The Lead

When their numbers were called, Denver's young cornerbacks stepped up and made plays against the Colts.

Rookie Kris Abrams-Draine and third-year player Damarri Mathis both saw action on Sunday, and Head Coach Sean Payton was impressed with their performance in the 31-13 victory.

"Those two guys played really well," Payton said Monday. "I was encouraged."

Abrams-Draine — a fifth-round pick out of Missouri — saw his first NFL action late in Denver's "Monday Night Football" win over the Browns, and Sunday marked his first career start. The rookie played 76 percent of Denver's defensive snaps in the Week 15 victory and recorded two solo tackles.

"We felt somewhat positive when we looked at him coming out in this year's draft," Payton said of Abrams-Draine. "The last two weeks, he showed some moxie, stayed with his guys, didn't panic when the ball was in the air. There's something about him and so in both cases, I was really encouraged."

The highlight of his solid performance came late in the first half, when quarterback Anthony Richardson took a deep shot to the end zone on third down to try to extend the Colts' lead heading into halftime. Abrams-Draine broke up the pass intended for Alec Pierce — Indianapolis' leading receiver this season — and the Colts were forced to settle for a field goal.

"It's special," Abrams-Draine said of stepping up on Sunday. "Really, I just want to do whatever I can do to help this team win to be honest."

Mathis — who has seen action in six of Denver's games this season — also took on a larger role on Sunday. He played 26 percent of the Broncos' defensive snaps and, according to Payton, made a positive impact on the game.

"We felt somewhat positive about this young corner [Mathis] out of Pitt a few years ago, and it was good to see him getting back in and competing, because he did a good job," Payton said.

As both players look to continue to make an impact during Denver's final stretch of games this season, Abrams-Draine said he knows there are expectations to be met with each opportunity he has to step on the field. And on Sunday, he showed his ability to step up to the challenge.

"It's just a standard that we have that we always try to meet every game and every practice," Abrams-Draine said. "I feel like when we were coming back out from halftime, we were all on a mission to get back up."