NEW ORLEANS — In a "Thursday Night Football" showdown, Denver's run game stole the spotlight.
The Broncos posted 225 yards on the ground, marking the team's best rushing performance in over a decade.
"I think when we run the ball, we're a hard team to beat," left tackle Garett Bolles said following Thursday's win over the Saints.
Denver set the tone early, as the first play from scrimmage saw rookie quarterback Bo Nix scramble up the middle of the field for a 14-yard gain. Nix never looked back, rushing for 75 yards and averaging 7.5 yards per carry in the victory. Nix's longest play with his legs came on a designed run in the third quarter, and the 32-yard rush set up a Javonte Williams touchdown on the next play.
"I think it is just an added bonus," Nix said of his ability to run the ball. "Obviously, you want to run the ball with running backs in special ways and get behind the O-line. At times, things break down and those hidden yards, I think, are really important. They get extra first downs, and they are ways of sneaking yards in. So, that was good to see, good to use, and we have to continue to do that when it's there."
While the Broncos took advantage of those opportunities with Nix's 10 carries, Williams played his part and then some as he led the team with 88 rushing yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. The fourth-year running back, who leads Denver in total yards on the ground this season, also found the end zone twice to mark the first game of his career with multiple rushing touchdowns.
"Javonte had some really good runs," Head Coach Sean Payton said on Thursday. "When you have a night like that rushing and the time of possession, the script was flipped a little bit from last week."
Williams, who said this was his best game of the year rushing-wise, noted that there are still some things he wants to clean up and improve upon moving forward. Nonetheless, it was a performance that instilled some confidence in him and his teammates, and one that he plans to enjoy.
"It felt great," Williams said. "Just to get the win here in New Orleans for Coach Payton, having two touchdowns and going on a [long weekend] so I get to enjoy it for a little bit longer, it felt good."
Williams also praised the efforts of running backs Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime, who both showed their ability to break tackles and gain extra yardage on Thursday. McLaughlin's biggest play of the day came on a 21-yard rush in the third quarter that ultimately led to a field goal for Denver.
"That's the mentality that coach always preaches to us," Williams said of breaking tackles. "I feel like the O-line played well, receivers were blocking on the edge, [Nix] did a great job keeping the defense off balance, not knowing what was coming. So that [was] a good game plan."
The offensive line's strong performance was aided by the return of right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who was activated from injured reserve for Thursday's game. McGlinchey, who said he was "proud to be able to be out there for this win," is confident that Denver's offense can continue to build on this strong performance moving forward.
"I think it's a good recipe for us," McGlinchey said. "We were able to have a lot of success on the ground early, and we were able to keep at it all throughout the game. ... Really proud of what we did up front, really proud of the plan. I thought we executed well."
McLaughlin, who also noted that it was encouraging to see Denver's hard work and preparation translate to on-field performance, stressed that there is still more work to be done as the Broncos look ahead to the coming weeks.
"I'm going to keep working hard so that we can show [the offensive line] more appreciation as well with scoring touchdowns and rushing for a lot of yards," McLaughlin said. "All those guys, they're doing a great job and I trust in them."
As Denver looks for continued improvement heading into the middle of the season, getting back in the win column with the strongest rushing performance since 2013 was a good place to start.
"All praise to the O-line, to the receivers, to the quarterback [and] coach Payton," Williams said. "I feel like it was just an all-around collective effort tonight."
