Nailbiters become the norm as Broncos stretch their winning streak to 9 with another thriller

Audio By Carbonatix

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos see more yellow flags than anybody but the Jacksonville Jaguars. They punt more than any team outside of Cleveland. They lack star power at quarterback, wide receiver and even running back now that J.K. Dobbins is out.

So what?

They're 10-2 after dodging the Washington Commanders 27-26 in overtime Sunday night for their ninth consecutive victory, a thriller capped by Nik Bonitto knocking down Marcus Mariota's 2-point pass to his wide-open running back Jeremy McNichols.

“We didn't escape. We won," said coach Sean Payton after the Broncos' fourth straight victory by a field goal or less, which tied an NFL record set by the New York Giants in 1986.

“The journey of a good team’s season involves games like this. And then you believe you can do it again.”

Indeed, the Broncos have trailed at some point in all nine of their victories during their winning streak. That's never been done before in the NFL.

“There's just this feeling like you never truly feel like you're out of it,” tight end Adam Trautman said. “And I know we feel that way specifically on offense because of how great out defense is. I would say that's why we're able to pull a lot of these games out."

After pulling out so many close games, the Broncos just don't flinch under pressure.

Despite finishing the fourth quarter with three punts, they produced a touchdown on the opening drive of overtime, fueled by tight end Evan Engram's 41-yard gain on a pass over the middle from Bo Nix, who has engineered a half dozen game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime this season.

“Yeah, and that obviously stems from Bo because he is so calm,” Trautman said, ”like maybe make a little joke or smile in the huddle and everyone feels relaxed and I think we all just trust each other at a very high level. But yeah, we're super confident going into all those situations."

That steady heartbeat is the result of being in so many close games.

“If you stay in the middle with your temperament and your mindset and your attitude, usually everything will work out,” Nix said. "You can stay calm so everybody else can stay calm, and it’s just football at the end of the day.”

Denver's defense may have surrendered some big plays but the unit came up big when it mattered most, capped by Bonitto's victory-salvaging batted pass to end it. He was so hyped up afterward that he thwacked away the ball again when a teammate tried to hand it to him for a keepsake in the moments after his big play.

It's an almost weekly sore spot, but Darren Rizzi's special teams units keep goofing up in some capacity. On Sunday night, RB Tyler Badie was whistled for an illegal formation foul on Denver's first kickoff following an opening field goal. JL Skinner had made a terrific tackle on returner Deebo Samuel at the Washington 10-yard line. On the do-over, McNichols' 15-yard return gave the Commanders a start at their 21 instead.

ILB Alex Singleton played all but one snap in his return from testicular cancer surgery and he made a great play to break up a deep pass late in the fourth quarter.

There's not much to complain about when a team wins nine games in a row.

S Talanoa Hufanga was a late add to the injury report Sunday because of an illness, but he played all 90 defensive snaps and led the team with 13 tackles, including two for a loss, and he batted down a pass.

— 9 wins in a row marks the Broncos' longest winning streak since they won 11 straight in 2012.

— The Broncos are now 27-10 after their bye week since 1990. That's tied with the Bills and Eagles for most post-bye wins in that span.

— Bonitto has double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons. He's the first Denver defender to accomplish that feat since Von Miller did it from 2014-18.

For the second straight week the Broncos will face a team on a six-game skid when they travel to Las Vegas to play the Raiders, a team they beat 10-7 in Week 10.

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