It was the house that Sean Payton built, a return to where it all began, countless big games, a place he helped bring a Super Bowl and a Denver Broncos win in his homecoming against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football. Denver’s dominant performance cleared the stands as the fourth quarter hit, and Payton celebrated a win in his return home.
Denver Broncos game recap vs. Saints
The Denver Broncos improved to 4-3 on the season after a dominant performance 33-10 on Thursday Night Football behind a strong defensive effort and coming out game for the Broncos rushing offense.
Broncos offensive sustainability is built to run after 200 yard day on the ground
If the Broncos offense is going to find more rhythm and flow this season, Thursday Night’s game against the Saints is a great place to start after they dominated on the ground and controlled the time of possession. Javonte Williams looked like his old self, rattling off two rushing downs on a season-best 88 yards on the ground.
Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix shook off a slow start in the first half that saw him miss several open throws and receivers due to rushed footwork. Nix settled down late in the second quarter and had a more efficient third-quarter passing. Bo’s impact in the run game was on display, rushing for 75 yards on ten rushing attempts and completing 16-of-26 passes for 164 yards.
While the Saints’ defense struggled to tackle, the Broncos’ offense opened up more because of their ability to run the ball effectively in Thursday’s win. Perhaps Mike McGlinchey’s return helped, but Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Audric Estime chipped in with some big runs that moved the chains for a first down.
The Broncos rushed for over 220 yards on Thursday, which hasn’t happened in a handful of years.
No PS2, no problem for Broncos defense
While the Denver Broncos entered Thursday Night Football without Patrick Surtain II at cornerback, the defense did its job, beating up a depleted Saints offense. Even though the Saints didn’t have Derek Carr, Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, or Rashid Shaheed, they took care of business on a short week turnaround that needed to see them piece together a better showing, especially on third down.
The Saints offense struggled, with Denver’s defense holding them to 5-of-17 on third down, and holding them to 271 total yards of offense, forcing two turnovers, and registering six sacks on the day.
Cody Barton, Justin Strnad, Jonah Elliss, Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers each chipped in a sack, including Barton’s strip-sack in the first quarter. Part of the gameplan coming into Thursday’s matchup was limiting Spencer Rattler from extending plays with his legs and mitigating explosive throws, which Denver was able to do without Surtain.
Barton was everywhere on Thursday, racking up eight tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and a pick-six, which puts him as an early candidate for the NFL’s AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 7.
Now, the Denver Broncos will get some extra time off before they report back to the team facility next week for practice ahead of their home game against the Carolina Panthers.
