The last time the Denver Broncos made the playoffs was the end of the 2015 season. That was Peyton Manning’s last season, and the last time the Broncos had a viable quarterback.
Bo Nix is helping end both of those droughts.
Nix wasn’t perfect on Monday night but he was pretty good. For a national audience who might not have seen much of Nix this season, it might have been a revelation. The selection of Nix at 12th overall in the NFL Draft was criticized by some, but the Broncos have to feel great about it. Nix led a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter after a feisty Cleveland Browns team took a fourth-quarter lead, and the Broncos improved to 8-5 with a 41-32 win after the defense finally got a stop in the final two minutes after giving up more than 500 yards.
Ja’Quan McMillian picked off Jameis Winston on a leaping interception, got up and returned it 46 yards for a game-sealing score. Winston had 497 passing yards, 235 of which went to former Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy (the most receiving yards in NFL history for a player against his former team, via ESPN), but Winston’s two pick 6s were the difference in the game.
Nix threw a couple interceptions, but also had 294 yards and a touchdown. And his team got a big win. The Broncos haven’t clinched a playoff spot, but it might be coming soon. Even bigger than that, the future looks bright because Denver has finally figured out its quarterback problem.
Big plays for both teams
Browns vs. Broncos wasn’t the type of Monday night matchup that was going to have everyone buzzing all afternoon. It turned out to be an entertaining game.
The Browns (3-9) haven’t been able to get much going in the running game lately, so they had Winston air it out. He was well over 300 yards during the third quarter, with former Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy passing 200 yards early in the fourth quarter. There was a sequence in which Marvin Mims Jr. got past the Browns’ secondary deep down the middle and Nix hit him with a great pass for a 93-yard touchdown. Then, on the next offensive play, Jeudy beat the Broncos’ secondary for a 70-yard score.
Winston made big plays, but he’s always a threat to give some back. He did so in the second quarter, telegraphing a short pass that Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto stepped in front of for an interception and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown.
The Broncos were scoring easily, but the Browns wouldn’t go away easily, even if their playoff hopes realistically ended a few weeks ago.
Browns take 4th quarter lead
Nix made a mistake early in the fourth quarter. He threw deep but Mims was well covered and Browns cornerback Denzel Ward made a nice catch downfield for an interception. The Broncos led 31-25 but the door was open for the Browns to take back the lead. Jeudy made a couple more big plays, including a 17-yard catch on third-and-10. With 8:57 left, Winston hit Nick Chubb for a touchdown and the Browns led 32-31. Winston went over 400 yards on that drive, and it was his fourth touchdown pass.
For the past eight seasons, the Broncos wouldn’t have had much chance at rallying after losing the lead. They rarely had a quarterback capable of leading a game-winning drive. Nix didn’t look nervous. He hit a couple of big third-down passes to get the Broncos downfield, showing off his arm strength on each of them. With less than three minutes left, the Broncos faced a fourth-and-1 well within field-goal range. Head coach Sean Payton looked like he was going for it, but then called timeout, changed his mind and Wil Lutz kicked a go-ahead field goal.
The Broncos’ defense had given up more than 500 yards at that point, but needed one stop to get a massive win. The possession started with a sack, but Winston rallied to hit Elijah Moore for a first down. The Broncos needed a big play, and McMillian got it. He got in front of a pass to Moore and ended up taking it in for a touchdown. Winston threw a third interception in the closing seconds of the game on a desperation drive. Despite all his passing yards, Winston’s three interceptions were costly. That’s the story of his career.
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