ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Throughout the Denver Broncos' long winning streak, which reached 11 games Sunday, coach Sean Payton has mostly leaned conservative on offense and played the field position game even in close encounters so he could capitalize on his dogged defense.
That wasn't the case Sunday when he turned quarterback Bo Nix loose in Denver's come-from-behind, playoff-clinching 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Nix tied a career high with
four touchdown passes with no interceptions and zero sacks in his best game of his second NFL season.
Some of his best work came after the Broncos (12-2) had fallen behind 23-14 before the Packers, who had scored on their first five drives, lost No. 1 wide receiver Christian Watson to a chest injury on Pat Surtain II's leaping, game-turning interception in the third quarter.
Nix threw touchdown passes of 14 yards to Courtland Sutton and 23 yards to Troy Franklin in the third quarter and directed a fourth-quarter drive that RJ Harvey capped with a four-yard touchdown run.
“Man, he was having him a day out there, just dotting the ball around," Sutton said of Nix. “We knew based on the defense they played it was going to be important for us to take care of the front, which I think our O-line did a great job of today. We need to be able to marry the run with the pass and take advantage of opportunities when they’re there. Bo did a great job of giving us chances on the outside to make plays. Everybody made plays.”
Oddsmakers had installed the Broncos as home underdogs despite their last loss coming way back in September, so when asked what the win against a really good team showed everyone, Nix said, “that we're the overdogs.”
Indeed, BetMGM Sportsbook installed the Broncos as 3-point favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars next weekend at Empower Field.
Sutton said he's certain even this latest victory didn't win over many of the Broncos' legions of doubters.
“I'm sure they will” continue to doubt Denver, Sutton said. “But that's OK. We worry about ourselves and we keep showing up week-in and week-out and trying to be the best version of ourselves we can be."
Denver's offense is clicking just in time for a final stretch run that includes home games against the AFC South-leading Jaguars (10-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) sandwiched around a Christmas night game at Kansas City, where the Broncos haven't won since 2015.
The Broncos sacked Jordan Love three times, pushing their NFL-best season total to 58 and keeping them within reach of the 1984 Chicago Bears' single-season record of 72. But running back Josh Jacobs gashed them for 73 yards on a dozen carries, including a 40-yard touchdown run that ballooned Green Bay's lead to nine points on the opening drive of the second half. Love also tallied 29 yards on three keepers.
Nix has only thrown one interception in the last month. On Sunday, Sutton was again his favorite target, catching seven passes for 113 yards and a score.
Without a loss since Sept. 21, there’s really nobody whose stock is falling in Denver.
Although the Packers took the brunt of a brutal game, losing their top wideout, their best defender and their best O-lineman to injuries, the Broncos suffered some key player casualties themselves: S Brandon Jones (pectoral), Harvey (ribs) and ILB Justin Strnad (right ankle).
— 11 consecutive wins by the Broncos is the longest active streak in the NFL and the team's longest in a single season since 2012.
— 12 straight home wins by the Broncos is tied for the fourth-longest streak in team history and is the longest by Denver since winning 13 in a row from 2012-13.
— 22 wins by Nix in his first two seasons. That's tied for the second-most wins by a quarterback in his first two NFL seasons since 1950, joining Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Dak Prescott. Nix can overtake Russell Wilson (24) by winning Denver's last three regular-season games.
— 8. With a shared sack Sunday, OLB Jonathon Cooper became the third seventh-round draft pick since 1994 to record at least eight sacks in three consecutive seasons.
The hobbled Broncos host another hot team in the Jaguars, who have won five in a row by a cumulative score of 171-72. The Broncos have outscored their opponents by just 77 points during their 11-game winning streak.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
