It’s official. The 1st AFC playoff berth has been clinched; Denver remains undefeated at home, and the 11th consecutive win has been signed, sealed, and delivered at Mile High Stadium with authority.
Respect has been earned, not given to the Denver Broncos. The only mission the Broncos have left is to win the Super Bowl. Full throttle, hard-nosed football, with minimal mistakes as we saw in today’s game.
For many lifelong Broncos fans, this contest against the Green Bay Packers had the same Super Bowl atmosphere as it did back in 1998. In similar fashion, Denver defeated the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII, 31-24. Today had reminiscencing feel as the game ended 34-26, resulting in another win for the Broncos.
There is no debate about Denver being a “lucky” team when they have won in every way possible, regardless if the win ended with either a field goal, or a two-touchdown lead. If it weren’t for two crucial plays resulting in FGs in two separate games during the beginning of the season, Denver would be talked about as the only undefeated team in the country.
Denver Broncos Garret Bolles had a few words to say about the loyal fans and the naysayers;
“Pretty soon the media, the news, whatever. Maybe they’ll start to respect us eventually. But you know what, the only people that we respect are the people in this building. The love that we have for our city, our fans, this organization, our owners. Man, we’re just full of dogs… We believe in each other, if nobody believes in us, it’s all good man, we believe in each other.” – Garret Bolles
All hats off to Sean Payton and the entire coaching staff for doing a complete 180 with this team, and turning the Broncos into a (12-2) team from a (5-12) team in less than a year. Inheriting a team as subpar as last year’s Broncos, and then turning them into a high caliber team destined for greatness in such little time is beyond impressive.
Last year’s lackluster (5-12) team included future “Hall of Famer” Russell Wilson, who was eventually benched and cut by the Broncos, shortly before Sean Payton decided to go a different route and take a chance to start his 1st round pick, and now the 2nd in MVP race, Bo Nix.
No Mercy Nix dissected the Packers and went 23/34 for 302 yards, bagging 4 TD’s, while hitting four different receivers on each touchdown pass. There was nothing that the Packers could do to throw Bo off of his game, he was dialed in.
After the stellar performance, Nix now has four career games with 4+ passing TDs within his first two seasons as a QB. Only Patrick Mahomes and Dan Marino have more. Generational talent in rare form.
It’ll be interesting to see where Nix’s season totals pan out on his sophomore stat sheet, now that he currently has 3,256 yards, 27 TD’s, and 9 INTs.
The Sutton/Nix connection was on point as Sutton had 7 catches for 113 yards and a TD. Bo’s longest pass completion went to Sutton for 43 yards, and it was a dart. Five other receivers also produced double-digits in yards, giving Nix a ton of options throughout the game that kept Green Bay on their heels.
There is no fluke with a 134.7 QB rating, that doesn’t just happen by accident. Bo balled out like the “Big Tymer” he’s always been since his college days in Oregon, and his performance earned him a spot as the top nominee for the “FedEx Air & Ground Player of the Week” Award.
The Broncos have been airing it out these past few games, and Troy Franklin has become a serious threat down field, and Bo’s secondary weapon. When Franklin’s number is called to put in some work, he delivers.
During yesterday’s game, he was the second leading receiver behind Courtland Sutton with 6 catches, 85 yards, and a TD. Franklin now has 5 games on the season with 50 or more receiving yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensivecoordinator Vance Joseph should also be given praise just as much as Sean Payton for the jump in progress and consistency. The Broncos defense is rebranding the old “Orange Crush” slogan. A majority of the many defensive schemes that Vance Joseph has drawn together and implemented so far this season has been flawless. Even with their top defensive players being out on injury.
Denver’s defense looks unbeatable but still has plenty of room to improve. CB Patrick Surtain II had an incredible momentum-shifting interception in what was one of the best games of his career. Surtain’s performance didn’t lack, but he still felt the need to mention that him and the defense will analyze game film and correct a few kinks to compete at a higher level in order to achieve their ultimate goal.
Patrick Surtain II on the Broncos Defense following the game against Green Bay;
“We’re not a finished product at all; we’ve still got a lot more work to do. And that’s the scary part about it. It just feels like we’ve got a lot more work to do and just correct some things. But man, this team is going places, and I can feel that.” – Patrick Surtain II
Tis the season to bag some more wins to gift Broncos Country, and Denver is more than capable of racking up another “W” against Jacksonville and Kansas City.
The Jaguars and Chiefs are the only two teams that remain on their schedule. If Denver defeats both teams, there is no reason why the Broncos wouldn’t be able take home the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Dante Robinson | Senior NFL Analyst for The NSR Network
