When he needed to make a throw, he did.
And when Brett Rypien needed to make a block, he did that, too.
The second-year quarterback made his first career start on Thursday against the Jets, and there were moments where he looked like a veteran player. He finished the first half 9-of-11 for 141 yards and a touchdown. He added another score in the third quarter, as he directed the Broncos on a 13-play, 75-yard drive to put the team up by eight points.
There were moments, too, when he looked like a young player with just a single series of regular-season action to his name. Rypien was picked off on a poor throwaway attempt in the second quarter and then threw two fourth-quarter interceptions, including a pick-six.
"It was up and down, obviously," Fangio said of Rypien's performance. "I thought there were some good things, and we hit some big plays, which is always important. But then throwing three interceptions, you're not going to win many times in this league. But we found a way to win tonight in spite of that, which I think is a reflection of the fight we have in this team and with these players."
And while Rypien's three interceptions were a major factor in the Broncos' need for a come-from-behind win, he delivered when it mattered. After missing on a deep pass to DaeSean Hamilton late in the fourth quarter, Rypien looked deep on the very next play. On third-and-7, he found Tim Patrick for a 31-yard gain that put the Broncos in position for the go-ahead field goal.
On his pass to Patrick, the Jets showed the same coverage they did on his game-altering pick-six. And while they fooled him earlier, they didn't on the Broncos' go-ahead drive.
"Ironically, it was actually the same coverage they played on the pick six," Rypien said. "It looks like it's going to be a two-man [coverage] to start. What happens is, you can throw an out route, which is what I was trying to do, and the cornerback will turn around. They call it a two-trap. Obviously, I got fooled by it on the first time, thinking it was a two-man. I kind of expected they were going to run it again on the next drive and luckily they did and we were able to get Tim up the sideline."
Rypien was called for intentional grounding later in the drive, but the Broncos were close enough for Brandon McManus to knock home a 53-yard field goal.
The Boise State product's desire to win may have been on display even more on the next drive, as he wound up as the lead blocker on a 43-yard Melvin Gordon III touchdown run. He didn't deliver a pancake block, but he cleared the way enough for Gordon to score the clinching touchdown.
"I just saw [the play] get all wadded up and he came out the backside of it," Rypien said. "That [block] was really just me trying to make a play for the team at a point in the game when we needed some extra points to seal it. I don't know if it was a great block, I just tried to get in his way."
It was more than that in Patrick's eyes.
"That was huge," Patrick said of the block. "That just shows his competitive edge in wanting us to win the game."
And win, the Broncos did. Despite the interceptions and despite Rypien's relative inexperience, he became just the fifth quarterback in franchise history to lead a fourth-quarter comeback in his first career start.
Whether that means he'll start against the Patriots in Week 5 remains to be seen.
"We've got some extra days here to think about it and take a look at the tape and thoroughly analyze it and go with what we think is best," Fangio said.
Rypien, though, isn't yet worried about what's next. Instead, he's going to enjoy the team's first win of the season and his first win as a starter.
"We'll see, that's obviously not up to me," Rypien said of remaining the starter. "I'm just really going to enjoy this win tonight and we'll cross that bridge when it comes."
