LAS VEGAS — The music blaring in the visiting locker room at Allegiant Stadium seeped into the adjacent press conference area and offered an audible confirmation of the Broncos' seventh win.
The roars of a decidedly Broncos crowd did the same, as Denver iced the game in the final moments with a series of big hits and defensive stops.
And yet, there were times during Sunday's 29-19 win over the Raiders when it seemed like silence in the locker room may have been the more likely postgame soundtrack.
Denver trailed by four points at halftime, and the Broncos' offense — which put up 38 points a week ago — was held to three field goals in the first half. The chances of a Raiders upset were only compounded by a three-and-out to open the second half, and Denver's win probability dipped to below 30 percent, according to ESPN.
This Sunday, though, would not turn out like several a year ago — or in the many preceding seasons. Rather than remain mired in a tough offensive performance or fail to get any pressure on the Raiders' signal caller, Denver found a way to adjust and earn a win.
"I said to [the team] today, 'Our team a year ago doesn't win this game. But this team did,'" Head Coach Sean Payton said after the win. "You build some grit. We won the turnover battle again. We were the better team today. We didn't always play like it, but we'll get those things cleaned up."
Payton acknowledged the Broncos' performance wasn't their best, but he also noted the team responded well enough to earn a season sweep over the Raiders.
"I'm just talking about what I see with the mental toughness, the grit, the fortitude, how they work," Payton said. "This is an entirely different team from a year ago. That's no discredit to last year's team. It just is what it is."
The Broncos' victory keeps the team on pace in the AFC playoff hunt, and wide receiver Courtland Sutton said he believes some of the struggles that the 2023 Broncos endured may have helped in a trying time on Sunday.
"The guys that were here last year that have felt the heartache of having these close games and not being able to come out victorious on the other side of it, I think we've been able to have that impression on the new guys on the team of 'Hey, we know what it's like to come up short and we know the things that we didn't do well to be able to have the victory,'" Sutton said. "Knowing those things, being able to see the other side, being able to have those heartaches I feel like gives us a different perspective on what it may to take to be able to see victory on the other side."
Cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian believes the Broncos' ability to battle back from a road deficit against a divisional rival shows growth. He also believes it demonstrates the behind-the-scenes work and buy-in that pays dividends in crucible moments.
"We just kept fighting, didn't give up and made some plays [at] the back end of the game," McMillian said.
Those plays — beginning with a Brandon Jones interception and ensuing touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Sutton — helped turn the tide. And then the Broncos put the game out of reach. While the Raiders fought until the final moments, Sutton's leaping touchdown grab gave Denver a lead it never relinquished. And in the final quarter, the Broncos made a big play whenever they needed to keep the Raiders at arm's length.
An 18-yard conversion to Sutton on third-and-10 to set up a field goal. A series of sacks, including a Nik Bonitto strip-sack. A 37-yard catch-and-run from Marvin Mims Jr. that led to another touchdown.
Again and again, the Broncos made the winning plays. And in a testament to the team's grit and mental toughness, they never lost faith.
"[We] just never lost that edge," Nix said "We never lost the faith on the sideline and always kind of figured we were going to find a way to win. That just marks a good team."
With that belief came another win and more music pouring out of the visiting locker room. And it also came with a lesson about what this year's group can accomplish.
"A year ago, we don't win that game," Payton said. "It wasn't our best, but it was good enough. And we're on to the next one. … It was good to handle these guys for the second time."
