo Nix and Sean Payton get into a heated argument after a botched play

“We got some pressure cans,” Payton said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a few more times and still made some big plays that we needed. We talked about it on the sidelines, the pressure is now going to increase. We just have to know where we are going with football, be decisive about it, and we did that.”

Who knows how the game would have ended if Surtain hadn’t alertly jumped into the path of Minshew’s pass? Perhaps even after trailing by 10 or 14 points, the Broncos could have staged a comeback to end the bitter losing streak. Or perhaps even more likely, the Raiders would have turned a 17-3 lead into a runaway victory.

Thanks to Surtain, the Broncos didn’t have to find out. They are 3-2 with a home game against the Chargers next. There’s a lot ahead of this team, like the 100 yards of green grass between the superstar player and the end zone.

“Pat has my vote,” Allen said, “for defensive player of the year.”