DENVER — All seemed lost for the Denver Broncos.
In front of their jazzed up, sellout crowd that was mostly adorned in throwback orange jerseys and about 100 former players in for alumni weekend, the Broncos were down 10-0 early and about to fall behind, 17-3, to the hated, rival Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West matchup of 2-2 teams.
And then Broncos’ all-world cornerback Pat Surtain, with a huge unintentional assist from Raiders’ quarterback Gardner Minshew, came to the rescue.
On first and goal from the 5, Minshew inexplicably thew a ball up for grabs. It sailed well over the head of rookie tight end Brock Bowers, and into the arms of Surtain, who had moved up from the end zone to the goal line to cradle the gift in mid-stride. Surtain returned it 100 yards for a touchdown and instead of going down, 17-3, the Broncos had tied it, 10-10.
“The ball was in the air and my eyes got big,'' Surtain said. "I was like, ‘No way it’s happening.’ Then I caught the ball and I saw a full head of green grass and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s a touchdown.’ I did not look back. I saw a flag and in my head, I said, ‘No way, this is not happening right now. I don’t know if it’s rigged or if someone’s trying to ruin my game,’ but I was just happy that it got (picked up). That moment was very special. Seeing the crowd uproar after that play was pretty special.”
The play turned the game upside down.
Minshew lost his mojo, was later benched and the Broncos cruised past the Raiders, 34-18 on a Chamber of Commerce sun-splashed, 75-degree Sunday afternoon in early October at Empower Field at Mile High.
“Crazy play by Pat,'' said Broncos running back Javonte Williams, who led the team with 61 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving. "That just picked us up. That was the juice that we needed. What do they say? Big-time players show up in big-time games.”
It was the Broncos' first win against the Raiders since 2019, snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Silver and Black. Credit the throwback bright orange jerseys and light-blue helmets? Nah. Credit Surtain, who later got his second interception, or blame Minshew, who later was intercepted by the Broncos' other fine cornerback, Riley Moss.
"That was probably the play of the game, a big momentum shifter,'' said Broncos' quarterback Bo Nix.
“Definitely swung the game,'' Minshew said. "Obviously, I can't do that to our team. It put us in a bad spot. That swing is definitely on me.”
The Raiders weren't done helping the Broncos with the Minshew gaffe. Broncos’ kicker Wil Lutz missed a 59-yard field goal with no time left on the first-half clock but Las Vegas defensive lineman Janarius Robinson was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Lutz kicked it again from 44 yards and this time made it to put the Broncos up, 13-10 at the intermission.
It's not often a QB starts 9 of 9 with a perfect 158.3 passer rating and winds up benched in the third quarter. But that's what happened to Minshew as he was pulled in favor of Aidan O'Connell.
The Broncos' best offensive threat through 2 1/2 quarters was Marvin Mims Jr., whose 38-yard kickoff return set up a field goal in the second quarter and then his 38-yard punt return in the third gave the Broncos the ball at midfield. From there, Broncos' quarterback Bo Nix hit Lil'Jordan Humphrey along the right sideline. Humphrey stepped out of a shirt-tail tackle attempt and rambled 27 yards to set up first and goal at the 3. It was Humphrey's second explosive play (20-plus yards) of the game.
Jaleel McLaughlin finished the drive by taking a swing pass behind the line of scrimmage from Nix, then sprinting and leaping to the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown. The Broncos were up 20-10 midway through the third quarter.
Playing against a Raiders team that was without its top receiver, Davante Adams, and top rusher, Zamir White, the Broncos were sluggish early, as if they seemingly had the post-Greenbrier Blues. Either that or it was that the Raiders had Minshew that put the Broncos down, 10-0 early.
On each of the Raiders’ first two drives, the Denver D forced third and 9 and third and 8. Both times, Minshew scrambled up the gut for 11 yards to keep the series alive.
After his first 11-yard run, Minshew had a Broncos’ pass rusher coming right at him up the middle. Minshew threw it up downfield where Bowers was jostling for position with Broncos’ safety P.J. Locke. Bowers, not Locke, made the proper move on the ball. Locke turned the wrong way and fell down.
Bowers snagged the ball, turned up field and got a terrific downfield block on his way to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown play just 2 minutes and 3 seconds into the game.
Bowers, remember, was taken by the Raiders with their No. 13 overall draft pick. The Broncos took quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12.
Nix was pretty good, too. He finished 19 of 27 passing for 206 yards, two touchdowns, 0 interceptions and he also had an 11-yard scramble minutes after getting in a heated discussion with head coach Sean Payton on the sidelines. Nix's 19 completions went to 11 different receivers, a single-game Broncos' record.
Nix also had a near-perfect, 45-yard touchdown pass slip through the hands of rookie receiver Troy Franklin. Nix and Franklin combined for 23 touchdowns the previous two years at Oregon but this one got away.
“It was real disappointing,'' Franklin said. "I let my teammate down a little bit. Not a little bit but you know, dropped a touchdown.''
Nix said he wouldn't call it a drop as Franklin had to lunge at full-speed.
“Um, yeah, I’ve got to make that catch,'' Franklin said. "I got my hands on it.”
After that play, cameras caught Nix jawing animately at Payton. Turned out Payton scolded the quarterback first - “There’s still a little bit of Ferris Buehller in this player we got to get rid of,’’ Payton said afterwards. -- and the quarterback yelled right back at his coach.
Nix then went out on his next two possession in the fourth quarter and led his team to touchdowns, first on a lunging, leap over center for a 1-yard touchdown and then, after the Raiders continued to self-destruct, connected with Jose Reynolds for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
With 8:14 remaining, the Broncos were up, 34-10.
“We’re just out there with great competitive intensity and fire,'' Nix said of his exhange with his head coach. "We can have those conversations and move right back along and score another few touchdowns. It doesn’t bother us.”
Before Minshew and the Raiders fell apart, he was also effective on his second drive, although it stalled following a false-start penalty. Daniel Carlson of Colorado Springs kicked a 40-yard field goal to put the Raiders up 10-0.
At that point, Minshew was 7 of 7 for 96 yards with the touchdown and a perfect, 158.3 rating.
The Broncos began to at first gradually get back in the game thanks to Mims. The second-year player exploded for a 38-yard kickoff return, then an early down 17-yard gain on a jet sweep. Nix then scrambled right and hit Lil’Jordan Humphrey for 21 yards and the Broncos had first down at the Raiders’ 22.
But a Maxx Crosby 13-yard sack almost knocked the Broncos out of field goal range. Fortunately for the Denver offense, Lutz salvaged the sagging drive with a 51-yard field goal.
Then came a 14-point swing that was a combination horrific throw by Minshew and terrific play by Surtain. The Raiders had first and goal at the 5. They were gouging the Denver run defense and Minshew was up to 9 of 9 for 115 yards.
On the first and goal, Minshew scrambled left, and with pressure in his face, overthrew Bowers, the ball landing in the arms of Surtain. Surtain had only Minshew to beat. The quarterback was taken out with a pancake block by Broncos’ rookie outside linebacker Jonah Elliss. At first, officials called Elliss for holding but then picked up the flag. Surtain went all the way for a 100-yard pick six.
The sellout crowd of throwback-orange jerseyed fans went berserk. Instead of going down, 17-3, the Broncos had tied it, 10-10.
A 14-point swing. And it swung into a Broncos' route. Denver is now 3-2 heading into next Sunday's home game against Jim Harbaugh's Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos at long last have beat the Raiders. The Broncos have a three-game winning streak. Dare we say, this team has a chance to do something special. Like maybe finish with a winning record for the first time since 2016 and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015?
"We’ve got a pretty good chance. We’re not going to get too excited,'' Williams said. "We’re going to keep grinding, keep choppin away at it and we’re going to do what we do.”
Bronco Bits
Tight end Greg Dulcich was a healthy scratch, replaced by Lucas Krull, who was active for the first time this season. Dulcich has struggled to regain form after missing the previous 1 ½ seasons with a hamstring injury. …
Right tackle Alex Palczewski, subbing for the injured Mike McGlinchey, left the game with an ankle injury and didn't return. Matt Peart finished the game at right tackle. Palczewski and center Luke Wattenberg, who went down after Nix's 1-yard quarterback leap, left the stadium limping. McGlinchey is eligible to come off the injured list after the game next Sunday against the Chargers, although the following game is a shortened week, a Thursday night game against Payton's former Saints in New Orleans. ...
Rookie running back Audric Estime is eligible to come off IR this week. He suffered an ankle injury on his second carry in the opener at Seattle. ...
Rookie receiver Devaughn Vele was also inactive for a third consecutive game. He had a team-high 8 catches in the opener at Seattle, but suffered a significant rib injury in that game and hasn’t played since. ...
Maxx Crosby played for the Raiders despite a high ankle sprain that forced him to miss the better part of the past two weeks and had two sacks. Crosby now has a 10-game sack streak against the Broncos, garnering 14.5 in that span.
