LAS VEGAS — Marvin Mims Jr. wasn't thinking "end zone" when defenders closed in on him after a second-quarter punt by the Raiders' AJ Cole. He just hoped to avoid getting leveled by a Raiders defender — a punishment he had endured on his first return of the game.
"I got lit up pretty well in that first kickoff return," Mims said. "I was thinking, 'Oh, these guys are right here, I'll protect myself.' And the next thing you know, I'm out of there."
Mims adjusted his approach by positioning himself right behind his blockers, helping him accomplish his first objective. But when the swarm of Raiders special teamers failed to bring him down, Mims escaped the scrum and exploded to the left sideline.
Forty-eight yards of wide-open turf later, Mims crossed into the end zone and celebrated in front of a contingent of visiting Broncos fans. The touchdown gave the Broncos the go-ahead score and an advantage they never surrendered in a 24-17 victory over Las Vegas, their 10th win in a row.
"It was amazing ... from my angle, which was right there, to see Mims come out of that pile," Head Coach Sean Payton said. "That was a big play."
Mims' talent and resume as a returner was already historic before this week. Mims is one of two players in franchise history to earn multiple All-Pro selections as a returner and received both of those nods in his first two seasons. He also led the NFL in punt-return average in 2024 (15.7 yards per return), but one accomplishment still left on his checklist was returning a punt to the end zone.
Mims didn't know when that punt-return score would come, but he revealed after the game that he and the Broncos' wide receivers prepared in advance what his celebration for a return score would be: the famous Mile High Salute, which Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis popularized in the 1990s.
"[The salute has] been planned, it's been talked about in the receiver room," Mims said. "Sometimes they call me 'Mile High Marv,' so I always saved it for a kick return. I finally got another [touchdown] and ended up doing it."
Cole's boot didn't appear to be much of an opportunity. Given the high trajectory of the punt, returning at all was a risky proposition.
Mims attempted to return it anyway, and his decision paid off with a career first.
"For a second there, I thought for sure I was going down," Mims said. "A short kick, and as a returner, you get a short punt that's one of those high sky-ers and you've got to look up, so you don't know what is in front of you. It's kind of like a trust thing. I ended up taking a chance, returning it and then all those guys right there just thought I was going down. I ended up staying up."
In the Broncos' earlier matchup against the Raiders, the punt return unit also stole the spotlight.
In the third quarter of the teams' November prime-time matchup at Empower Field at Mile High, special teams standout JL Skinner timed his pressure on a punt block attempt perfectly and deflected Cole's punt with his face mask. The block set up kicker Wil Lutz in prime position for the go-ahead field goal, and Lutz's make was the difference in a 10-7 final score.
Playing in an almost identical situation — a Las Vegas punt deep in Raider territory with a tied score — the Broncos' punt-return unit again provided the turning point of an eventual Denver win. Skinner played a crucial role this time around, too.
After eluding the pack of Raiders and finding open space along the sideline, Mims urgently pointed up field at Skinner and instructed his teammate to spring the last block needed for him to go the distance. Skinner delivered, clearing Mims' path to paydirt.
"It's always JL Skinner right there, waiting for the biggest block," Mims said. "He turned around [toward me]. At first he was looking back, and I was like, 'Dude, please turn around, I'm telling you, and get this guy.' He nailed him pretty well."
A second-round pick out of Oklahoma in the 2023 NFL Draft, Mims has made explosive plays as a receiver on offense and as a returner on defense.
"When you return a kick for points, that's the best offensive drive you're going to have," quarterback Bo Nix said. "That's just a great advantage for us. He's a great threat in that game and he's been All-Pro twice, so he's going to continue to do big things in the return game."
With the win, the Broncos improved to 11-2, are tied for the NFL's best record and hold the top seed in the AFC playoff picture. The final four regular-season games pit Denver against four playoff contenders, and Mims said each phase of the team is guarding against any complacency from its 10-game winning streak or prime playoff positioning.
"The way we approach the game, offense, defense, and special teams, we know the people that we have in front of us," Mims said. "… All these teams have great players. It's better teams we're going against as the season closes, but we have to take it week-by-week and do what we do."
