The Broncos came out on top on Sunday as they took down the Packers to clinch a spot in the postseason for the second year in a row. In a back-and-forth game against one of their toughest opponents of the season, Denver earned a 34-26 win over Green Bay.
After the win, head coach Sean Payton recalled one message he told his offense toward the end of the game. “There was a point where the clock was stopped in the fourth quarter and I called the whole offense over. I said ‘You watching these guys right here,” and we all turned and looked. I said, ‘They’re gassed’ and I said ‘keep the pedal down,’” Payton said.
This was all by design from Payton, who used the altitude and Broncos’ home crowd to his team’s advantage on Sunday and to tire out the Packers.
“We wanted tonight to get into a lot of tempo with the altitude and with this team,” Payton said. “There’s a handful of reasons why. They’re very good rushing the pass rusher. You probably saw us tonight with more at the line.”
The Packers notably lost their best defensive player late in the third quarter when defensive end Micah Parsons went down with a knee injury that is believed to be a torn ACL. This certainly didn’t help the Packers, as the Broncos recorded one of their better offensive performances this season.
While the Broncos offense has been sluggish at times this season, they came through against the Packers—who boast one of the league’s top defenses. This was particularly true in the passing game, where quarterback Bo Nix went 23-34 for 302 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Nix gave the Broncos a 34-26 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the league’s third-best scoring defense then held strong by intercepting Jordan Love for the second time and forcing them to turn the ball over on downs twice en route to the win.
Thanks to a strong performance on both sides of the ball, the Broncos move to 12-2 on the season and retain the No. 1 seed in the AFC. With the Patriots’ loss to the Bills, the Broncos remain the lone two-loss team in the league, and a scary opponent heading into January.
FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
