ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — PS2 wasn't playing around.
Following a stretch of dominant performances, cornerback Pat Surtain II has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, the NFL announced Thursday.
The recognition marks the first Player of the Month award of Surtain's career.
Surtain is the first Bronco to win Player of the Month honors since Wil Lutz in November of 2023, and he is the first Denver defender to earn the recognition since Von Miller in 2021.
The 2021 top-10 pick recorded 12 tackles and two passes defensed over four games in November, but the box scores do not begin to quantify Surtain's impact for the Broncos.
According to Next Gen Stats, Surtain was targeted just 17 times on 140 coverage snaps (12.1 percent) in November and allowed only nine receptions for 55 yards, an average of 2.3 receptions and 13.8 yards per game. On those nine receptions, Surtain allowed just 1.6 yards after the catch per reception.
The Broncos' lockdown cornerback did not allow a touchdown as the nearest defender in coverage in November, and the longest reception he allowed was nine yards. Opponents targeted him just twice with passes of over 10 air yards.
Again and again, Surtain held opposing weapons in check. Surtain was not targeted in Week 9, and Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins recorded just two catches for 13 yards with Surtain as the primary defender in Week 10.
In a Week 11 win over the Falcons, Surtain did not allow a reception while in coverage against Drake London and Darnell Mooney. And in Week 12, Surtain held Raiders tight end Brock Bowers to one catch for nine yards on four targets. Bowers, who was limited to four catches for 38 yards on 10 targets against the Broncos, averaged 9.3 catches for 104 yards in his other three games in November.
Following Surtain's honor, nine Broncos have now earned 13 AFC Defensive Player of the Month nods in the franchise's history. Surtain joins Champ Bailey and Deltha O'Neal as the only Broncos cornerbacks to win the honor.
Surtain previously earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors following Week 5.
