HOUSTON — Houston, we don’t have a problem.
In dramatic fashion, the Denver Broncos extended their win streak to six games as they squeaked by the Houston Texans.
Here’s how Bo Nix and the Broncos pulled it off.
Bo Nix’s fourth-quarter magic
Bo Nix apparently didn’t get the memo the Broncos played in the early window on Sunday.
Nix started the game 0-for-5 and did not have a completion in the first quarter.
Shortly after his first completion of the game for three yards, Nix threw his first interception of the game.
At that point in the first half, Nix was 1-for-7 for three yards, an interception and a zero passer rating.
Nix started 3-of-12 for 40 yards and an interception. However, that changed on his next pass attempt when he hit Courtland Sutton for a 30-yard touchdown over Derek Stingley Jr., the second-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
At halftime, Nix was 6-of-17 for 76 yards. At the start of the fourth quarter, Nix was 9-of-21 for 97 yards.
But the fourth quarter is Bo’s time. And he took advantage of it.
Nix started the final quarter by going 3-for-3 for 42 yards and a touchdown to RJ Harvey.
With less than a minute left and tied at 15, Nix took off for the longest run of the day, picking up 25 yards and getting Denver in field goal range.
That propelled the Broncos to the game-winning field goal, which he nailed to give Denver the 18-15 win.
Battle of elite defenses
It was a battle of two elite defenses on Sunday in Houston. And it lived up to it.
Despite allowing the Texans into their own territory on both of their first two drives, Denver‘s defense only gave up three total points the first quarter. That was thanks in large part to a fantastic goal-line stand by the Broncos’ defense.
Facing a 1st-and-goal from the one, Denver’s defense had three-straight run stuffs to keep the Texans’ ground game out of the end zone. On fourth down, the Texans were called for a false start and were forced to settle for a field goal.
Despite having the ball for 11:59 in the first quarter, the Texans only had three points due to Denver’s bend-but-don’t-break defense.
Midway through the second quarter, Denver’s defense came up with another goal-line stand. Following a first-and-goal from the one, the Texans were not only once again forced to kick a field goal, they were pushed back to their own 23-yard line.
However, early in the second quarter, C.J. Stroud left the game and did not return with a concussion. For the final three quarters, the Broncos’ defense got to face Texans’ backup quarterback Davis Mills.
The Broncos’ defense maintained their bend-but-don’t-break style against Mills the rest of the game, holding the Texans to field goal and field goal after field goal.
Special teams not special
On Friday, Sean Payton stated Darren Rizzi has been “outstanding.” It would be hard to say the same about Denver’s special teams performance against the Texans.
In the first half, a Wil Lutz field goal was blocked, Michael Bandy muffed a punt that the Texans recovered and Tyler Badie touched a kick return in the field of play, putting the ball at the 20-yard line instead of the 35.
In the second half, the Texans’ first punt return went for a whopping 45 yards, setting the Texans up in scoring range immediately. On Houston’s next punt return, long snapper Mitchell Fraboni was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty as he hit the ball carrier out of bounds.
In the fourth quarter, JL Skinner was called for a holding penalty on the Broncos punt, giving the Texans 10 extra yards on the return.
Abandoned run game in the first half
Sean Payton started the game with an incomplete pass. The next three plays were all J.K. Dobbins runs. On those three plays, Dobbins picked up 24 rushing yards and got the Broncos in field goal range.
The rest of the first half, Dobbins had one run for two yards. That was it. RJ Harvey added two runs for five total yards in the first half.
The plan to replace Pat Surtain II
Without the Defensive Player of the Year, Vance Joseph took a cornerback-by-committee approach in an effort to fill Pat Surtain II‘s role.
Jahdae Barron got the start at the outside cornerback position opposite Riley Moss, while Kris Abrams-Draine came in on the very next play to replace the rookie. The two alternated throughout the game.
On the first two third downs of the game, Barron played nickel, while Abrams-Draine was on the outside. On both of those, C.J. Stroud went after Abrams-Draine and converted.
Early in the second quarter, Abrams-Draine hit Stroud and knocked him out for the remainder of the game.