ENGLEWOOD, Colo — There were two plays from the Denver Broncos-Buffalo Bills game – one supports the statement it’s all about the players and the other confirms coaching matters.
The Broncos had both working for them Monday night in an upset, 24-22 win.
First, the Russ to Courtland touchdown. There’s no Xs and Os diagram a coach can draw for that play to work as it did. The players – quarterback Russell Wilson with his pivot and retreat escape, followed by a precisely launched pass, and receiver Courtland Sutton with his toe-tapped left foot and toe-dragged right foot while simultaneously securing the catch – made that play.
Sean Payton, the Broncos’ head coach, chuckled in agreement as the players-make-plays example was described.
“Clearly, we didn’t get the defense we were looking for,’’ Payton said in an interview with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle (6:30 p.m. Friday). “Credit Buffalo. They were in more of a zone, cover two alignment, and those guys made a great play. You’re right. Sometimes you’re looking for a look. You’re expecting to get man to man, credit both those players there.”
Secondly, there’s 20 seconds left in the half, and the Broncos have no timeouts. A quick throw to receiver Jerry Jeudy over the middle picked up 5 yards, from the Bills’ 27 yard line to the 22. More to the point, the play shortened Wil Lutz’s field goal attempt from 45 yards to 40 yards. Providing the Broncos could get the kick off in time.
After his catch, Jeudy immediately dropped to the turf with 17 seconds left. He got up at 15 seconds. The full player exchange – field goal unit on, offense off -- was at 13 seconds. The snap and kick was at 2 seconds.
The 40-yard field goal was good as the clock hit 0:00.
"Man, the way we executed it at the end of the half was perfection. I’m proud of the guys for that,'' Lutz said in his interview with 9NEWS this week for the Broncos Huddle. "And then we executed it well at the end of the game. Obviously I’ve got to do my part there, but the execution was outstanding, and it’s a testament to coaching.”
As Payton said after the game, they drill the Hurricane fire drill, they time it, they drill it, they time it.
“Well, these situations come up – the hard thing is you practice them knowing they may not come up once a year,’’ Payton said. “The hurry-up field goal unit, that comes up once or twice a season. That’s the first time, and probably the last time, I’ll ever see that happen where the end of the half for us and end of the game for us.
“That play you’re talking about is important. Understanding time is more important than yards at that point. You get encouraged when you see the stuff you worked on and get a chance to execute it. We hit that pass a few weeks ago to end the game (the Hail Mary to Brandon Johnson), just some of these situations you’ve got to cover and they do creep up. And if you don’t cover them, then it can cost ya.”
Last year, Payton was working as a network NFL analyst when he was asked about Wilson, who at that time was struggling. Payton said you go back and look at his greatest hits. As it turned out, this year, Payton is Wilson’s head coach. And clearly Payton has brought back Wilson’s greatest hits.
To be sure, Wilson’s best plays this season have primarily come off schedule. Outside the pocket. It’s to the point where Wilson seems to be off schedule more each game than on.
Wilson was the NFL’s 27th ranked passer with an 84.4 rating as he tried to operate more from the pocket last year. This year, Payton has limited what Wilson doesn’t do so well and maximized what he does and it’s added up to a top 4 quarterback with a 104.0 ranking. Wilson on the move is a quarterback worth watching.
“Well to his credit he’s in great shape and, man … ’’ Payton said. “There’s plays he’s going to make in the pocket – the third and long the other night to (Jerry) Jeudy (for 19 yards in the fourth quarter to key a go-ahead touchdown drive). And yet in this game the pass rush is difficult each week, and I know when you have a quarterback that can move, that can be the spaghetti sauce to a lot of things.
“The thing he does a good job with is working with these receivers and getting them in phase when he does move. Because the play to Courtland the other night, he’s the backside over (crossing) route except Russ’ eyes immediately goes to that landmark (middle left-side of the end zone boundary). Those are things those guys talk about.
“But you’re right, you’re not going to be in a perfect pocket all the time. And certainly he’s someone that’s comfortable when it gets flush.”
Human nature being what it is, it can’t be easy for the Broncos’ players to mentally and emotionally move on from such a dramatic win in Buffalo. It was pure bedlam in the postgame locker room late Monday night. How does Payton get his players to turn the page for a game against a red-hot Vikings team that features the football miracle that is quarterback Josh Dobbs?
“I don’t think it’s difficult turning the page,’’ Payton said. “We try to use that rule of a day where you’re looking at the tape and you’re going through it. We stayed (overnight Monday in Buffalo) obviously to get the most out of the rest and we travelled back the next day. We pushed the practice schedule back. And then very quickly it’s the next challenge. This league is about the next challenge, the next challenge.
“And so a completely different team (the Vikings). You mentioned Josh, he’s playing well. There’s a lot of weapons offensively and then defensively, I mean they had a little bit like us in adversity to start the season. Now they’ve won five games in a row and they’re playing really good football.”
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