In a matchup recalling their Super Bowl past, the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers put on a show at Empower Field at Mile High. For the Broncos, facing a division-leading team for just the second time this season, the game was a chance to quiet critics and prove their win streak was legitimate.

The Packers, newly atop the NFC North, were favored to humble the Broncos. Instead, fans saw both teams battle in a thrilling showdown. After ten straight wins, the Broncos delivered a balanced 34-26 victory, confirming their status as the NFL’s top team.

Broncos fans answered Head Coach Sean Payton’s call for noise, outshouting the Packer-Backers’ “Go-Pack-Go” with their own “Let’s Go Broncos.” “I thought our crowd was outstanding. We got penalties because of it,” Payton said. “The atmosphere was fantastic. I thought our defense in the second half rebooted. It’s a good offense we were playing.”  

With Green Bay up by two scores, 23-14, in the third quarter, the Broncos had the Packers right where they wanted them. The vaunted Broncos defense would clamp down after a loose first half, and Bo Nix didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to turn on the Mile High magic. And Payton was the conductor of the fine-tuned symphony, finding his team at the perfect point of maturation.

“There was a point where the clock was stopped in the fourth quarter, and I called the whole offense over,” Payton explained. “I said, ‘Are you watching these guys right here?’ and we all turned and looked. I said, ‘They’re gassed.’ I said, ‘Keep the pedal down.’ So when you have the crowd noise that we have, and then you have that 5,280 [elevation], that’s a lot. That was because this defense, you would say, coming in…”

The brightest stars lit up when it mattered most. Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II seized hope out of thin air with a breathtaking first interception of the year. When every Broncos fan held their breath as Jordan Love launched deep, Surtain’s diving grab sent a rush of electricity through the stadium—pure exhilaration. Not to be outdone, Riley Moss matched the feat, igniting a wild celebration.

“Obviously, it was a pivotal situation,” said Surtain.  “We needed to make a play. They were up by like two possessions, so I was like, ‘We have to find a way.’ I saw the ball in the air, and I had to make a play. It was the same formation look, they threw a deep pass earlier to him, it was overthrown, and just from recognition, I realized that they flipped formations to run on the other side. Obviously, they were trying to attack deep. I kept my leverage, played high, and made a play on the ball.” Getting a BOGO in the game, not only did Surtain get his first pick of the year, but so did his bookend partner, cornerback Riley Moss.

Now, with the ball back in the Broncos’ hands, it was “Bo-Time.” It wasn’t the first time it’s been said, and it won’t be the last. Second-year quarterback Bo Nix had the best game of his career. Four touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks, and a remarkable quarterback rating of 134.7 in the win. His technique didn’t reveal his earlier flaws, and his confidence seemed at its highest, given the quality of the opponent.

“Every game has a different story, every play has another one,” Nix said after the game. “I was able to learn in college that you are not going to win the game on one play, you are not going to win the game in one quarter. You have to piece it all together. It may look ugly at times, but it really doesn’t matter. There is always a way to win the game. There is always a way at the end to win a game; there’s always a way at the beginning. So you have to figure that out.

“As a team, I think that is just what makes really good teams. Together, they figure out the way, and they just go out there and do it. For us, we continue to prove over and over [that] our defense is going to play stout when we need it. They are going to get stop after stop. As an offense, we continue to have to score points when it’s most important to score points. Our special teams just keep playing solid and hold us all together. I think as a team, we are playing as well as I think we can play right now. That is really important to do at the end of the year.”

Nix threw touchdowns to four receivers. Michael Bandy, up from the practice squad, scored his first NFL touchdown. Courtland Sutton led with 113 receiving yards and a touchdown. Lil’ Jordan Humphrey and Troy Franklin also added scores. (See the game photo gallery at www.SportsReportNet.com).

On the ground, RJ Harvey got a heavy load of carries with 19 touches for 65 yards and a touchdown run in the game. He added to his total, moving to 10 touchdowns on the year, tying for third all-time on the Broncos rookie touchdown list, equaling Philip Lindsay (2018) and Jon Keyworth (1974).

The win pushed the Broncos to 12-2 on the season, the best record in the NFL, and guaranteed a playoff berth with three games left. They will face another first-place division team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, on Sunday in the toughest stretch of the schedule. The Broncos could clinch the division with a win and a Chargers loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. Pat Surtain addressed the lack of respect and the Broncos’ sleepers after Sunday’s win.

“They’re awake now. I feel like they were sleeping the past weeks, but they’re awake,” Surtain said. “I just think that collectively as a team, we don’t let that noise discourage us and our process. We stayed diligent with the craft, we always work, we don’t have things handed to us. Obviously, there’s a lot of things said in the preseason, but at the end of the day, we just put our head down and work and that’s what it takes in this league. A credit to all the guys, all the coaches, the staff, personnel, everybody, for making this work.”

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