news

Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton and a budding bromance propel the Broncos to the playoffs

Vaseline November 25, 2024

LAS VEGAS – When Courtland Sutton reached his spot in the formation at the 18-yard line and saw No. 18 in a black jersey standing in front of him, the Denver Broncos’ top receiver knew what time it was.

“It’s a challenge,” Sutton said. “Those guys said, ‘We’re going to give you a one-on-one. What are you going to do with it?’”

The Broncos turned that challenge into an increasingly familiar scene during an increasingly promising season: Bo Nix, the daring rookie quarterback, firing the ball for his top goal. Sutton leapt above the defender – this time cornerback Jack Jones – with equal parts grace and power to push the equation on a 50-50 ball in his favor. The Broncos’ increasing attack on finding the right button to press, even after some time wandering in the dark.

“Bo gave me a chance,” Sutton said. “That’s all we need.”

Bo Nix throws it to Courtland Sutton for the TD!

📺: #DENvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/zxs8nD07Aw

—NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024

The third-quarter touchdown helped the Broncos take the lead over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, and they never looked back in a 29-19 victory that was Denver’s first in Las Vegas since its bitter rival AFC West moved here in 2020. a win that improved the Broncos to 7-5 and completed a two-game sweep of the Raiders, something they hadn’t enjoyed in a decade.

At the heart of the win was the budding Broncos bromance – Bo-mance? – between the rookie quarterback and the wide receiver who spent most of his career in Denver waiting for a QB like Nix. Sutton finished Sunday’s game with eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns, with almost all of that output coming in the second half. His production in the last five games, the best part of his career, looks like this: 36 receptions, 467 yards, three receiving touchdowns and another touchdown as a passer.

GO DEEPER

Bo Nix remains popular as Broncos beat Raiders with 29-19 win: Takeaways

“The great thing is that we continue to find those connections over time,” Sutton said, speaking of Nix as a proud older brother. “We continue to look for what works best for both of us. It will be something special. We’ve been able to do a number of things, and I think we’re just getting started. It’s not quite there yet, which is exciting and why I keep laughing about it. We are not quite there yet and we are already starting to see some success with the connection.”

The connection between Nix and Sutton on Sunday, when it took time to take shape, was indicative of how the Broncos attacked a game with different challenges than they expected. The Raiders, losers of six straight entering Sunday’s game, bombarded the Broncos from the start with a series of zero-blitz looks, including on Denver’s first offensive play.

“The problem with the early pressure isn’t necessarily the pass,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “It’s what it does to our ability to run. For example, I call an RPO and it’s a PO – it’s a pass. I don’t like it when they can dictate… what we do. But we really felt like we had some matchup advantages, and we took advantage of that.

The Broncos were in a 13-9 hole to start the third quarter, and they needed kicks of 53 and 54 yards from Wil Lutz to get that close. After a three-and-out to start the third quarter, the Broncos were 1-of-6 on third down. They found explosive plays – five in the first half – but not the efficiency to sustain drives. Playing without defensive lineman Zach Allen due to a heel injury, Denver struggled to apply pressure to Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II. Add to that a 59-yard kickoff return and a 34-yard gain on a fake punt — a play that Payton said the Broncos knew they would have to deal with at some point Sunday but didn’t execute — and the Raiders were putting together a formula for an upset. .

Sutton had just one catch in the first half. His message to Nix as the second half began was subtle. A tap on the leg and a silent three-word reminder: “I got you.”

“We came out and said, ‘Look, Courtland, this is your half,’” Nix said. “He took over the game and gets two touchdowns. That just says what he means to our team.”

Nix-Sutton’s first touchdown came after the Broncos’ vaunted pass rush finally came home and created a pair of game-changing plays. Malcolm Roach recorded Denver’s first sack on a first-and-10 play, putting Las Vegas off schedule. On second-and-long, Nik Bonitto rushed into the backfield to pressure Minshew into a high throw that sailed into the waiting arms of safety Brandon Jones, who returned to the red zone.

From there, Nix and Sutton connected on seven receptions for 81 yards. The Broncos converted five of their next six third-down attempts en route to two touchdowns after the Jones interceptions — and three went to Sutton.

“The first touchdown is just man-to-man, you hand it off and he makes a spectacular catch,” Nix said. “Several times on other one-on-ones – some third downs, base downs – he goes one-on-one and gets wins on contested catches. He is just reliable and he is always there when you need him.”

GO DEEPER

Why Broncos believe Bo Nix’s recent rise is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’

Reliability is a word that accurately describes why the Broncos are in a strong position to earn their first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. They could rely on Nix to take care of the football (no interceptions on Sunday and only two since Week 5). They could count on rookie receiver Devaughn Vele to make contested catches in traffic (six grabs for 80 yards against the Raiders). Lately, they’ve been able to rely on big plays from Marvin Mims Jr. in his new multi-tool role, such as his 37-yard catch out of the backfield in the fourth quarter to set up the second Nix-Sutton touchdown. And they can count on the league’s best pass rush to eventually find a way to get home when it matters.

“We knew we just had to get to him one time,” Roach said. “After that we had something rolling.”

The Broncos finished with five sacks, including three on Las Vegas’ final two drives. The Raiders, trailing by a touchdown, got the ball back at their 24-yard line with all three timeouts and 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining. It was a legitimate chance to tie the score — buoyed by three straight incompletions on Denver’s failed earlier drive — or even win with a touchdown and two-point conversion.

But on first-and-10, linebackers Cody Barton and Jonathon Cooper dropped Minshew for a loss of five yards and knocked him out of the play. Backup Desmond Ridder replaced him, and two plays later Bonitto stripped Ridder for his 10th sack of the season. The ball was recovered by Roach – “OU and Texas working together, that’s crazy,” he said, referring to the two players’ rival colleges – and the Broncos followed with a field goal to push the lead to 10 points.

COMIC BAG, NIK BONITTO‼️

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/yPJ7piM4zV

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 25, 2024

“I’ve never had a double-digit sack season since high school,” said Bonitto, who became the Broncos’ first player since 2018 to record at least 10 sacks. “To have my first one and it’s at the highest level is pretty amazing.”

The win ended another long streak for Denver. It hadn’t beaten the Raiders on the road — Oakland or Las Vegas — since 2015. More demons to consider exorcised, Payton said. Down the stretch, the Broncos never found a way to do what they did on Sunday: reshape the look of a challenging game before it slipped away.

“I told them today, ‘Our team from a year ago is not going to win that game,’” Payton said. “This team did that.”

It all started with daring. Sutton has played with more starting quarterbacks than he has fingers since joining the Broncos as a second-round pick in 2018. But he spoke Sunday like a receiver who has found the only place that can lead. Places he’s never been before.

“The tide is turning…” he said. “And that’s an exciting place to be.”