They’ve been there before, more often than not. So when the Denver Broncos, on the final play of the game, needed a field goal to win, getting there on the final drive was never in question. Confidence was instilled throughout the team, from the slow starts to the fast finishes.

The 17-year head coach, Sean Payton, held a masterclass on confidence, schooling even the media in his postgame press conference. Quizzing the assembled press on what he emphasized over and over since his time in Denver.

“It’s just what I said before. It repeats itself. You can’t wish for confidence, right?” Payton queried the press. “It’s born out of what?” Payton received a smattering of replies. “Demonstrated ability, so you answered your own question.”

The demonstrated ability in this case, for the Broncos, was calling on October’s NFL Special Teams Player of the Month, Will Lutz, who, on the second day of November, would extend his kicking streak. His 34-yard field goal was automatic, sailing through the uprights, giving the Broncos the 18-15 victory as time expired.

But in order to get the Broncos in position to kick the walk-off field goal, they had to go through yet another fourth-quarter drive, gaining yards and eating clock, a place Bo Nix has become the best at. The fourth quarter quarterback now has four game winning drives this season and seven total in his one and a half year career in the NFL. Both are tied for the best in the NFL.

“We are at the point where we expect to give ourselves a chance to win every game. The expectations are that we’re going to compete and find a way, however it looks,” Nix said after the game. We’ve had good-looking games. We’ve had bad-looking games. I haven’t been on many teams, but this is a notable win streak, and we’ve won in various forms and fashions, so I do think the expectations are different. I think we understand what it feels like to have confidence.

“If we can’t go in there and win against a good team, in a tough environment on the road in the league, it’s hard to win on the road in this league. It’s hard to do it continuously; we’re just finding ways to do it. We found another way today. Just good for the character and the continued development of the team.” With 50 seconds left in the game, Nix ran twice for 34 yards against the best defense in the NFL.

In the end, it was the Denver defense that proved superior, keeping the Houston Texans out of the end zone for the entire game, resulting in zero touchdowns. It was their fourth game this season without allowing their opponent to reach the end zone, an NFL best. A crucial goal-line stand, with fourth and goal at the one-yard line, set the tone in the first quarter for the Broncos’ defense. With five divisional games left, the Broncos improve to 7-2, tied for the best record in the NFL. (See the Broncos - Texans game photo gallery at www.SportsReportNet.com).

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