Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 27-26 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 13 at Northwest Stadium:
Broncos made their own luck: Stop rolling your eyes, America! The Broncos aren’t just lucky. They’re good. OK, fine, whatever. Yeah, they’re also pretty darn lucky at times. Linebacker Dondrea Tillman, upon replay review, probably should’ve drawn a tripping call versus Washington QB Marcus Mariota with 4:13 left in a one-score game. And there was nothing fluky about the play Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton made the play after the Tillman no-call. The veteran defender, making his return to action less than three weeks after emergency surgery to address testicular cancer, punched a likely Zach Ertz reception off a third-and-21 heave out of the hands of the Commanders tight end at the Denver 35-yard-line. Isn’t it funny how championship teams always seem to find ways to make their own luck?
2. Mariota had too much time: Did Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury come up with a formula for unlocking the Broncos’ nasty defense? Or did Vance Joseph show Commanders QB2 Marcus Mariota too much respect by not sending more heat? For the first time since probably the Giants game, the Broncos’ D really struggled to find its usual stranglehold on a game. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Broncos had racked up five TFLs and a takeaway. On the flip side, Washington had posted 19 first downs and converted six of 10 third-down opportunities. Mariota looked more comfortable than either Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott ever looked against VJ’s defense, thanks to either getting the ball out super quick — screens, bootlegs — or by just taking off with the rock and taking his chances.
3. Moss got … Mossed: Whatever Riley Moss did to the football gods, they clearly haven’t forgotten. Or forgiven. We’ll guarantee you that almost no one will be talking about the Broncos corner’s timing on a nice pass break-up with 4:43 left in the first quarter. Almost everybody is going to be talking about him getting posterized by Washington wideout Treylon Burks with 9:58 left in the third stanza. Burks did a Randy Moss on Riley Moss, high-pointing a jump ball from Mariota in the back of the end zone — and high-pointing it with his right hand in one of the best catches we’ve seen in the NFL all season.
4. Why wasn’t Tunsil flagged for his shove?: So, help us get this straight, NFL. Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto tried in the second quarter to free up a teammate — Zach Allen — who’s getting tangled up on the ground by a bigger lineman. Was Bonitto right to reach in and spin the body of Washington center Tyler Biadasz? Probably not. But neither was what happened next. Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who’s bigger than just about everybody, closed on Bonitto and shoved the Broncos defender to the ground. Bonitto was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the retaliation went unpunished. If anything, there should have been off-setting penalties for the matching sins and a flag on Tunsil for exacerbating the situation. NBC Sports’ rules official Terry McAulay agreed.
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