Mark Kiszla: After beating Eagles’ tushies in reigning champs’ crib, the Broncos fear nobody in the NFL
PHILADELPHIA – The last time the Broncos won a football game this big, quarterback Bo Nix wasn’t old enough to drive a car on his own, much less drive Denver to a wild-and-crazy upset of the reigning NFL champions.
After scoring 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Philadelphia 21-17 Sunday, coach Sean Payton gathered his Denver players and dared to ask them:
“Who are you afraid of?”
Well, to tell the truth, there were more than a few of us in Broncos Country who were more than a little fearful we might not live long enough to see such happy football days around here again.
The last time Denver felt so absolutely on top of the NFL world was when linebacker Von Miller ripped the Superman cape off Cam Newton and veteran quarterback Peyton Manning rode into a resplendent orange sunset during the afterglow of a lopsided victory against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
That long-ago winter day – Feb. 7, 2016 – was the last truly euphoric moment enjoyed by Broncomaniacs. And how long ago was that? Put it this way:
Nix was a teenager in Alabama more than two weeks shy of his 16th birthday. Nobody in America had heard of COVID-19. And Donald J. Trump was most famous for being a reality TV show star.
So forgive me if this tale of the biggest Broncos win in nearly a decade sounded like a coming-of-age story for Nix and a long-suffering NFL franchise.
In the city that inspired the “Rocky” flicks, not even Sly Stallone would’ve written a comeback script requiring such suspension of disbelief.
“It’s not easy going out there (down) 17-3,” Nix said, “and you haven’t had much success.”
You best believe that with Denver trailing by two touchdowns and Nix stuck with a failing QB rating of 61.6 after three quarters, even the Broncos were doubting themselves.
“I sit here and say how everybody was resilient and had this no-blink mentality. But we’re all human at the end of the day,” said seven-year NFL veteran Courtland Sutton, who has endured more orange-and-blue pain during a lost decade than almost anyone in the Broncos locker room.
“You look up at the scoreboard, you’re down 14 to the defending champs on the road. And there’s like this split-second decision that you have to make within yourself. Hey, am I going to fall into human nature and say: ‘Damn, they got us.’ Or am I going to say: ‘Nah, I got a whole bunch of guys around me that believe.’”
Sutton and his teammates got punched in the mouth by the reigning champs. They did blink, but refused to back down.
After losing twice already this season in games they never trailed for even a second in the fourth quarter until the last seconds on the scoreboard clock had expired, the Broncos decided their time to make a bold statement was now.
So why did Denver go for the gusto of a two-point conversion when a no-drama kick for the extra point could’ve tied the contest with 7 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the final period?
“We came here to win a game,” Payton explained.
Since taking over a team in complete disarray left by the brief but extremely regrettable error that was Nathaniel Hackett, the new coach had not only been forced to rebuild the roster, but overhaul the mindset of a Denver locker room that had learned to way too readily accept losing as a way of life.
“You can’t get a chance to play in these games that have a ton of upside … relative to what we want to become,” Payton said. “This (was) one of them.”
Go ahead and underscore in bright orange ink the gutsy call by Payton and the deadly dagger of a jab step by receiver Troy Franklin that got him wide open for a catch on the two-point conversion. The play was more than worthy of inclusion in ESPN’s daily Top 10 highlight reel.
But I’m here to tell you the moment Nix and his fellow Broncos grew up, transforming themselves from dreamy pretenders to legit contenders, occurred earlier in that same come-from-behind touchdown drive.
Facing third-and-long at the Philadelphia 45-yard line after an offensive pass interference penalty, Nix went over the top of the Eagles’ vaunted defense to loft a football deep down the right sideline and watched it land softly in the sure hands of Sutton for a 34-yard gain.
“One of the biggest plays,” Nix said, “in that game.”
He was being far too humble. It was the play when Nix arrived as a QB that showed he’s capable of Elway-esque heroics in the fourth quarter.
It was also Big Mo’s invitation to jump on the Broncos bandwagon. In that instant when Nix burned the Eagles’ tushies on a backside route to Sutton, the defending champs knew these young, scrappy, and hungry punks from Denver were ready to rock the NFL world.
How ready?
In a victorious locker room rocking with so much newfound swagger, the walls shook, I repeated Payton’s question to Franklin.
From Kansas City to Philadelphia and all NFL teams in between, who in this league are these Broncos afraid of now?
“Who are we afraid of? I don’t know, I don’t know,” Franklin replied.
With a respectful “Yes, sir,” Franklin added a direct answer to that big question.
Whom do the Broncos fear? “Nobody.”
