The Denver Broncos came off a bye week with one thing in mind: beating the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football. They did, but it was tougher than expected. Still, head coach Sean Payton made something clear about the Week 13 win.
Quickly after the game, the narrative was that the Broncos escaped with an OT win. For Payton, it was clear. “We didn’t escape. We won,” Payton said, via Michael Phillips of the Associated Press in a classic Sean Payton way. “The journey of a good team’s season involves games like this. And then you believe you can do it again.”
Payton is not a guy to sugarcoat anything and he is an old fox in the NFL. Hence, he knows a win is a win, no matter how you’re able to get it. In the end, it was an away primetime game for the Broncos and a win put them 10-2.
The offense is still not clicking
Hey, the team scored 27 points and Bo Nix threw for 321 yards, how can someone say the offense is not clicking? Well, Nix threw an interception once again, had less than 50% efficiency on third downs, only 87 rushing yards and the Commanders had more first downs than the Broncos. Oh… and the Commanders were playing with a backup quarterback.
Bo Nix quarterback of the Denver Broncos
The reality is that the defense made plenty of good plays despite allowing 26 points. That includes a key defensive play by edge Nik Bonitto on a two-point conversion that would’ve won the Commanders the game.
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At 10-2, Denver is lacking a strong resume
Yes, being 10-2 is a very hard thing to do in the NFL, but when looking at the games, it doesn’t seem like Denver is a contender. In fact, the Broncos don’t have too many ‘statement wins’.
As a matter of fact, the Broncos have beaten just one team that would go to the playoffs if the season ended today. The other two playoffs teams that they have faced are the Colts and Chargers, which are the Broncos’ two losses on the season.
