All that matters is winning games. And that is something the Denver Broncos are figuring out how to do no matter what type of game they are playing. During this six-game win streak, the Broncos have won two via blowouts, two via defensive slugfests, and two via increasingly insane comebacks. They are now, surprisingly, undefeated in games where they have trailed in the fourth quarter — a perfect 4-0. The irony being that the two losses were walk-off field goals.
It is hard to give game balls to the
offense in a defensive battle like this one, but we found a way to give a couple out. If a guy makes a critical play the helped the offense do what it needed to do to help the team win, then that is certainly game ball worthy. Obviously, we went heavy defense, but we also sent some love to the kickers in this one. A great team win on the road against the Houston Texans… Now go beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.
Here are Mile High Report’s game balls for the Broncos’ 18-15 victory over the Texans!
Jeremy Crawshaw
Normally it’s not a good thing when the punter gets a game ball, and that goes for this game. But nonetheless, Jeremey Crawshaw did incredible work for this team and came up huge when they were trading punts late in the game. He averaged over 53 yards a punt with a long of 76. That’s wild. It’s a good thing they drafted him. It feels good to have a threatening punter, if that’s even possible. – Ross Allen
Riley Moss
With Patrick Surtain II being sidelined, immense pressure was on the rest of Denver’s secondary to perform well against the Texans. Overall, I thought Denver’s defensive backs played quite well. Third-year pro Riley Moss gets a lot of grief, but I thought he was one of the best performers on defense today. Moss had several big pass breakups today in key situations and was sound in coverage. I didn’t see him give up many big plays or have any penalties called against him, the latter being an issue as of late. Hats off for Moss to rising to the occasion and locking it down against Houston. – Chris Hart
Bo Nix
There is something about Nix in the fourth quarter. It’s giving me flashbacks to my childhood and a certain quarterback who made a career out of ensuring the Broncos were never out of it in the fourth quarter. What Nix is doing is unreal. Denver is now 4-0 this season when trailing and entering the final quarter. The most recent is an 18-15 win over the Texans. Nix was nothing special in this game, going 18-for-37 passing for 173 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Broncos QB also added three carries for 36 yards. But it’s what Nix did to get Denver in a position to kick the game-winning field goal that gets him a game ball. On that drive, Nix had two rushes for 34 yards. The most important of which came on second-and-7 at the Broncos’ 39-yard line that Nix rushed for 25 yards. That clutch play put Denver in field goal position. Two plays later Nix rushed for nine more yards, and the rest is history. If not for Nix and his clutch gene, Denver doesn’t win this game. There is something about Nix and the fourth quarter where he starts to channel his inner John Elway. – Ian St. Clair
Wil Lutz
Will Lutz gets my game ball this week for making sure this stressful game ended with a win. He was absolute nails scoring the most important points in the game. In a week where the special teams unit was looking like they belonged in Division II, he was the one guy just executing his job consistently without mental lapses, butter hands (or feet), or forgetting what to do on the play. His coach may deserved to be fired, but he deserves some love from Broncos Country this week. – Sadaraine
Talanoa Hufanga
Hufanga has been an absolute revelation since being signed. He’s having a Demarcus Ware or Emmanuel Sanders level impact on this team.
Today he played all over the field, stopping runs or screens around the line of scrimmage, patrolling the middle of field and center fielding as a free safety.
He’s just so damn versatile and plays with his hair on fire every rep. He’s the heart and soul of the defense and a big reason Denver sits at 7-2. – Jeff Essary
Zach Allen
The dude is just a machine. He took a shot to family jewels and still had one heck of a game. All he did was have four tackles (all solo), 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 PBU and 3 Pressures. The Broncos only had 7 pressures and he had 3 of them. He deserves a game ball every week and I’m making sure he gets one this week. – Joe Mahoney
Pat Bryant
For the second straight week, Pat Bryant has made out list. Statistically he didn’t do much with just two catches for 20 yards. However, both of his catches came on third and long and both converted. The most important one was a seven yard catch where he caught the ball about a yard and a half behind the line of scrimmage and fought his way to the first down marker. That catch proved to be crucial on the drive as it would put them into field goal range. And four play later, Nix would hit RJ Harvey on a 27-yard touchdown to help Denver tie the game early in the fourth quarter. The rookie is impressing me. Can’t wait to see more! – Tim Lynch
