TAMPA, Fla. — Even Courtland Sutton was surprised.
When the Broncos' captains went to midfield for the pregame coin toss ahead of Sunday's 26-7 win over the Buccaneers, Sutton knew the Broncos planned to be aggressive when they got the ball. What he didn't know? Head Coach Sean Payton planned to take the ball and give his offense an opportunity to make an early impact.
"Usually we defer, and I guess he had whispered to Alex [Singleton] and Wil [Lutz] that he wanted to receive the ball," Sutton said. "It kind of caught me off [guard]. I'm out there, but it still kind of caught me off guard. I was excited because I knew what the first play was. We go over the openers the night before the game, so I knew what the first play was going to be. When he decided to take the ball, I was like, 'Oh yeah, he's trying to set the tempo.'"
From the first snap, the Broncos attacked. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Bo Nix found Sutton for a 22-yard gain on a back-shoulder throw. Two plays later, Nix dropped a pass in the bucket for Josh Reynolds, who gained another 31 yards. A few moments after that, Nix raced into the end zone on third down for an opening score. Nix completed all four of his passes for 70 yards and a 118.8 quarterback rating on the opening drive.
"We came out and did exactly what we wanted," Nix said. "We went down and got a touchdown. And I think that set the tempo and set the tone for the game."
The Broncos' touchdown marked the first time the team scored a touchdown on their opening possession since last season's Week 12 win over the Browns. Denver's last first-drive touchdown on the road came in Week 4 against the Bears in 2023.
"I think taking [deep shots] early backed that defense up a little bit," Reynolds said. "… I think the plan we had was awesome, and we executed well."
The Broncos remained aggressive after the opening drive, electing to go for a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line after a Brandon Jones interception set the Broncos up inside the red zone. A Jaleel McLaughlin hesitation move in the backfield rewarded Payton's gamble, and the Broncos took a 14-0 lead.
Later, facing a fourth-and-1 from their own 43-yard line, the Broncos elected to keep the momentum going. Nix ran off left tackle to pick up the conversion, and the Broncos pushed the lead to 17-0 on the drive.
As the game progressed, the Broncos opted to kick field goals to build their lead, but the aggressive start was by design.
"I felt like we wanted to be aggressive early and run it later in the game," Payton said.
With the quick start, the Broncos posted their first 14-point first-quarter lead since 2021, and they posted their highest scoring output since the aforementioned win over Cleveland last season.
In addition to leading to the win, the aggressive start also helped build confidence for Denver's offense.
"I think it's big," Reynolds said. "We knew what kind of players we had. We just had to get in this rhythm and be able to start making these plays. To be able to have this kind of game, it's awesome."
