The Denver Broncos were rewarded with a much-needed performance from wide receiver Pat Bryant in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers.
Bryant, who avoided a season-ending injury against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, had a four-game stint on injured reserve before returning to full strength in time for the Panthers game.
In his first game since the injury, Bryant caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Bryant's day becomes even bigger when one considers that the Broncos' biggest offseason addition, Jaylen Waddle, missed most of the game with a concussion, taking one of the explosive big-play threats completely off the table.
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger broke down three of Bryant's biggest plays from the game on Twitter/X:
.@Broncos @Panthers @PatBryant with 3 huge plays in the 4th Q to elevate the Broncos to their 5th straight Win. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/YdFqMG06sm
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 11, 2026
Here's a closer look at the block Bryant threw on the Jonah Coleman go-ahead touchdown:
check out Pat Bryant getting in there to help Jonah Coleman bounce his Duo run for a TD pic.twitter.com/Lgme9l3AXZ
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 9, 2026
Coach Sean Payton lauded Bryant's return to action.
"Man, strong hands in traffic, right," said Payton. "Football IQ, run after the catch. All the stuff you guys saw, and he was on point during the week.”
Bryant's IQ and run-after-the-catch ability were on full display on his touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, when he identified a blown coverage from Carolina, put his hand up for quarterback Bo Nix, and caught the pass for the deciding score.
Bo Nix did a great job manipulating Cover 3 on the Pat Bryant TD.
— PeteNova (@SuperrNova38) November 9, 2026
Watch how Nix uses his eyes to move the free safety toward Courtland Sutton, opening up space for Bryant to get wide open.
It's a subtle detail but one that makes all the difference. pic.twitter.com/wISECscGQg
Nix spoke on Sunday about how having Bryant play a proxy role for Waddle was big in the Denver offensive attack in the second half.
"They were intense moments and when Jaylen got banged up there in the first half, it sort of sent us into musical chairs with guys getting in," said Nix. "Obviously, we got plays for Jaylen that somebody else has to step in and take. That's what, in my opinion, was the fun part of today and something that was really cool to see, is guys like Troy [Franklin], Pat and Marvin [Mims] step up and make plays when their numbers were called. Even though they didn't have reps at it all week, they studied and knew what they were supposed to do. To me, that's fun football, when you're in there and your back's against the wall and you just have to figure out a way to go get a first down... We were confident in it and things like that just progress throughout the day where we hit him.”
Bryant, whether Waddle is in the game or not, seems poised to play an even bigger role in the Broncos' offense moving forward. His next big chance to make an impact will come in Week 11 when Denver takes on the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos WR Pat Bryant made a big impact in his first game back from IR
