Holy shit.
The Broncos were down 26-8 with 6 minutes left, and I was going to rant in here about how much this team sucked today. A lifeless effort, dumb penalties, defensive lapses, and the Giants simply taking it to them. The Broncos were about to be blown out at home by a 2-4 Giants team starting a rookie quarterback. Everything sucked, and I was miserable (check the MHR Twitter to see my rollercoaster of emotions during that one).
Then something clicked. Bo Nix turned into Tim Tebow, the magic
of Demaryius Thomas filled the stadium, and somehow, the Denver Broncos would score 33 points in the 4th quarter and drive down the field to kick the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the game.
It was Mile High Magic at its finest.
Now, for this exercise, I need to come up with some winners and losers from that wacky game. We are going to have some repeat winners and losers in this one as I continue to process what the hell just happened. With all that said, here are the winners and losers for the Broncos from this crazy and wild comeback victory. Feel free to call me out if I missed anything.
WINNER – Bo ‘Tim Tebow’ Nix
If you look at his stat line, you probably think Bo Nix had a great game, and he did in the end, but it was rough for three quarters. Missed throws, he wasn’t getting help from his pass catchers, and some questionable play-calling had Nix and the Broncos offense looking lifeless.
Then the 4th quarter started, and Bo Nix came alive.
Bo Nix had 4 4th quarter touchdowns. 2 through the air to Troy Franklin and RJ Harvey, and 2 on the ground, including a go-ahead scramble late in the 4th quarter. He would also lead the Broncos down the field with 30-ish seconds on the clock with no timeouts and get the Broncos into easy game-winning field goal range.
Another incredible performance by Bo Nix, who leads yet another wild and crazy 4th quarter comeback. We will talk more about his first 3 quarters later.
WINNER – LB Justin Strnad
This comeback wouldn’t have even started if it were not for Justin Strnad. The longtime Broncos special teams ace has turned himself into a valuable member of this defense and came up with what might have been one of the bigger plays the defense has made all season.
On a 3rd down play, late in the 4th quarter, Strnad jumps in front of a Jaxson Dart pass for a game-changing interception. A play that would fuel the Denver Broncos’ crazy comeback.
Strnad has 3.5 sacks on the year and has been a valuable member of this defense this season. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph said earlier in the week that they will have packages for him, even with Dre Greenlaw back, and he took advantage of those snaps today.
WINNER – WR Courtland Sutton
The Denver Broncos honored the late and great Demaryius Thomas today, and Courtland Sutton fittingly came up big for the team in this one. He would make a big-time sideline catch with seconds left in the game to set the Broncos up in manageable field goal range for kicker Wil Lutz to kick the game-winner.
Sutton played with DT early in his career, and the Broncos’ great meant a lot to him, which he has spoken about a lot in the past, so it was fitting that he would come up big for the team on the day they honored DT. Great effort, and Sutton continues to come up clutch for the Broncos when they need him the most.
WINNER – WR Marvin Mims Jr.
What he did might be overlooked, and frankly, the details are cloudy for me, but Mims came up with multiple big receptions for the Broncos. Notably, the one that set the offense up in field goal range, albeit a long one, before Nix would hit Sutton to set up the game-winner.
He finished the game with 6 receptions for 85 yards, and the Broncos likely would not have won this game without his efforts.
(now for the bad)
Broncos 1st through 3rd quarter offense – LOSER
What a lifeless effort. Nix looked flustered, there were drops, no real run game, and they were being shut out through 3 quarters by the 2-4 Giants at home.
It looked awful. The coaching, play-calling, execution, pass game, run game, mistakes/penalties, blocking…it all sucked.
The 33-point 4th quarter and the win were amazing, but the first three quarters cannot be ignored. They played like absolute shit. This offense needs to put a complete game together and not put themselves into a position where they need a miracle of a comeback to win a game they were heavily favored in.
I won’t hammer them too hard because of the comeback and win, but man, get your shit together.
Broncos Defense – LOSER
What a stinker.
Rookie Jaxson Dart, in his 4th career start, sliced and diced the Broncos’ defense in this one. He finished the game with 283 yards passing and 4 total touchdowns. On top of that, they gave up a long touchdown on a blown coverage to a tight end, let Tyrone Tracy run untouched for a long touchdown, and had a deflected pass land right in the hands of a Giants tight end for another long touchdown.
On top of that, after the Broncos came back and took the lead late, they allowed the Giants to drive back down the field and take the lead with 30-ish seconds left. They allowed a huge 4th down conversion, dropped multiple INTs on the final drive, and committed costly penalties throughout.
The top-ranked pass-rushing unit was also held to just 2 sacks in this one.
I expected better from this unit, and the Broncos won in spite of the defense in this one(outside of the Strnad INT).
LOSER – Penalties
This has become an unfortunate theme for the Broncos. While some were questionable, and it felt like the refs were not calling anything on the Giants, this is still a troubling trend for the Broncos.
12 accepted penalties for 127 yards.
You’re going to lose a lot of games with a penalty output like that. Sure, they somehow won this one, but if they want success throughout the season, they seriously need to clean up the sloppy play.
WINNER – FIRST PLACE IN THE AFC WEST
Other notable winners and losers
- WINNER – TE Evan Engram: The Broncos ‘Joker’ came up big late in this game and finished the day with 5 receptions for 42 yards
- WINNER – EDGE Que Robinson: The rookie edge rusher played a lot today and played well, I thought. Had multiple stops and finished the game with a half sack
- LOSER – Refs: You suck.
- WINNER – K Wil Lutz: Yet another clutch kick by the Broncos kicker
- WINNER – WR Troy Franklin: Both teams had a deflection touchdown in this one, but Franklin’s sparked the Broncos’ comeback.
- WINNER – RB RJ Harvey: Did not have a great game, but scored one of the Broncos’ 4 fourth-quarter touchdowns.
- WINNER – RB JK Dobbins: Somehow finished the game with 81 yards rushing and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Most of this came on one big chunk run, but still, better than I thought.
- WINNER – P Jeremy Crawshaw: Averaged 50.5 yards per punt
- LOSER – My Health and Well-being: These crazy endings are not good for me
