Scotty PayneMon, December 1, 2025 at 6:33 AM UTC·8 min readWhat a game.
It was FAR from the Broncos’ best effort, but in the end, they still found a way to come away with the victory. The Commanders, led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, had the Broncos on the brink of losing. He led a game-tying drive at the end of the 4th quarter and had a touchdown drive in overtime, and was a 2-point conversion away from the upset.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, Nik Bonitto Dikembe Mutombo’d Mariota’s pass, and the Broncos leave Washington with the victory.
As for the winners and losers, it was a sloppy game on both sides of the ball that saw some highs and lows throughout the game. No one really came out of this game without some stink on them, but there were some notable winners who stood out.
With all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Denver Broncos’ 27-26 victory over the Washington Commanders.
WINNER- Nik BonittoBonitto was getting after the passer all game, and despite not getting the big sack, he made his impact on the final play of this game. The Commanders just scored a touchdown in overtime, the momentum was firmly on their side, and the Broncos looked to be on the verge of a disappointing upset loss. Mariota dropped back to pass and had a WIDE OPEN receiver for a go-ahead 2-point game-winner…but Nik Bonitto was going to have none of that. He put both of his hands up and deflected the Mariota pass, and gave the Broncos the victory.
It may have just been a 3-win Washington club on a potentially forgettable Sunday Night game, but this might go down as one of the more iconic Broncos victories in recent memory. They have had a few this season, and this one might be at the top.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBonitto and the defense were far from perfect tonight and probably had their worst collective outing since the Indy game, but they still found a way to come up big at the end of the game and get the win.
Now, to talk about the bad.
LOSER – Broncos defenseWe talked about the good, but now, time for the bad.
What the hell was that?
The Commanders had 419 total yards. Marcus Mariota had 294 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns, and 55 yards rushing. They also ran for 143 yards, had 30 first downs, were 8 for 17 on 3rd downs, which included at least two third-and-long run plays to convert, while also going 3 for 3 on 4th down.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn top of all that, they only sacked Mariota once, and it probably should have been flagged for tripping.
Zach Ertz has 10 receptions for 106 yards, Terry McLaurin had 7 receptions for 96 yards, Deebo had a big play late, which set them up for the OT touchdown, and they allowed Treylon Burks to potentially have the catch of the year earlier in the game.
The defense is not going to be elite for 17 games, and bad games will happen, but man, it was disappointing that tonight was one of those nights.
With all that said, they won, which makes this performance suck a good deal less, but still, not great.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLOSER – Broncos run gameRookie RJ Harvey did have 2 rushing touchdowns and needs to be praised for that. However, the overall effort was not good.
The Broncos had just 87 yards rushing in this game. Harvey led the way with 35 yards, but averaged just 2.7 yards per carry. Jaleel McLaughlin was not much better as he went 6 carries for 24 yards, with 16 of those yards coming on one play.
This is their second game without running back JK Dobbins, and in both games, the Broncos’ run game was lackluster. The Commanders’ run defense has not been great all season, but still, the Broncos struggled to do anything on the ground.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf the Broncos want to make a deep postseason run, they need more from their run game.
WINNER – Evan ‘Joker’ EngramEngram started the game with a couple of bad drops, which had fans like me calling him out. When he was signed, he was advertised as this playmaking weapon, and he has been mostly an afterthought all season. However, Engram improved as the game went on and had one of the biggest offensive plays of the season for the Broncos in overtime.
He took a Bo Nix pass for 40+ yards to get the Broncos in the red zone, where they eventually scored the go-ahead touchdown.
Engram finished with a team-leading 6 receptions for 79 yards and had his best overall game as a member of the Broncos. Before this big play, he was Nix’s most trusted target and converted multiple first downs throughout the game, but the 41-yarder is certainly the highlight of his season thus far.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Broncos will need more from Engram as they head into December and eventually into the playoffs. He was advertised as their ‘Joker,’ and it’s time for him to consistently play like one.
WINNER – QB Bo NixNix had a very up-and-down game and was trending towards being a loser before halftime. However, he stepped up big in overtime and led what would end up being the Broncos’ game-winning touchdown. Before that, the highlight of his night was a highlight reel touchdown pass to Cortland Sutton, where he threw the ball while falling down, but kept his knee up, and was able to throw an accurate touchdown pass.
However, it wasn’t all pretty. Nix would throw an ugly interception to the cement-footed Bobby Wagner. Nix didn’t see him and threw the ball right into his chest. The Commanders would score 3 on this play, which factored into the ending of this game. It also ended a drive where the offense had a chance to put this game away.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking of that, Nix and the offense failed to put the game away multiple times in the 4th quarter. At least one three-and-out and multiple failed third-down plays. One first down would have basically ended it, or at worst, made the Commanders use their timeouts and punt the ball away to them with very little time left.
Yet, they failed to step on their throat and end the game.
As I mentioned, he would rebound in OT and lead the offense down the field for a quick go-ahead score. Due to this OT game-winning drive, Nix lands on the winners’ list tonight, but he could have easily been a loser.
WINNER – LB Alex SingletonThree weeks ago, Alex Singleton found out he had cancer and needed immediate surgery to remove a growth. This news would cripple most people, but Singleton stayed strong, thankfully received wonderful news about his diagnosis, and, miraculously, was back on the football field after missing just one game.
While we may be upset about how that game went, we all should take a step back and appreciate this great story unfolding right infront of us.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat could have been a tragic moment for Singleton and his family turned into something wonderful and memorable.
Other notable winners and losersWINNER – RB RJ Harvey: The run game sucked tonight, but Harvey did find the end zone twice and deserves some recognition.
WINNER – WR Courtland Sutton: He didn’t have a super impactful game, but did catch Nix’s lone touchdown pass
LOSER – Broncos OL: I am no offensive line expert, but the Broncos OL seemed to struggle tonight. Nix was under pressure all night, and it seemed like defenders were in the backfield consistently blowing up run plays.
WINNER – S Talanoa Hufanga: He made some great plays tonight, but also had a few misses. I believe the good outweighs the bad, and Hufanga continues to be an electric player for the Broncos’ defense.
LOSER – WR Marvin Mims: It seems like his role on offense has diminished
WINNER – WR Pat Bryant: It felt like he made more plays than he did, but he continued to step up and had a key play to get the Broncos into the red zone.
WINNER – LB Dre Greenlaw: Greenlaw had the Broncos’ lone turnover of the game, and he took points off the board from the Commanders
LOSER – Broncos pass rush: Where did you go?
LOSER – Lil’Jordan Humphrey: Pinning the Commanders at the 1 could have been game-changing, but you stepped on the line
WINNER – Double-digit wins: The Broncos are only the 2nd team to hit double-digit wins in the NFL. I don’t care if they’re ugly wins or not; that’s exciting, and the Broncos have won 9 straight games.
