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The Denver Broncos have their sights set on the Super Bowl after another big win in Week 13. Denver improved to 10-2 on the season after taking care of Washington in overtime on Sunday Night Football. But the chaotic ending to the game featured one or two surprises for the Broncos.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton explained that he found himself in an unprecedented situation during Sunday’s win over the Commanders.
The Broncos believed that they won the game on a fourth-and-6 play just minutes before the end of the game. Broncos safety Brandon Jones intercepted a pass, which would have been game over because of the league’s overtime rules. Unfortunately, a defensive pass interference penalty kept that drive alive for the Commanders.
But Payton thought the game was over and pulled off his headset that he uses to communicate with QB Bo Nix.
“[That’s] the first time for me in I don’t know how many years as a head coach where I took [off] the quarterback to helmet [radio],” Payton said, per ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “We didn’t get the sack, interference was called — it’s never happened before.”
Head coaches always make sure the game is actually over before taking their headsets off. So it was rare for Payton to find himself on the wrong side of that decision.
But if that’s the worst mistake that Payton made on Sunday, that’s good news for the Broncos.
Denver feels like a team that could accomplish something special during the playoffs this winter. Their second-year quarterback seems to agree.
Nix called the Broncos “special” and noted the team has “more in the tank” after Sunday’s huge win.
“Yeah, there’s something special,” he told Zac Stevens of DNVR. “But we also feel like there’s more in the tank.” He added that “we’ve got incredible belief. No matter what, we just feel like we’re going to win the game.”
It will be fascinating to see if Denver can secure home-field advantage in the AFC. If the Broncos can play all of their playoff games at Mile High, they could have a huge advantage over their opponents.
But they’ve got to take care of a few more regular season games first.
Next up for the Broncos is a Week 14 matchup against the Raiders.
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