ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos have made a slew of plays over the first nine weeks.
En route to a 7-2 start, Denver has recorded highlight-reel touchdowns and big-time defensive stops — and the best plays have often been made in the biggest moments.
As the Broncos pause for their bye week, we're taking a look back at some of those best moments. In this ranking, compiled by the DenverBroncos.com staff, context matters. There have been some spectacular plays through Week 9 that won't crack this list, and it doesn't take away from those impressive throws, runs, catches or defensive stops.
This list, though, is also ordered with the weight of the moment in mind. Which plays were most critical as the Broncos marched to a 7-2 start to capture the AFC West lead? That's what this ranking aims to capture.
Read on for a look at the Broncos' top plays before the bye:
10. Pat Bryant gives the Broncos a spark
The Broncos were locked in a back-and-forth game against the Rams in Week 3, and they trailed by three points with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Denver's eventual game-winning possession needed a big play to even get going. The Broncos were whistled for holding on their second snap of the drive and were backed up at their own 25-yard line, and they held just a 27 percent chance of winning, according to Next Gen Stats. On second-and-20, though, quarterback Bo Nix delivered a pass to second-year wide receiver Pat Bryant, who wove his way down the field for a 39-yard gain. Denver's chances of winning jumped by 22 percent on the play, and the Broncos would go on to score the game-winning touchdown and get the needed stop on the ensuing drive.
9. Bo Nix takes off for the lead
In our ranking of the top offensive plays of the season, Nix's 62-yard touchdown topped the list. That ranking celebrated the best pure highlights, and Nix's score was certainly worthy of that ranking. Nix's run was the longest by a Broncos quarterback in franchise history, and he gave the Broncos a lead they would not relinquish. Nix's big play pushed the Broncos' chances of earning a road win from 61 percent to 76 percent, according to Next Gen Stats. The long touchdown run earning the No. 9 spot is more of a reflection of the dramatic plays and moments that will follow on this list.
8. Denver's offense comes up big on fourth down
The Broncos' Week 8 win over the Chiefs that pushed Denver into first place in the AFC West required a number of plays in the biggest moments. We're giving the nod to two of those plays in the No. 8 spot, as Denver's first two touchdowns in the game came on fourth down. The Broncos finished the Week 8 win 3-of-3 in the red zone, and their fourth-down aggressiveness was among the differences in the victory. In the first half, Nix found wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for a 1-yard touchdown that helped cut the Chiefs' lead to just a point. Then, with the Broncos looking to rally from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, Nix hit tight end Nate Adkins for another fourth-down score (and then found Waddle for the ensuing two-point conversion). The Broncos may not have won the game if they settled for field goals — and those chances of victory would've dropped even more if they failed at either fourth-down attempt. According to Next Gen Stats, the fourth-down conversions were worth a combined 18 points of win probability.
7. … and Denver's defense does the same
The Broncos' attempt to earn their first road win of the season hung in the balance in the fourth quarter of a Week 5 game against the Chargers. Denver, trailing by seven points, had just failed to capitalize on strong field position — and the Chargers had a chance to push the lead to two scores. Facing a fourth-and-1 from their own 41-yard line, the Chargers elected to try to keep their drive going with a little more than 10 minutes to play. Denver, though, stuffed the Justin Herbert sneak attempt and regained the momentum. Denver took over on downs, and the Broncos scored the game-tying touchdown five plays later. According to Next Gen Stats, Denver's chances of winning jumped from 18 percent to 30 percent with the stop. Cornerback Jahdae Barron also deserves a nod, as his tackle of Herbert short of the sticks on third-and-9 set up the defining fourth down.
6. Riley Moss flips momentum
Denver's first win of the year also featured a key defensive play that helped flip the momentum of the game. The Jaguars led by seven points and were at midfield when Trevor Lawrence unleashed a third-and-3 throw down the left sideline. With a conversion, the Jaguars would have been in prime position to push their lead back to at least 10 points. Cornerback Riley Moss, though, read the play perfectly and found himself in position to snag an interception. Before the snap, the Broncos held just an 18 percent chance of winning the football game, according to Next Gen Stats. Moss' play pushed that to 29 percent, and the Broncos capitalized by marching 64 yards in 10 plays for the game-tying touchdown.
5.. Devon Key delivers a miraculous moment
In the Broncos' final game before the bye, safety Devon Key grabbed his own momentum-changing turnover. The Panthers held a 14-13 lead and faced a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line with a chance to push their lead to eight points (or nine, with a two-point conversion). At first, it appeared the Broncos had come up with consecutive stops on first and second down. But that was before the game flipped. Head Coach Sean Payton had tossed his challenge flag before the second-down play was snapped, which allowed the officiating crew to review Bryce Young's first-down pass attempt. In improbable fashion, the pass deflected off Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble, and Key snagged the ball with his fingertips before it hit the ground. Denver's chances of winning jumped 31 percent on the play, according to Next Gen Stats, and those odds only improved as the Broncos marched 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The hard-to-believe interception was the defining moment in a Week 9 win.
4. Jonah Coleman puts the Broncos in position for the division lead
The Broncos' Week 8 win earns several spots on this list, and that's due to the importance of the matchup. If Kansas City captured the win, Denver would have trailed by multiple games in the loss column and allowed the Chiefs to capture a head-to-head tiebreaker. Instead, the Broncos captured the division lead with the win — and running back Jonah Coleman's catch-and-run was a big part of that success. After inside linebacker Alex Singleton recorded a third-down sack of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that set up a 54-yard missed field goal, Denver took advantage on the first snap. As the Chiefs sent pressure from the left, Nix calmly found Coleman out of the backfield, and there was no one to bring him down. Coleman raced 51 yards to the Kansas City 5-yard line, and he plunged in for the game-winning touchdown on the next snap. Coleman's catch-and-run improved the Broncos' win probability by 35 percentage points, according to Next Gen Stats.
3. Ja'Quan McMillian snags a decisive takeaway
The Broncos needed overtime to earn a win over the defending champs, and cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian helped seal the win. After a furious Seattle comeback forced the game into an extra period, the Seahawks faced a third-down snap in their own territory. As Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold looked to his left toward Rasheed Shaheed, McMillian undercut the throw to give Denver the ball at the Seattle 43-yard line. The Broncos' offense would move the ball into range for kicker Wil Lutz, who drilled the 53-yard attempt for a "Thursday Night Football" win. Without McMillian's big play, Denver may have let a prime-time opportunity for a win slip away. Instead, the Broncos earned a key victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
2. Talanoa Hufanga changes the game vs. the Rams
We're squeezing a pair of Talanoa Hufanga takeaways into this spot, as they were both monumental in earning a victory over the Rams. The first came with the Rams on the edge of field-goal range with time winding down in the fourth quarter. While Denver erased a 16-0 halftime deficit, the Rams held a three-point lead and seemed on the verge of adding to that margin. Instead, Hufanga stepped in front of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's third-down pass attempt to Kyren Williams and was off to the races. Hufanga dodged a Stafford tackle attempt, kept his feet and raced for a 66-yard go-ahead score. According to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos' chances of winning jumped from 16 percent to 72 percent in a single snap. Hufanga wasn't done, though. The Rams and Broncos would each score another touchdown over the next four minutes, and Denver needed one more stop as the Rams took over with 47 seconds to play. The Rams marched to the Denver 19-yard line for a final snap, and Hufanga stepped in front of the end-zone pass intended for Davante Adams to seal the game.
1. Broncos' defense stands tall at the goal line
The Broncos' current positioning atop the AFC West came down to a goal-line stand. Denver took the aforementioned late lead against the Chiefs, but Mahomes and the Chiefs weren't done. Kansas City drove all the way inside the Denver 5-yard line, and the Chiefs had better than a 70 percent chance of winning, according to Next Gen Stats. Denver, though, came up big in the biggest moment. Cornerback Pat Surtain II halted Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker at the 1-yard line, Denver forced a second-down incompletion and safety JL Skinner stonewalled Walker on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Then, the Broncos' crowd did its part. The Chiefs were whistled for a false start on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, which wiped out an apparent game-winning touchdown. On a fourth-and-goal play from the 6-yard line, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach sacked Mahomes to secure the win and vault the Broncos to the top of the AFC West. It was the Broncos' lone red-zone stop of the afternoon, and it was a critical one. Through nine weeks, it also marked the most critical moment of the season for Denver.
[Editor's note: The preceding ranking is the opinion of the author.]
