LAS VEGAS — When Courtland Sutton got to his spot in the formation at the 18-yard line and spotted No. 18 in a black jersey lined up in front of him, the Broncos’ top receiver knew what time it was.
“It’s like a dare,” Sutton said. “Them boys were like, ‘We’re going to give you a one-on-one. What you gonna do with it?’”
The Broncos turned that dare into an increasingly familiar scene during an increasingly promising season: Bo Nix, the audacious rookie quarterback, firing the ball up for his top target. Sutton, with equal parts grace and power, leaping above the defender — this time cornerback Jack Jones — to push the equation on a 50-50 ball into his favor. The Broncos’ growing offense finding the right button to push, even after spending some time stumbling in the dark.
“Bo gave me a chance,” Sutton said. “That’s all we need.”
Bo Nix throws it up top to Courtland Sutton for the TD!
📺: #DENvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/zxs8nD07Aw— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
The third-quarter touchdown helped the Broncos take the lead over the Raiders on Sunday, and they never looked back in a 29-19 victory that was Denver’s first in Las Vegas since their bitter AFC West rivals moved here in 2020. It was a victory that improved the Broncos to 7-5 and completed a two-game sweep of the Raiders, something they hadn’t enjoyed in a decade.
At the heart of the victory was the budding Broncos bromance — Bo-mance? — between the rookie quarterback and the wide receiver who has spent most of his career in Denver waiting for a QB like Nix. Sutton finished Sunday’s game with eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns, nearly all of that output coming in the second half. His production in the last five games, the best stretch of his career, looks like this: 36 receptions, 467 yards, three receiving touchdowns and another touchdown as a passer.
“The beautiful thing is, through time, we keep finding those connections,” Sutton said, talking about Nix like a proud older brother. “We continue to find what works best for both of us. It’s going to be something special. We’ve been able to do some things and I think we’re scratching the surface of it. It’s not all the way there, which is an exciting thing and why I keep smiling about it. We’re not all the way there yet and we’re already starting to see some success with the connection.”
The connection between Nix and Sutton on Sunday, when that took time to round into form, was indicative of how the Broncos attacked a game with different challenges than they expected. The Raiders, losers of six straight entering Sunday’s game, bombarded the Broncos with a batch of zero-blitz looks from the start, including on Denver’s first offensive play.
“The problem with the pressure early is not necessarily the pass,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “It’s what it’s doing to our ability to run. Like, I call an RPO and it’s a PO — it’s a pass. I don’t like when they can dictate … what we do. But we really felt like we had some matchup advantages and we took advantage of them.”
The Broncos were in a 13-9 hole to start the third quarter, and they needed kicks of 53 and 54 yards from Wil Lutz to be that close. After a three-and-out to begin the third quarter, the Broncos were 1-of-6 on third down. They were finding explosive plays — five in the first half — but not the efficiency to sustain drives. Playing without top defensive lineman Zach Allen due to a heel injury, Denver struggled to apply pressure to Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew. Add in a 59-yard kickoff return and a 34-yard gain on a fake punt — a play Payton said the Broncos knew they would face at some point Sunday but didn’t execute — and the Raiders were putting together a formula for an upset.
Sutton had only one catch in the first half. His message to Nix as the second half began was subtle. A tap on the leg and a quiet, three-word reminder: “I got you.”
“We came out and said, ‘Look, Courtland, this is your half,’” Nix said. “He took over the game and gets two touchdowns. That just speaks to what he means to our team.”
The first Nix-Sutton touchdown came after the Broncos’ vaunted pass rush finally got home and created a pair of game-changing plays. Malcolm Roach recorded Denver’s first sack on a first-and-10 play, forcing Las Vegas off schedule. On second-and-long, Nik Bonitto barreled into the backfield to pressure Minshew into a high throw that sailed into the waiting arms of safety Brandon Jones, who returned into the red zone.
From that moment on, Nix and Sutton connected on seven receptions for 81 yards. The Broncos converted five of their next six third-down attempts on the way to two touchdowns following the Jones interceptions — and three of those went to Sutton.
“The first touchdown, it’s just man-to-man, you throw it up, and he makes a spectacular catch,” Nix said. “Several times on other one-on-ones — some third downs, base downs — he’s going one-on-one and having wins with contested catches. He’s just reliable and he’s just always there when you need him.”
Reliability is a word that accurately describes why the Broncos are in a strong position to land their first playoff appearance in almost a decade. They have been able to rely on Nix to take care of the football (no interceptions Sunday and only two since Week 5). They’ve been able to count on rookie receiver Devaughn Vele to make contested catches in traffic (six grabs for 80 yards against the Raiders). Lately, they have been able to rely on big plays out of Marvin Mims Jr. in his new multi-tool role (37-yard catch out of the backfield in the fourth quarter to set up the second Nix-Sutton touchdown). And they can count on the league’s best pass rush ultimately finding a way to get home when it matters.
“We knew we just had to get to him one time,” Roach said. “After that, we had something rolling.”
The Broncos finished with five sacks Sunday, including three on Las Vegas’ final two drives. The Raiders, trailing by a touchdown, got the ball back at their 24-yard line with all three timeouts and 3 minutes, and 12 seconds left on the clock. It was a legitimate opportunity to tie the game — buoyed by three straight incompletions on Denver’s failed prior drive — or even win it with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
On first-and-10, though, linebackers Cody Barton and Jonathon Cooper dropped Minshew for a 5-yard loss and knocked him out of the game. Backup Desmond Ridder replaced him and, two plays later, Bonitto stripped Ridder for his 10th sack of the season. The ball was recovered by Roach — “OU and Texas working together, that’s crazy,” he said, referring to the two players’ rival colleges — and the Broncos followed with a field goal to push the advantage to 10 points.
STRIP-SACK, NIK BONITTO‼️
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/yPJ7piM4zV
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) November 25, 2024
“Ever since high school, I’ve never had a double-digit sack season,” said Bonitto, who became the Broncos’ first player since 2018 to record at least 10 sacks. “Having my first one and it being at the highest level, it’s pretty amazing.”
The victory ended another long streak for Denver. They hadn’t beaten the Raiders on the road — Oakland or Las Vegas — since 2015. More demons that can be considered exorcised, Payton said. During the stretch, the Broncos never found a way to do what they did Sunday: reshape the complexion of a challenging game before it slipped away.
“I said to them today, ‘Our team a year ago doesn’t win that game,’” Payton said. “This team did.”
It all started with a dare. Sutton has played with more starting quarterbacks than he has fingers since joining the Broncos as a second-round pick in 2018. But he talked Sunday after the game like a receiver who has found the one and all the places that can lead. Places he’s never been before.
“The tide is turning,” he said, ” … and that’s an exciting place to be.”
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(Photo: Ian Maule / Getty Images)
