Broncos make their own luck by making ‘one more play’

Call it luck if you want, but 10 wins, nine of them in a row, is not the luck that just happens to you.

It’s the luck you make happen.

Bo Nix understands this acutely.

Last year the Broncos lost multiple close games. They didn’t call it unlucky. They knew they just didn’t make the last play.

So you move on and figure out how to make that last play.

It’s been happening all season and no game proved that more obviously than last night’s OT thriller over the Commanders.

“At the end of the day, we scored one more point than they did and that’s the difference in a game in this league.”

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“I understand what it’s like to be on the other side of things, but you just, kind of, keep moving on and you got to have a belief that you’re just going to find a way,” Nix said after the victory. “You know, it didn’t look great there for a minute, but we just found a way to make the next best play. At the end of the day, we scored one more point than they did and that’s the difference in a game in this league.”

In fact, it felt like the “last play” happened over and over.

After Nix led a touchdown drive that was so seamless you might have forgotten how inept the offense appeared much of the night – or at least in the fourth quarter. Thanks to solid run from RJ Harvey to start the drive, a huge gain from Evan Engram and a clutch catch from Courtland Sutton to set up Harvey’s easy TD from the five, the offense changed all the momentum and put the pressure on Marcus Mariota and the Commanders to respond.

Which they did.

It seemed like the defense was going to get a fourth-down stop until a pass interference call denied the Broncos an instant win and gave the Commanders new life.

A Mariota-to-McLaurin touchdown was called back for offensive holding, turning the tide once again in the Broncos favor, giving Denver a new chance for a stop.

But five plays later Mariota drilled McLaurin for an easy three-yard touchdown, and the Commanders were in the driver’s seat.

When the offense lined up for a two-point conversion, going for a win rather than settling for a tie, both teams knew one last play would decide their fates.

Thanks to a timeout, a perceptive play call change from Vance Joseph and an incredibly athletic gamble on staying on course for the sack or being prepared to bat down a pass to a wide open receiver were the confluence of factors that allowed the Broncos to create their own good luck.

“We got incredible belief no matter what. We just feel like we’re going to figure out a way to win the game, make the next play,” Nix said, adding his admiration for Mariota’s performance all night. “We’ve played some really good teams and we’re going to play more. We just got a good belief that we’re going to find ways to win.”

Nik Bonitto, the guy most responsible for that win, said his confidence level is at “1000 percent.”

“I mean, we’ve been battle tested all year. There’s no situation that we’re new to,” he added. “It was just a matter of just finding another way to win the game, and we did that.”

Head coach Sean Payton admitted the Commanders “were a handful all night.”

“It’s a great game to win; it’s a tough one to lose,” he said.

For Nix, games coming down to the last possession are what he’s used to, what he’s expecting.

And he looks at it as good practice for the bigger road ahead.

“I feel like we’ve seen any game possible, all the outcomes, but I know there’s going to be many more,” the quarterback said, adding that he looks at the pressure as a privilege.

“I was told a long time ago by one of my many offensive coaches that pressure is a privilege, and not many people get to be in that opportunity. So, if it’s going to be me who gets this opportunity, I am going to make the best of it,” Nix said. “It doesn’t always go your way. Fortunately for us, it’s gone our way in these games.”

“Statistics can’t grow legs and go out there and score touchdowns for you.”

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To Nix and the rest of the team, this pressure is practice for the bigger and even more important games where only winners move on.

“As much as we feel like we’ve had success, there’s a lot of guys in that locker room that are eager to perform better,” Nix said. “We know that there’s a higher ceiling that we could play up to, and that’s what we’re gonna continue to practice hard to do and continue to work.”

Because the goal isn’t a 10-win season. It’s not round one of the playoffs. It’s not even the divisional round.

Whether you believe with them or not, the Broncos have their eyes on the Super Bowl.

And the players know it’s theirs for the taking.

“Statistics can’t grow legs and go out there and score touchdowns for you,” Nix said.

“We’ve shown great improvement but we definitely don’t want to stop here. …We didn’t wanna get to December and be ten and two. That wasn’t our goal,” the QB added. “Our goal was to make a deep playoff run and we’re clearly not there yet. We haven’t even had time to get there yet, so we’re gonna continue to battle, continue to fight.”