DENVER — After facing an early deficit, the Broncos' defense delivered.
Denver turned the ball over early, and Carolina took advantage with a touchdown on the team's first offensive possession. The Broncos' defense, however, adjusted quickly and went on to deliver a near-shutdown performance, highlighted by two interceptions in the second half to help seal the victory. In a nine-drive stretch, Denver's defense forced five punts, recorded two turnovers on downs and notched a pair of interceptions.
After Carolina's initial score, the Panthers recorded one first down and 27 net yards over their next six possessions.
The performance allowed the Broncos' offense to score 28 unanswered points, which was enough to put the game out of reach and give Denver a key second win at home.
"It feels good," cornerback Pat Surtain II said following Sunday's 28-14 win. "It always feels good to get a win. Especially in that fashion."
Sunday's game marked Surtain's return from injury, and he quickly showed he hasn't skipped a beat, intercepting quarterback Bryce Young late in the third quarter to give the Broncos their first takeaway of the day. The interception was Surtain's third of the season, with his other two coming during a Week 5 win over the Raiders in the last full game he played.
"It was one of those ones where my eyes got big, and wherever it landed I had to make sure I capitalized on it," he said.
Denver's second turnover came halfway through the fourth quarter, when cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian made an impressive play to record his first interception of the season. Surtain, who described the play as "incredible," noted that the turnovers paint a positive picture for Denver's defense as the unit continues to build momentum this season.
"Collectively as a unit, we can see that we are building on communication," Surtain said following Sunday's win. "All 11 [players] focus on the ball, and that has created success and generates turnovers."
The performance of Denver's secondary was just one of Denver's defensive highlights, as the outside linebacker duo of Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto continued their battle to lead the team in sacks, each adding another to their season total on Sunday. Bonitto's fourth-quarter sack extended his streak this season, and his six consecutive games with a full sack now ties the third-longest streak in franchise history. Bonitto's stretch of games with at least one sack is the longest active streak in the NFL.
Surtain, who noted that "Nik is one of those guys that comes into work every day looking to get better," said he expects to see plenty more production from his teammate this season.
"What you see on the field, you see it every day in practice [and] in the film room," Surtain said. "He's just looking to get better. I'm very proud of him because [of] just the willingness to go out there and just keep on being the best version of himself each and every week. So, Nik, he's been a great asset to this team, and I'm looking [forward] to seeing his success moving forward."
While Denver's defensive production was enough to get the job done and give Denver its fifth win in six games, the unit gave up its second touchdown of the day with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. Bonitto, who said closing out the game in that fashion "put a little bad taste in our mouth," noted that the unit plans to use this as extra motivation heading into the weeks ahead.
"Obviously everybody loves winning, but we want to be dominant every time we step on the field from beginning to end," Bonitto said.
Added Surtain: "We didn't finish how we wanted to, but we can correct that just [with] a little bit more attention to detail at the end of the games. But I think we came out firing on all cylinders, and it's a great team win."
As the Broncos now look ahead to two matchups on the road, the team will look for the performance to fuel their preparation and execution in the weeks ahead.
"We know we got a lot more left in the tank, a lot more to improve on, and that's the best thing about it with this defense and with this team," Surtain said. "We still got a lot left on the table that we're ready to prove."
