DENVER — There wasn't much margin for error.
Any mistake, as cornerback Pat Surtain II said after the game, could have led to a touchdown.
And in a game as close as Sunday's 20-12 win over the Titans, that may have been the determining factor in Denver earning a season-opening win.
Surtain and the Broncos, though, rose to the occasion. Or, rather, they rose to all four occasions.
"It's the best feeling when you've got a great defense," quarterback Bo Nix said. "Just over and over, they kind of got us out of a jam and continued to do that throughout the game."
The Titans started five different possessions in Denver territory, including three times after Denver turnovers. But in the four opportunities — which excludes a Tennessee field-goal attempt on the first play of an end-of-half drive — Denver allowed just six points.
"The standard's the standard," defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. "… It's just kind of how we play. We do things one way. We just need an opportunity, and we had an opportunity today. That's what we expect of ourselves."
A strip-sack recovered at the Denver 38? Three points. An interception returned to the Denver 26? Three points. A drive starting at the Denver 46 after a failed fourth-down attempt? 0 points.
And then there's the drive that was the most impressive. Leading by just one point early in the fourth quarter, the Broncos muffed a punt that was recovered by the Titans at the Denver 24-yard line. A Tennessee touchdown seemed possible. A Titans field goal — and corresponding fourth-quarter deficit for the Broncos — seemed inevitable.
Then Jonah Elliss dragged Cam Ward down for a 16-yard loss, and suddenly the Titans were on the edge of field-goal range. Tennessee dropped back to pass again, and again Denver got to Ward. Zach Allen took him down for an 11-yard loss, which pushed Tennessee out of field-goal range and forced a punt.
That series put plenty of figurative pressure on the Broncos' shoulder pads — and they turned it into literal pressure on Ward.
"Pressure makes diamonds," Surtain said. "We live up to that. That's our standard. No matter what goes on [or] the pressure on us, we love that. That's something that we uphold."
The Broncos sacked the first-overall pick six times and hit him on 12 occasions, and the second half was particularly dominant. Denver allowed just two first downs and 30 net yards after halftime, and Ward was 5-of-16 for 48 yards, four sacks and a 40.6 passer rating across the third and fourth quarters.
"I thought our defense was outstanding in the second half," Payton said.
The Broncos' second-half performance came, in part, as they forced the Titans to rely heavily on their passing game.
"I think there was a point in that game where it became one-dimensional," Payton said. "Somewhere in the fourth quarter — earlier in the fourth quarter than they would've liked — and that's always hard for any quarterback. Once they were one-dimensional, our pass rush did a great job. We felt that was one of the keys to victory. Especially with a young quarterback, his greatest friend can be a run game. If we were able to keep him in the pocket and force him to try to beat us, we felt we [could] take advantage of that and have it play into our hands."
Ward finished with the fourth-lowest completion percentage by a rookie first-overall pick in his debut, and he was also the third player in the last 30 yards to be sacked at least six times and complete fewer than 50 percent of his passes in a debut.
"We're just sending different looks at him, different pressures, simulated pressures, giving him different disguises," Surtain said. "Tried to make it tough on him, because Cam's a great quarterback. He's going to be a great quarterback in this league. We did what we had to do, as far as giving him different looks, and obviously the [defensive] front's going to do what they do. And that's what they do. They're going to eat all the time.
For the Broncos, who allowed the fewest points in one of their season openers since 2009, the performance was simply the standard — and it's one Denver's defense hopes to continue to elevate.
"We're 1-0," safety Talanoa Hufanga said, "but by no means was it perfect."
