Mile High Report
What a game.
It was FAR from the Broncos’ best effort, but in the end, they still found a way to come away with the victory. The Commanders, led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, had the Broncos on the brink of losing. He led a game-tying drive at the end of the 4th quarter and had a touchdown drive in overtime, and was a 2-point conversion away from the upset.
However, Nik Bonitto Dikembe Mutombo’d Mariota’s pass, and the Broncos leave Washington with the victory.
As for the winners and losers, it was a sloppy game on both sides of the ball that saw some highs and lows throughout the game. No one really came out of this game without some stink on them, but there were some notable winners who stood out.
With all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Denver Broncos’ 27-26 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Bonitto was getting after the passer all game, and despite not getting the big sack, he made his impact on the final play of this game. The Commanders just scored a touchdown in overtime, the momentum was firmly on their side, and the Broncos looked to be on the verge of a disappointing upset loss. Mariota dropped back to pass and had a WIDE OPEN receiver for a go-ahead 2-point game-winner…but Nik Bonitto was going to have none of that. He put both of his hands up and deflected the Mariota pass, and gave the Broncos the victory.
It may have just been a 3-win Washington club on a potentially forgettable Sunday Night game, but this might go down as one of the more iconic Broncos victories in recent memory. They have had a few this season, and this one might be at the top.
Bonitto and the defense were far from perfect tonight and probably had their worst collective outing since the Indy game, but they still found a way to come up big at the end of the game and get the win.
Now, to talk about the bad.
We talked about the good, but now, time for the bad.
What the hell was that?
The Commanders had 419 total yards. Marcus Mariota had 294 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns, and 55 yards rushing. They also ran for 143 yards, had 30 first downs, were 8 for 17 on 3rd downs, which included at least two third-and-long run plays to convert, while also going 3 for 3 on 4th down.
On top of all that, they only sacked Mariota once, and it probably should have been flagged for tripping.
Zach Ertz has 10 receptions for 106 yards, Terry McLaurin had 7 receptions for 96 yards, Deebo had a big play late, which set them up for the OT touchdown, and they allowed Treylon Burks to potentially have the catch of the year earlier in the game.
The defense is not going to be elite for 17...
