The Denver Broncos have one 15 consecutive one score games. This is tied for the most all-time. Tying none other than Peyton Manning while he was with the Indianapolis Colts. Even more than that, Bo Nix is averaging a comeback and game winning drive at a rate far beyond anything seen in NFL history.
He has the clutch gene. Clearly.
When asked about his success, Nix believes it goes beyond just one person. He sees the whole team having that clutch gene and that is why they’ve been so successful.
“I’ve
always felt like I’ve wanted to feel like a clutch player,” Nix said on Wednesday. “It’s an important quality as a player when everybody’s looking at you and the pressure’s on. I don’t think you do it individually. If you look at our team in the last three years, we have had 15 game-winning drives. I just think we have a lot of guys with a clutch gene. We have a lot of guys that when the game’s on the line, will just find ways to go score. I’d much rather be known as the guy that wins games in the close ones than the guy that always looks great early and can win but doesn’t know how to close out the game. I’d much rather be clutch than the other way around.”
He’s both right and wrong. You need the quarterback more than any other position to have the clutch gene. It feeds the rest. I think back to 2016 and how great that defense was and how clutch they were in 2015. Except, they were not quite clutch enough because the quarterback situation lost its mojo along the way without Peyton Manning’s aura around to spark the clutch.
Tim Tebow had it. He was terrible at quarterbacking, but if the game was close everyone on that team believed clutch was going to manifest. It manifested because they all put in the plays to make it happen. It’s the same with these Broncos. Bo Nix is the driver. The team is the engine. Together they clutch the heck up week in and week out.
Like John Elway’s years. Like Tim Tebow’s seven games. Like Peyton Manning’s 2015 run. The clutch is a team game, but it needs a quarterback that the players believe can make the magic happen if given the chance.
Bo Nix is that guy too. I am enjoying this ride.
Broncos daily recap
Who needs picks when your offense is lacking?
Every year that passes, I like having draft picks more and more. I fully understand that they are all essentially a roll of the dice, but I’d rather have a bunch of chances at improving the team than not. In general, I’m not normally about trading picks mid-season.
Broncos at Panthers preview: Denver aims to avoid the “trap”
The Broncos head east to face Carolina on Sunday. After a big win and brutal schedule to start, Denver can’t let up.
Statistical dive into Denver Broncos record-tying 15th straight win in one-score games
The Denver Broncos have now won 15 straight regular season games that were decided by one-score (8 or fewer points). This ties the 2007-2008 Peyton Manning-led Colts. Since the start of the 2025 season the Broncos are 16 and 2 in one-score games in the regular season (1-1 in the post-season). This is a big change from 2024 when the Broncos were 1-6 in one-score games.
Potent quoatables
Sean Payton
On preparing a gameplan for a team that recently changed defensive coordinators
“I think this: You go by all of the film you have. Really in that first quarter, there may be some things that we see that maybe have changed a little. [It’s] hard to change everything in a short period of time. They have a base front and coverage they like to play and then they have a sub package and then it’s really more of when they’re playing it. Then us being able to in the first quarter see if there’s something that’s different than we’ve seen on film.”
On if the team is managing RB J.K. Dobbins’ workload
“He’s a huge part of what we’re doing. So each week we look at—a lot of times who’s the back that’s in there with the hot hand. But he’s been fantastic. So to answer your question: No, that’s not a hot button topic with us here. It might be with you guys, but not with us. So we’re good. We’re good with the rotation.”
On balancing RB J.K. Dobbins’ workload within a three-back rotation
“Oh, we are paying attention to, yes, absolutely. Look, it’s always easy to work two (running backs) and it becomes more challenging when you’re trying to work three, but he’s doing a great job.”
On the team’s sack total this season
“All of that’s good. The pressures can lead to interceptions, the sacks can’t. So you’re looking each week, what quarterback are you defending? We’ve seen some mobile quarterbacks periodically. Maybe you get a quarterback that you know where they’re going to be in the pocket. So I think you have a rush plan based on the offense and who’s playing quarterback.”
On if opposing offenses have adjusted to the team’s pass rush
“Certainly the timing of when you want to throw the ball. There are some quarterbacks that are… Last week, it’s hard to sack [Chiefs QB] Patrick [Mahomes]. In other words, he’s seen the pressures, he’s seen the man… He’s got a good clock in his head. So those guys that process fast are difficult. Now fortunately for us, the last play of the game, we were able to get one. I think a lot of it is the offense and the QB. To answer your question, I’m sure there’s certain points of emphasis you make relative to the rhythm of your throws if you’re seeing a team that rushes the passer well.”
On Panthers QB Bryce Young’s development
“You’ve definitely seen his ascension, and he’s very comfortable with what they’re doing. It’s an explosive team. I think they’re seventh or eighth in explosives. They do a great job mixing the play action, the ‘RPO’ (Run-Pass Option) game. They’ve drafted well. So all those numbers are different today than they were two years ago.”
On how RB Jonah Coleman has impressed him despite missing time with an injury
“We had those glimpses in the spring and in training camp and in the preseason. Atlanta, there’s a run, it just stood out to you. So the one thing that was unique about him is oftentimes you don’t get to see them in third down protection plans, but he was someone that we had quite a bit of tape on. Advanced protection plans, and he’s built to handle the blitz. It’s one thing to know who I have, but then also to be strong enough to do it. I would say that there were three backs—we just saw one of them that we really had visions for. Each one may be a little differently, but his versatility, to your point, that doesn’t always—you don’t get to stamp that with a lot of rookie backs that you feel like they’re going to develop into. We saw enough that we felt like he was going to be a good third down protecting back as well with the way he was built.”
On if RB Jonah Coleman has exceeded his expectations in pass protection
“Yeah, he’s got good ball skills. We caught him in the right pressure there. Yes, he’s very comfortable. He’s a different type [of] player than [RB] RJ [Harvey], but there were a lot of traits to like. More importantly, there was the exposure in an offense that sometimes the player just doesn’t have that exposure, so you can’t know for sure. I think we knew a little bit more with his tape.”
On what allows QB Bo Nix to elevate his play when needed
“I don’t know. I didn’t think he struggled. There’s certain…In Seattle, it was the opposite.”
On QB Bo Nix’s ability to raise his level of play
“I don’t have the answer. I know what you’re asking. I look at it internally myself like, ‘All right, let’s get going.’ I’ve said this before, I’ll let you know the week we don’t want to start fast, but it’s not this week. We want to start fast.”
On what makes WR Jaylen Waddle dangerous in the low red zone
“He’s someone that transitions really quickly. We catch him in a coverage, so he can start and stop and then very quickly outflank leverage, which he did on the one touchdown. I think it was fourth down, but he’s got exceptional change of direction.”
On the key to building momentum and stringing together wins
“Generally, you have better teams and good teams can… You can’t be a yo-yo team and expect to win double digit win. You do the math. So I think what you’re asking is the key to building a good football team and that would go all the way back to bringing in the right people, all those things, the right coaching staff and the right culture. Historically speaking, and I’m just going through my experience of having teams that it’s hard to win two, lose–it’s hard to do that and then turn around and look at the record maybe that you are wanting. Each one of the games is a different type of game. It’s like that old boxing analogy. There are certain fights for certain styles and I think that applies a little bit in our game in the NFL.”
On if he feels the team’s momentum
“I haven’t felt it until you just mentioned it. Honestly, I’m being dead serious. I know we had a big win against the Chiefs. I didn’t even think how many of that is now. Yes, you’re just kind of onto this next one.”
On halftime speeches
“Halftime’s eight minutes. We’re always on the headsets talking about what’s next. You get a chance for a quick message. [The] defense breaks up, offense breaks up, coaches go through real quick, go to your players. It’s much quicker. It’s much quicker than you could imagine. Every once in a while, there’s a game where you get an extra minute, something’s going on and then the Super Bowl is entirely different where you can change out your shirts and everything more like hockey. Those guys have kind of a big gap between periods. Ours is like, man… I think you just trust your instincts as to what you just have seen, what you’d like to see in the second half. We’re doing this well, let’s keep… Then ultimately tune out the scoreboard and just get onto the next play. It’s so important. It’s so important to not let one play bleed to the next and get onto the next play.
“Oftentimes we as coaches can sit there and be talking about something and it’s not going to come up again. So sometimes literally getting onto the next play and knowing you can address that on Monday, or sometimes it is something that could come up again. If it’s an offensive play that we’ve run and if we’re spending a bunch of time—we’ll get that cleaned up. So back to halftime. No, I’m not yelling or screaming. I had that plan I told you about before the game and the chair was too heavy.”
On if a 1 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. MT kickoff changes the team’s preparation
“It’s new because normally it’s been West, and so we’ll go out Friday night, get up on their time zone, get a workout, get a little practice in. Then we’re kind of going here around Noon. So whatever it is, your spark or your coffee or let’s go. So fair question. We studied it and you talk to different people maybe that have been on the West Coast, and we spent time and then finally you have a win at Philly or there’s been a few of those and this year we’ve got… We were hoping to maybe get maybe a couple back-to-back out there, stay out there. It didn’t work out that way, but we’re not going to Europe. We’re going to Charlotte.”
On T Garett Bolles’ pass protection at left tackle impacting game planning
“A lot. You can’t chip, nudge everyone and you want flare control into the route. A lot of times it might be one rusher that you really want to help with. Yes. I know the whole story of the blind side, but you want one of those… In other words, that left tackle, there are times where I’ll say to ‘Bollesy’ (T Garett Bolles), ‘Hey, you’ve got him.’ He can do that. Yes, if we’re having to make… Now there’s times if [Charger OLB] Khalil Mack lines up there, we might move the tight end over there with a Mack protection and just nudge wherever he’s at. Last week we had a little protection plan for where [Chiefs DT Chris] Jones was. So I think that’s tonight’s meeting and it takes a while. Yes, we appreciate the skillset he has.”
On if the upcoming Bye Week factors into decisions about players returning from injury
“It’s simple. Honestly it’s, ‘Is he ready to go?’ We’re going and if he’s not, there’s never any… Now if he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. So it’s one or the other. It’s not, ‘Well.’ We don’t have that luxury. Just 17 games. If he’s ready, we treat it like we’re playing… That doesn’t factor into it at all. It’s a good question.”
On coordinating with General Manager George Paton at the trade deadline while preparing the gameplan
“We would meet and meet in the evening. The early part of it, all the GMs, they all talk with each other, but he and I’ll visit daily. So it’s not like it’s consuming two hours. His group is spending a lot of time separate from the time that I’m involved with our group. In other words, they’re doing their evaluation, we’re doing football, but he and I daily will visit about a bunch of things.”
On if “spenders” is a term being used around the trade deadline
“We just get them down there once in a while.”
On if it is difficult to discuss the locker room around the trade deadline
“I always think there’s buyers and sellers, right? It’s probably more noticeable in the last five years than maybe in our… Or at least I notice it more. Teams that are playing well are the potential buyers. The teams maybe that aren’t are the potential sellers.”
On if the team views itself as a buyer or spender at the trade deadline
“Well we’re a team that’s playing better, so we’re not looking to sell.”
On if he considered kicking the chair and if doing so would aggravate his foot
“No, this is like a hundred pounds. I thought it was lighter, that’s all. It was a mistake. Every chair in there is the same. So it wasn’t the old… I needed the country, Western, rickety… Yes, that just blew up.”
Bo Nix
On what changes in the fourth quarter to allow him to have success in those moments
”I don’t think anything changes. I just think it’s opportunity, and that’s just usually how the game goes. It’s a one-score game at the end, and you have to go out there and win it.”
On balancing winning with team and individual improvement
“Winning’s the main goal as a team. There’s a process that goes with it. You want to get better yourself. It’s really important to win games in this league. You’ll find a little bit more joy and fun in the game if you’re winning. With that comes the process of playing as best as I can, getting our offense going to where we want to go. At the end of the day, winning games is what really matters.”
On how the offense can stay on the field longer
“I think third-down production would help a lot. I know we’re not doing great in that regard. I think that is an area that we can improve.”
On how dangerous WR Jaylen Waddle is in short red zone
“I think sometimes it’s part of the scheme. He gets some schemed-up plays down there. We’ve been repping that touchdown on fourth down (vs. Kansas City) for a really long time, so that finally got off the call sheet. It was good. You practice it a lot. You want to run it. A couple plays before, Jaylen was asking for it. He was calling for it. That’s when you know you’re in a good spot is when you’re in tune with the coach and know what he’s about to call. I just think he’s getting more and more comfortable. He’s playing with some confidence.”
On the red zone success against the Chiefs and the importance of practicing these situations
“It shows the importance of practice and getting to those over and over. You’re right, sometimes you might go through them all (plays). Sometimes you might not get to any of them because you score from farther out or don’t get to the red zone like you want. The other day we experienced a lot of plays down there against a really good red-zone team. That’s why you practice. That’s why you carry plays and game plan. We were able to execute when it was really important.”
On if he can feel when a young player like RB Jonah Coleman has ‘juice’
“I think he’s playing really well with confidence. He’s a very intelligent young running back. What sticks out the most is he can handle a lot. You can put a lot on his plate. After we learned that [RB] R.J. Harvey wasn’t going to paly last week, he got a little bit more of the bulk of R.J.’s stuff. It’s impressive to see him be able to be used in a lot of different ways. When he gets in there, he’s a natural runner. That’s what he’s drafted for. That’s the position he plays. It’s the out of the backfield stuff that I think is making a good impression on us right now.”
On the offense’s success on two-point conversions and on fourth down
“I think it’s just trust in the play. Finding a completion, extending the play and not passing up one. We practiced those plays and we repped them. When it comes down to it, they called our name and they called our number, and we executed well.”
On how the team refocuses after a big win
“It starts with [Head] Coach [Sean Payton]. Coach Payton is really good at that. He talks about every game in the NFL is an important game. There’s no such thing as a trap game because they’re all that way. They’re all must-wins. If you don’t play well, you’re going to end up messing around and getting beat. We know the importance of this week right before the Bye [Week]. We can’t go on a Bye early. This is a really important game for where we want to go. As captains and as leaders, it’s just all about practice. Details have to go up a notch, as if it isn’t already. More attention to detail, more communication. If you do everything a little bit more and maximize your time this week, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
Pat Surtain II
On how the team refocuses after a big win
“I think the main focal point is a new week, new focus, new opponent. Like I’ve said before, every week presents each challenge. Obviously we have a good team coming up on the road, so we know how tough that is. I tell guys all the time, it doesn’t matter what you do, the past is in the past. It matters what you do now. So it’s just all about getting the guys together and having that refocus and that shift.”
On returning to the field last week against Kansas City
“I was very excited to go out there. I was pretty anxious the past three weeks prior to that game. It was fun to get out there with the guys and fly around, make plays. Just getting back acclimated into routine, getting that feel back in front of that crowd was amazing. That injury, it was something that just happened. It was a non-contact injury, but the positive news was it was a high ankle sprain, the best news I could get from that. So I just focused on rehab with the trainers and making sure I was able to get back fully to be able to be the best version of myself.”
On Head Coach Sean Payton’s 200th overall win and the winning culture he has brought to the franchise
“It’s great. Obviously Sean, he’s brought a winning culture to this organization. It was great seeing that. It was a great milestone for him. Like I mentioned before, he just exudes a lot of confidence, and a lot of confidence and trust in us to be able to get a job done each and every Sunday. Just for him to provide that leadership and each and every week, just preparing us for a new opponent. Just finding ways to get a win is pretty special. So that’s a huge accomplishment. We were all happy for him celebrating in the locker room. It was a very special moment.”
Courtland Sutton
On what Head Coach Sean Payton has meant to him and how he’s helped him elevate his game
“I would say Coach Payton, his first team meeting that he came in, he came in and he kind of set the foundation for his expectations of how he wanted to run the organization, the program—from the players, the behind-the-scenes people, everything. He had a plan. Watching him put that plan into effect, watching him put everything in place, the way that he holds everyone to a standard of what to expect is truly special to be a part of. For him to be the coach, leader, teacher that he is, he always says that his job and the other coaches’ jobs aren’t just to be coaches; they’re there to be teachers. Sometimes it may be about football. Sometimes it may be about life in general. How to become a better young man, man in life. To be able to be around Coach and listen to stories, I find it very humbling and also fascinating to be able to take a step back and just listen to people’s stories and the different experiences of life that they’ve had. For myself, I guess I’ve been able to play a good amount of time in the league, but Coach has been around the game almost as long as I’ve been alive. He’s seen so many different things. I feel like for myself, to be able to have this humble perspective of this game, being able to listen to Coach talk about the different players that he’s been around and coach and just experience, it’s really cool to share the locker room with him and to gain as much knowledge as I can because Coach knows a lot of ball. He’s been around a lot of ball. He’s been around a lot of successful ball, which is why he is the sixth [-fastest] coach to eclipse the milestone he eclipsed on Sunday (200 overall wins). I’m grateful that I get to share the locker room and be around him and learn as much as I possibly can about this game and about life.”
On WR Jaylen Waddle getting comfortable in the offense and his performance on Sunday against the Chiefs
“Jaylen has been busting his butt since training camp. He’s been putting himself in a position to be able to allow himself and [QB] Bo [Nix] gel as well as they possibly can… Our offense has been working to get to a place of efficiency. To be able to watch him get into the end zone the past couple of times and even the two-point conversion, I think it shows the level of comfort he’s [beginning to have] in our offense and us trending that direction of becoming a more efficient and consistent offense.”
On what has allowed for QB Bo Nix’s 15 career game-winning drives
“I think it’s a confidence thing. I think it’s a confidence thing in himself, a confidence thing in our offense being able to understand… I think that the more times you get thrown into a situation, the more you’re able to overcome said situation. It’s like a math problem. The more times you see a math problem, it becomes easier for you to solve that problem when you see it again. I think that us getting thrown into the fire and having to have these comeback moments over the past couple of years and even this year alone, I think that the more you have those opportunities, you see the success and you witness what it’s like to have that success. I think there’s never a game we feel like we’re out of. It doesn’t matter how many points we’re down. We feel like we have an opportunity to come back and win. You don’t want to be in those situations, but when you do have to overcome those situations, having that trump card in your back pocket of saying, ‘We’ve been here before. We know how to win these games. Let’s just go out here and do it.’ I think that that allows us all to play confident and fast. It’s truly special to witness and to be a part of. Like I said, you don’t want to be in those situations, but being able to know you can overcome those specific spots in a game is special.”
Under the radar
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