Sean Payton told the team before the two-game road trip on the East Coast that these would define the identity of the 2024 Broncos.
Not so much their season as just the kind of team they were going to be.
After a dominating win in Tampa and a hard-fought victory in terrible conditions in New York, the Broncos revealed that identity.
Gritty.
That’s how P.J. Locke believes the team has defined itself.
“Resilience, grit,” he said. “We can play in any conditions, we are super focused, no matter what the factors are, and just come out here with our heads up.”
Payton would agree.
“Obviously, a gritty win,” he said.
Obviously.
A year ago, though, a win like that wasn’t obvious — nor even likely. And for the six years prior, a win like that would have never been considered because the Broncos just couldn’t win the close games.
But it was to be Sunday.
Steve Atwater understands the importance of this.
That was a GREAT team win! We have to be able to win the close ones! Nice job @Broncos!!
— Steve Atwater (@SteveAtwater27) September 29, 2024
“Man, proud of how we fought,” Payton said after the game, noting the offensive struggles in the weather for both teams. “Nonetheless, good team that we played, and we fought hard. It was good to get a win.”
Quarterback Bo Nix, who had a rough day by the stat line but a beautiful one by its end result, said the game was “straight up defense, running back and o-line play...and finding ways to keep moving the ball and keep finding points and you can’t explain how good our defense played.”
Bo knows.
“Yeah, it was huge to go on the road, get two tough wins against two really good football teams, two tough defenses, two tough offenses,” Nix said after the game, giving the highest praise to his defense. “You find a way to win in this league, and that’s a big day. So, [the Broncos’ defense] kept them out of the end zone, and we found a way to get in the end zone one time, and that was the difference in the game.”
Nix has no problem acknowledging the role the defense and running game played in his and the entire team’s success yesterday.
“You can’t say enough about our defense on this winning stretch,” he added. “They’re going to continue to give us the ball back. Now, we’ve got to find ways to score, more than just a few points, but that’s part of it.”
Although the Broncos spent the week at a resort in West Virginia rather than going back and forth to the East Coast two weekends in a row, Payton clarified for the reporters, this was no “excursion.”
It was an opportunity to make the best situation possible for getting wins on the road — and it worked.
“It had a chance to be a pivotal part of the season...you find out a little bit about everyone... a little bit about your grit and toughness,” the coach said. “You go into some tough environments, you get on a plane tonight and you get back home at 2-2, that’s important.”
Broncos defense is legit legit
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 29, 2024
The defensive battle was one for the ages even if the weather was a huge factor in the low-scoring affair. Sacking Aaron Rodgers five times, hitting him another 14 and not allowing a Jets touchdown deserves all the accolades.
“It’s tough to do against him,” Payton said, noting how good Rodgers is at identifying his protection. “He knows if he’s short one, and he knows right away. ...He’s extremely smart so you may go another 20 games before you see that happen to him.”
And the sacks came because the coverage downfield was blanketing the receivers. A couple pass interference calls could have been more costly than they were, but the defense held strong — including forcing a 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line that resulted in only a field goal before half.
In a one-point win, everything matters.
The defensive game plan was brilliant as it stymied Rodgers all game while also keeping the running backs in check.
The future Hall-of-Fame QB ended the day completing just 24 of his 42 passing attempts that only hit 225 yards.
Rodgers put a towel over his head and sunk down low on his bleacher as he watched kicker Greg Zuerlein miss a 50-yard field goal for the win — a field goal made much harder by Rodgers’ incomplete pass to Mike Williams just before.
“That’s all VJ,” Zach Allen said of the defensive game plan. “VJ did a hell of a job kind of mixing it up and everything like that, giving different looks. I think also too, up front, we were really confident in our four-man rush and we take a lot of pride in that. I...it’s a lot of fun to play with this group and hopefully we can just keep on rushing the way we are and keep playing the team defense we are.”
Today was the first time EVER that Aaron Rodgers had 0 TD at home when he played the entire game pic.twitter.com/1DTPcyyjSU
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) September 29, 2024
Patrick Surtain II, who frustrated Garrett Wilson up and down the field, said the defense has no plans to let up.
“Yeah, VJ is just dialing up. He has so much trust in us as players and that allows him to call these exotic schemes, show different looks and frustrate opposing offenses because his ability to trust us and his ability in his play calling,” Surtain said. “Obviously, these past few weeks it’s paid dividends....and we’re just going to keep on building and keep on performing. VJ is just going to keep on calling great calls defensively and we’re going to get after it for sure.”
Even with just a touchdown and field goal to show for its efforts on Sunday, the offense was able to reward its defense for keeping a potentially high-flying offense at bay.
And nobody knew better than Nix that it needed to do that.
Bad weather or not, the young quarterback knew if the defense was holding the Jets to field goals, he had to lead the team into the end zone.
“At that point, it didn’t matter if the weather cleared up, I had to go out there and contribute and be efficient and find ways to get us in the end zone, find ways to win the game,” Nix said.
The quarterback and his teammates talked on the sideline that the game was never going to be “picture-perfect.”
“When the weather’s like that, and they have a good defense, you’re going to go out there and it’s going to be a tough game,” Nix added. “You’re going to have to have some grit and some discipline, some toughness there at the end to pull those out. And that’s what we did...confidence was there. We just had to find a way to make it work. And sometimes you just got to do just that.”
Sometimes you do.
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) September 29, 2024"We got some grit and we're a tough football team."
- Bo Nix following a gritty @Broncos win | @EvanWashburn pic.twitter.com/rglJnwXxKp