Parker Gabriel’s 7 thoughts on Broncos’ latest wild win, including backstory of Bo Nix and Evan Engram creating game’s biggest offensive play

LANDOVER Md Sean Payton implored a look back at history Take any Super Bowl crew he disclosed in the wee hours of Monday morning and look through their schedule The journey of a good group s season involves games like this Payton explained Games like this Games like the Broncos wild - skin-of-their-teeth overtime win against Washington His Super Bowl champion New Orleans organization in had their share The Broncos did too There aren t plenty of cakewalks in the NFL This certainly wasn t one for Denver But Payton s squad has won nine straight is - and polished off a perfect November literally as the calendar turned to December At p m EST on Nov the Broncos were yards from losing for the first time since Sept By a m Dec they d run their unbeaten streak into a third month Here are seven thoughts after yet another wild finish The Broncos biggest offensive play of the night unlocked Evan Engram and presented off a budding chemistry between the tight end and quarterback Bo Nix Perhaps no play mattered more for Denver s offense Sunday night against Washington than a -yard catch-and-run connection from quarterback Bo Nix to tight end Evan Engram early in overtime It followed back-to-back -yard Nix completions to running back RJ Harvey and tight end Adam Trautman and put the Broncos all the way down to the Commanders -yard line In a sometimes sloppy tilt-a-whirl of a competition though this particular play was anything but happenstance In fact it arrived for the Broncos at the championship s critical moment in overtime because of Engram s analysis during the week and Nix s quick thinking on the fly As a reporter urged Nix still in full pads in the Broncos postgame locker room about the sequence a smile creased his face This one had a story behind it Here s how it happened Engram over the syllabus of the week studies his own routes systematically and also how the defenders he s likely to match up against tend to play certain looks coverages and matchups All week he does a great job of film assessment Nix described The Post He s very experienced very developed as a athlete obviously That s why he s played so good in this league for a while We talk about different routes and how we could set up routes Engram thought he could get Washington inside linebacker Bobby Wagner to overcommit in the middle of the field We knew Bobby was going to be in that position Nix explained Engram and Nix formulated a plan for how they yearned to set up a possible big play in the middle of the field with a sequence of plays The first came during Denver s two-minute drill drive for a touchdown late in the first half On first-and- from the Commanders Engram pressed up the field and then ran a whip journey against Wagner where he faked like he was going to cut inside and then returned to the outside Wagner bit on the fake but recovered in time to tackle Engram for an -yard gain An effective play but certainly not a highlight reel entry Except Nix and Engram knew they were on to something They had a quick chat on the sideline to make sure they were on the same page about what came next He got Bobby to open up and then have to reverse back out Nix commented So we knew that if we got the opportunity to check to this play he was going to set it up like he did Sure enough I knew it we were thinking the same thing We got the first one done and as soon as you show him the first pitch you re able to run a counter off it We just got to the sideline we were like hey the next time we get that look we re getting to it In overtime the Broncos were dialed up the pace after a -yard completion to Trautman Nix hurried the offense back to the line without a huddle and surveyed the defense In these types of situations the Broncos have several plays on the menu Nix stepped toward the line of scrimmage and put his hands in an O shape and called the play Engram sensed opportunity That was one that I was waiting on for sure Engram informed The Post We got the coverage that we needed where we got to isolate a linebacker and that s one of those plays that when you get that matchup you want to take advantage of it Bo did a good job of seeing the coverage and getting to that play and we just went and executed it Evan Engram goes for yards ProBowlVote SNFonNBC pic twitter com W z gAZxjQ Denver Broncos Broncos December Engram again pressed up the field against Wagner and made the road look as similar as workable He leaned inside took a full stride like he was again whipping toward the sideline but then darted back to the middle of the field on a jerk trail Wagner careful to not make the same mistake he did the first time when he overcommitted to the middle was stuck too far outside Nix stood calmly in the pocket knowing Engram needed a beat to set up the track and execute it When Engram came free to the middle Nix put an accurate throw on him and he exploded up the gut of the Commanders defense for yards The jerk course he ran was outstanding Payton mentioned Two plays later the Broncos took the lead - on a -yard Harvey plunge That was honestly when you look at it supposedly our biggest play of the tournament Nix noted of the connection with Engram It got Evan looking like Evan and went down once we got down there we just had to punch it in and we did that This is what it looks like for a quarterback and his receivers to start to develop real chemistry To be able to understand matchups and planning at a high level and then to get to those looks on the fly in pressure situations This is what maturation at the quarterback position looks like These are the kinds of adjustments that can be the difference between winning and losing That s when you see the film review come to fruition and go from the film room to the field Nix revealed and that s when you feel like you re playing at a good level You don t want to just do that work for no reason so when you see that happen you feel good about all your work Engram led the association in catches six targets nine and yards with a season-high All but one catch and six yards came on the Broncos three touchdown drives He had three catches for on a second-quarter scoring march one for on a third-quarter drive and then the -yarder in overtime It definitely feels sweet to contribute to the win commented Engram who now has catches for yards on the season The Broncos are tied for the best record in the NFL with New England at - In the NFC Chicago currently sits in the No spot at - What does that trio have in common They re all led by quarterbacks from the class which is already shaping up to be a tremendous one The Bears took Caleb Williams No overall Washington took Jayden Daniels No and he promptly led the Commanders to the NFC title meeting a year ago Then New England took Drake Maye at No before the Broncos ultimately took Nix at No The Commanders have had a horrible and Daniels has missed extended time due to injury including Sunday night s loss to Denver because of a dislocated left elbow Williams and Maye each are working with first-year head coaches that have dramatically changed not only the trajectory of each quarterback but also the beliefs and stability in each of their locker rooms Nix had that from the start in Payton and the Broncos won games in his rookie year but now they re the heavy favorites to end Kansas City s nine-year stranglehold on the AFC West and running even with the Patriots for the No overall seed in the conference The trio s done it in different strategies this year Maye is an MVP candidate and is playing terrific beautiful offensive football Entering Week nobody in football had a better completion percentage than his and he was running second in quarterback rating behind only Matthew Stafford the likely MVP frontrunner for the Los Angeles Rams Williams and Nix meanwhile have had somewhat similar second seasons They each have their struggles but they ve also engineered win after win after win and have each displayed they can operate in the clutch Nix plays confident He doesn t get rattled Engram stated He definitely gets pissed off on bad throws but he s really growing into himself and he s becoming a really good leader And the kid just keeps making plays Backs against the wall he just continues to step up and make plays The Commanders have already nearly made a Super Bowl while Denver New England and Chicago are chart-toppers through weeks this year All of these teams along with Atlanta and Minnesota who took quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr and J J McCarthy at Nos and overall in the draft respectively are squarely in the rookie quarterback window The Broncos are still burning off the final million of Russell Wilson s cap hit this year so their books are even cleaner in For the Broncos and the others though this is the time to press the advantage There are really two methods to be a real contender in the NFL Have a true franchise-lifting quarterback in the Patrick Mahomes Josh Allen Lamar Jackson Joe Burrow class or have a rookie who can play at a high level while he s cheap enough to promotion a strong supporting cast So far this year the latter reigns supreme Soon enough we ll find out if that holds through the postseason Nik Bonitto s club-handed game-winning knockdown came after what head coach Sean Payton refers to as a Kodak moment Terry McLaurin had just hauled in a touchdown to draw Washington within - in overtime With remaining there was no way Commanders head coach Dan Quinn sitting at - on the season was going to opt for a game-tying extra point and put the ball back in Denver s hands with a chance to win The best he could have hoped for in that scenario was a tie and really it would have been asking to lose A Denver field goal would have ended the contest No surprise then that Quinn kept his offense on the field Once the Commanders got to the line of scrimmage Payton took a timeout We call it a Kodak situation where you have a timeout and the contest s going to end Payton explained meaning the Broncos can get a picture of the offensive formation the Commanders set up So call the timeout regroup collect your thoughts Vance did a great job changing a call up And it was the right call The Broncos had a pressure dialed up but during the timeout defensive coordinator Vance Joseph changed it The challenge in those plays are designed QB runs which we were concerned with Payton explained And so particular of your zone call if you will at the two-yard line we went from one pressure to another Washington came back out in a slightly different look though it was likely just a mask Before the timeout they were empty with trips to the left and then tight end Zach Ertz and running back Jeremy McNichols to the right After the timeout everybody was in the same spot except McNichols was out to the left with the three receivers He motioned into the backfield which likely is what would happened before the timeout too just from the other side of the formation At the snap Washington s receivers crashed inside to create as much traffic as doable and McNichols sprinted for the left flat He was wide open Except Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto came free as a rusher off Mariota s left alertly got his hands up and knocked the ball down He barely broke stride as he sprinted toward the Denver sideline which was already erupting in celebration NIK BONITTO CHAMPIONSHIP OVER pic twitter com wdilygDF x NFL NFL December Mariota kind of drifted back kind of far too Bonitto stated So I knew he was just buying time Bonitto within moments of the game-winning play had his phone in hand in the locker room and posted on X I hate wearing a cast I hate wearing a cast Nik Bonitto nikkkkbonitto December The implication of syllabus is that if he wasn t wearing it he d have intercepted the pass and run it back for a touchdown just for an exclamation point on the win Yeah he might have scored fellow outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper allowed after the tournament with Bonitto nodding his head just to Cooper s right A perhaps ironic wrinkle Bonitto s been wearing a brace or cast on his right wrist since Week a walk-off loss against the Colts When he saw the now infamous leverage penalty get called on the field he slammed his fist into the Lucas Oil Field turf and injured his wrist Now he s got to wear the hardware for the rest of the season So far it s working out just fine for him The Broncos though are on a wild run of wins in part because of those early season tribulations Bonitto and the rest of the Broncos couldn t believe the manner in which they lost against the Colts and then again the next week at the Los Angeles Chargers They didn t trail a second in the fourth quarter of either championship but lost on walk-off field goals nonetheless Since then they ve done a in late-game scenarios On the current nine-game winning streak seven victories have come by one result They ve won in walk-off settings four times in their past six games They ve won their past four games by three three three and one We ve got incredible belief no matter what Nix declared We just feel like we re going to figure out a way to win the tournament and make the next play We ve been playing particular really good football teams and tonight was another Payton s seen this group grow and in the process become a group that figures it s going to win on the margins rather than lose Yeah and we began feeling it a long time ago he explained But when you get on a streak I mean generally when you have a good group you win how a large number of games in a row at particular point And when you win nine in a row and then convert that to baseball or basketball you guys do the math What would it be It s like games So it s a lot And you do begin to believe it s gonna happen But there can t be that false belief There has to be that preparation and corrections so that next week is better There are certainly things that Denver s going to have to do better in order to win more close games down the stretch or in the postseason Payton mentioned Washington caught them off guard to specific degree with how they defended the run the Broncos now have two pedestrian rushing efforts to their name since J K Dobbins foot injury and the defense struggled to tackle early in the championship I thought it looked like we d had a week off outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper announced But belief is powerful and Denver s certainly got it You never know man Engram stated This is the NFL and so countless weird things can bounce around But you just want to be prepared when your number is called and we have a lot of good guys in this locker room that prepare for the big moments and prepare for the game-altering plays When your number is called you ve got to step up and execute Nix had a particularly good thought on the notion that the Broncos might now have more pressure The quarterback was narrated after the tournament that each Denver association that started a season - has made the Super Bowl and requested whether that came with any added pressure going forward Nix s answer in full is instructive to how he views leadership handling success pressure and outside opinions There s no added pressure Nix noted When we started this season every season starts with a goal and our goal is to make a Super Bowl run And not just make it We wanna win the whole thing The funny thing about stats is the following day you re gonna wake up and there s gonna be a new stat There s gonna be something else that somebody else figured out This happened or this stat They re just that They re just a stat They have nothing to do with the football competition They can t grow legs and go out there and figure touchdowns for you Nix continued on For us we ve got to continue to figure out approaches to put all the distractions all the noise everything aside and just continue to play as one organization We re - We won games last year and that was at the end of the season We re not at the end so we ve shown great improvement but we definitely don t want to stop here This is not where we longed to be We didn t want to be - We didn t wanna get to December and be - That wasn t our goal Our goal was to make a deep playoff run and we re clearly not there yet We haven t even had time to get there yet So we re going to continue to battle continue to fight We have a great mindset in the locker room Guys are really fighting and battling for each other We love one another It s really an honor to be a part of this group I ve played on a lot of close football teams but this is up there with the best of them The Broncos really value Nate Adkins but trying to avoid an IR stint with him on two different occasions this season has hampered roster flexibility and Denver s lucky to have got away with it Adkins is a good contestant and he s valuable because of his versatility Payton made that much clear after the third-year tight end had tightrope surgery on his ankle in August and the coach explained pointedly that Denver was not going to put him on injured reserve to start the season He s too good a performer Payton reported for Denver to afford having him miss four games when he could be back sooner Adkins did indeed return for Week and worked his way up into essentially his full workload over the next couple of weeks Then against Dallas he slammed his knee on the ground while making a diving attempt at a touchdown and injured it Again Denver didn t put him on injured reserve hoping he d be back in time to play Sunday night against the Commanders That strategy to get five weeks of rest and only miss three games because of the bye week worked for Pat Surtain II and his pectoral injury but didn t work for Adkins He didn t practice at all last week and Payton noted playing against Las Vegas on Sunday is a more realistic target than this past event would have been Had Denver known that when he first got hurt of module they d have put him on IR He ended up missing four games anyway And while the Broncos won all four games Adkins missed and navigated Sunday night with two healthy tight ends by using Engram and Trautman plus a heavier-than-normal dose of tackle Frank Crum as the jumbo TE it didn t have to be this way Had Adkins gone on injured reserve Denver could have for example entirely put Marcedes Lewis on the -man roster Instead he used his three practice squad elevations and the Broncos would have had to waive somebody to get him in a uniform for Sunday night Adkins has been on the roster but inactive due to injury six games this season He s only appeared in that several It ends up a bit like nitpicking since the Broncos are on such a role but nonetheless that s a steep roster cost for a player who has only played more than of offensive snaps once in a event this year a Here s a couple of underrated stats to close out an Open All Night edition of Thoughts Rookie running back RJ Harvey hasn t had a huge statistical season but he s done one thing really well Find the end zone Harvey had a three-touchdown tournament earlier in the season against Dallas and then he punched in two more rushing touchdowns Sunday night at Washington Harvey now has eight total touchdowns on the season which is tied with Mike Bell for fifth-most in franchise history among rookie running backs b The Broncos rate of explosive plays in the run meeting however has dried up without J K Dobbins in the backfield Dobbins had carries of -plus yards alone in the games he played before a foot injury at minimum ended his regular season Denver s running backs didn t log a -plus yard run against Kansas City in Week and had just two on Sunday night at Washington an -yard RJ Harvey rush on the first snap of the night and then a -yard Jaleel McLaughlin burst up the middle early in the fourth quarter Denver s run battle overall has dried up after being one of the bulk efficient in the NFL over the first games of the season McLaughlin Harvey and Tyler Badie haven t generated big plays but they haven t consistently churned out the yardage that Dobbins located between the tackles either c When Dre Greenlaw pulled down an interception in the second quarter Sunday night he ended a long dry spell since his last The veteran inside linebacker hadn t logged a pick since Dec with San Francisco That s nearly three years and total regular-season games for Greenlaw who missed substantial time with injuries near the end of his ers tenure and then to start his stint in Denver Greenlaw now has four picks total in his six-year NFL career Turns out it was a big night for veteran inside linebackers who used to roam the NFC West overall The two turnovers of the challenge came from Greenlaw and Wagner the longtime Seattle linebacker who picked Bo Nix off early in the fourth quarter when Nix apparently didn t see him in the middle of the field and threw the ball right to his chest Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis