After exchanging jerseys before Sunday’s game with Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II figured he needed to put on a show. And he did.
In the Broncos’ 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field, Surtain had two interceptions. The first one turned the game around as Denver (3-2) won for the third straight time and stopped an eight-game skid against the Las Vegas Raiders.
With the Raiders in front 10-3 midway through the second quarter, they had second-and-5 at the Broncos 13 and were threatening to add to the lead. But quarterbck Gardner Minshew threw an errant pass intended for tight Blake Bowers that was picked off and returned 100 yards for a touchdown by Surtain to tie the score 10-10. The Broncos were on a roll after that.
“We were in a situation where we had to capitalize on that moment and make a play,’’ Surtain said. “I could just feel the momentum shift.”
Surtain’s interception was the second-longest in Denver team history, trailing the 103-yard runback Aqib Talib had against Dallas on Sept. 17, 2017. And Surtain made Bailey, the former Broncos star cornerback who was on hand for Alumni Weekend, extra proud.
“That was pretty legendary to say the least, having a guy like Champ come out and watch,’’ Surtain said. “It just brings such good energy. It’s expected out there when you have a Hall of Fame player like that come and watch you. I had to capitalize on the most opportunities I could get. I had to make that pick-six happen. … That jersey swap was legendary and that’s something I always wanted to have in the inventory.”
Bailey was hardly the only former Broncos star on hand Sunday during a throwback game in which the 1977 team was honored. Many of the players from that team, which made the first Super Bowl appearance in team history, were in the stands. And honored from that team were linebacker Randy Gradishar, who was named to the Hall of Fame earlier this year and received his Hall of Fame ring. Tight end Riley Odoms and defensive back Steve Foley were both named to the Broncos Ring of Fame.
Odoms and Foley both had enthusiastically called for a Broncos win and they delivered on a day in which the end zones were painted to look like they were in 1977. After the Raiders took a 10-0 first quarter lead on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Minshew to Bowers and a 40-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson, Denver reeled off 34 straight points.
“Obviously, a good win, a division win at home,’’ said Broncos coach Sean Payton. “We didn’t start out well but we bounced back. … (Surtain) made a real good play. … That was a huge play for us.”
On offense, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix had his best NFL game so far, completing 19 of 27 passes for 206 yards. He became the second Denver rookie quarterback to have two touchdowns passing and a touchdown run in a game, the first being Tim Tebow against the San Diego Chargers on Jan. 2, 2011.
“It was a really good win for us,’’ said Nix, whose Broncos led 13-10 at halftime before outscoring the Raiders 21-8 in the second half. “It was huge for us to gain some momentum and continue to run with it into the second half.”
There were some fireworks late in the third quarter when Nix and Payton jawed at each other on the sideline with Denver up 20-10. That came after there was a bad snap by center Luke Wattenberg that Nix fell on and a long pass from Nix to Troy Franklin that was dropped in the end zone.
“It’s just there’s still a little bit of Ferris Bueller player that we got to get rid, talking about Bo, and I love him to death,’’ said Payton, referring to the character in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “Sometimes it’s my love language. … Ferris is kind of quirky and doing his own thing once in a while.”
Payton didn’t give specifics on what the discussion was about.
“He turned and looked at me and said, ‘I love you,’ and I turned to him and said, ‘I love you back,’’’ said Nix with a laugh, adding that the movie is “funny” and that he and Payton are “just out there with great competitive intensity and fire.”
Nix’s touchdown passes went 4 yards to Jaleel McLaughlin in the third quarter, which put Denver up 20-10, and 9 yards to Josh Reynolds in the fourth quarter that gave the Broncos a 34-10 lead. And running back Javonte Williams had his second straight strong outing, carrying 13 times for 61 yards and catching five passes for 50 yards.
“I think Javonte, man, he ran hard,’’ Payton said. “I was real proud of him how he played.”
Denver’s defense, after some early struggles, rose up with Surtain’s interception and was dominant the rest of the day. The Broncos had three interceptions, the other being the first of cornerback Riley Moss’ career, and sacked Minshaw twice and Aidan O’Connell once.
Minshew completed his first eight passes of the game and had a perfect rating of 158.3 until Surtain’s interception. Then he fell apart and was 12 of 17 with 137 yards and two interceptions before being benched in the third quarter in favor of O’Connell.
“We’re always going to keep fighting no matter how the game goes,’’ said outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, whose Broncos gave up 330 yards but just 104 in the second half. “We’re going to keep fighting as a defense and figure out what need to do to get better. … When a little bit of adversity hits, you got to come together as a team and keep going.”
Cooper had sack for Denver as did outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive Zach Allen. Following Surtain’s big interception, Moss had his in the third quarter off Minshew and Surtain got his second in the fourth quarter off O’Connell.
Moss picked off the ball at the Denver 37 and was tackled for no gain. But he got up and ran all the way to the end zone to celebrate with teammates.
“I honestly didn’t even know what to do,’’ said Moss, who said he will frame the football he snagged. “I was kind of in shock. You expect to make those plays but at the same time it happened so fast. I definitely got to work on my celebration.”
Nevertheless, there was plenty to celebrate for the Broncos on Sunday and Payton was thrilled that members of the 1977 team were there to witness it.
“I was just as importantly pleased that we were able to win this game, especially in light of the people that were here today and the people that went into the Ring (of Fame),’’ Payton said.
Bailey joined the Broncos well after 1977, playing for them from 2004-13. But he turned out to also be a notable attendee.
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