LANDOVER, Md. — From his vantage point, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix could see that the Denver defense — specifically its best pass rusher, Nik Bonitto — might be in position to preserve an overtime win before the Washington Commanders snapped the ball.
It turns out Nix was right. Bonitto swatted away Marcus Mariota's pass on a 2-point conversion attempt to secure a 27-26 Broncos victory in overtime Sunday night.
«I knew what defense we were in, and I kind of figured out the play, so I knew what was happening,'' Nix said of watching the game's final play unfold from the Broncos' bench. „I think the guy might have been open, but Nik did a great job of making that play.''
In a back-and-forth game that Washington tied on the last play of regulation, the Commanders answered the Broncos' touchdown drive to open overtime with an 11-play, 65-yard TD drive, as wide receiver Terry McLaurin caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Mariota on fourth-and-3.
As the Commanders lined up for the 2-point conversion, the Broncos looked at the offense's alignment and called timeout. It was during that timeout, coach Sean Payton said, that Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph tweaked the defensive call in the hopes Bonitto would have an opportunity to make a play.
“We call it a Kodak situation where you have a timeout, the game's going to end, so call the timeout, regroup, collect your thoughts,» Payton said. «The challenge in those plays are designed QB runs, which we were concerned with… we went from one pressure to another.
»But there's going to be a free rusher if you pressure the way we did it. And you don't know who's going to be the free rusher because the protection… and so they left Nik free and the timing and everything was great."
T
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
