ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — After falling short in a tough, last-second loss to the Chiefs, Denver has quickly turned its focus to the next challenge.
The Broncos dropped to 5-5 after a blocked field-goal attempt kept Denver from its first win at Arrowhead since 2015, but Head Coach Sean Payton stressed the importance of keeping perspective as the team looks ahead to its next crucial stretch of games. The upcoming slate begins with a home matchup with the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
"The sky is not falling," Payton said Monday. "There's a lot ahead, obviously. We have [seven] games left. I think this team has been resilient. The sky isn't falling relative to our season and the schedule. We're sitting here at 5-5. Obviously, we'd have loved to have been 6-4 with a win yesterday, but the focus shifts quickly to the next game."
Denver's resilience has been tested all season, and time and time again, the team has risen to the challenge. The Broncos began the season 0-2 but found their footing in Week 3, stringing together three consecutive wins to overcome the slow start and push the team over .500.
The Broncos have also battled back from in-game deficits, the most notable being in Week 5. Denver overcame a 10-point hole by scoring 34 consecutive points to secure a key divisional victory over the Raiders.
And when Denver faced arguably its greatest setback of the season with a 31-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10, the team battled back again to nearly knock off the undefeated Chiefs.
"I think there's this belief in the building that no matter what challenge is thrown at us, no matter what happens, [we can respond]," tight end Adam Trautman said Monday. "We got destroyed by Baltimore, it was an embarrassing loss, and we come right back against the back-to-back Super Bowl champions. We thought we played really well, and [we] just weren't able to finish it. But it just kind of shows the bounce back that this team has. It doesn't really matter what happens the week before. After Monday, it's just kind of flushed and we move on to the next week."
This game-by-game mentality has been a point of emphasis all season for Denver, and as the team fights to realize its postseason aspirations, inside linebacker Justin Strnad believes it will be more important than ever.
"You've got to look at it like, we've got seven weeks left in the season and we've got to make the most of those seven weeks," Strnad said. "We obviously want to be a playoff team, and we know that we're capable [of that]. So, we've got to move forward and just take it a week at a time."
Payton believes that once again, his team is prepared for the challenge.
"I like the leadership on this team," Payton said. "… It's an entirely different team than a year ago. It's tough — it's tough mentally and physically. We have to have a good week of practice here coming up for Atlanta. Overcoming a tough loss … listen, when you talk to the players about that, you tell them, 'Hey, that's going to happen periodically in your career.' You hope that you have a few of those games that maybe you thought that you didn't deserve to win, that you did win. You have to bounce back either way."
QB BO NIX STEPS UP UNDER PRESSURE
In a high-pressure situation, quarterback Bo Nix rose to the occasion.
The rookie finished Sunday's game 22-of-30 for 215 yards, adding two touchdowns and posting a 115.3 passer rating, a career high for a road game. And while the impressive performance in Nix's first visit to Arrowhead may have been surprising to some, Trautman never had a doubt.
"I'm not really surprised with anything that kid does anymore," he said. "He's been unbelievable under pressure in all those games. Even when we're down, you felt it the week before in Baltimore. You've felt it all year. It shows extreme poise, and he has confidence in what we're doing and the game plan and in his ability and in our offense's ability. … You can't say enough good things about him and that's how everyone feels in this building — and we should. He's earned the right to that. We believe in him, and he's been impressive."
Nix was especially impressive on third down, as he completed 9-of-10 passes for 83 yards and a 140.8 passer rating while converting six first downs. Both of Nix's touchdown passes on Sunday also came on third down. With the performance, Nix became the first Denver quarterback to have a 90-plus completion percentage and 140-plus passer rating on third down — when at least 10 passes were attempted — in a game since at least 1991. Nix is also only the second quarterback across the league this season to post those third-down numbers, with the other being Lamar Jackson.
With just under six minutes remaining in Sunday's game, Nix was able to lead the offense down the field and drain the clock to set the Broncos up for a game-winning field-goal attempt. Denver picked up three key third-down conversions and forced the Chiefs to take their final timeouts. And while the drive did not end the way the Broncos hoped, Nix showed his ability to make key plays in critical moments.
"He's got very good control of everything that's going on, and you can feel that in the huddle," Trautman said. "Any play call that comes out of his mouth, we feel very confident in. He instills that in us as an offense. He's been terrific, and he's someone you want to go war with. We all feel that way on offense."
OLB NIK BONITTO CONTINUES TO MAKE AN IMPACT
Denver's defense bounced back in Week 10, and the unit was led by another strong Nik Bonitto performance.
The outside linebacker recorded his seventh sack of the season as he took down quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and he also added three quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.
"He's certainly made the leap," Payton said of Bonitto's progress this season. "He's getting more snaps. He's getting more pass-rush snaps. I think the key for Nik was playing the run and [teams] running at him. He's at the right weight now. He's a guy that plays with real good bend. He can bend and torque his body. He has a lot in the tank relative to his pass rush, and what he wants to do and how to set somebody up. He's really helped us."
Bonitto also nearly recorded several other sacks during Sunday's game as he put Mahomes under constant duress.
"He's had a great year," Strnad said. "He continues to make plays for us week in and week out, and he had a great game yesterday. It's always good to see Nik out there making plays and doing his thing."
