The Denver Broncos have two players right now who are in the top three of betting odds for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Patrick Surtain II and Nik Bonitto each made stronger cases for themselves in Sunday’s win against the Indianapolis Colts.
Denver Broncos Film Room vs. Colts: PS2, Bonitto DPOY case strengthens
In Sunday’s game against the Colts, the Broncos defense got off to a slow start after Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor and Josh Downs capitalized on a few third-down situations early on. Richardson then used his legs on a designed quarterback keeper to get outside for a 23-yard touchdown untouched.
Denver struggled early on in third down situations, and on one play specifically to Downs, he threaded the needle perfectly across the middle of the field. Once the Broncos’ defense buckled down, they made it difficult for Richardson to get into any rhythm after Taylor’s fumble went out of the endzone for a touchback.
Patrick Surtain II had a pass breakup and intercepted Richardson in the fourth quarter, while Nik Bonitto registered a half-sack to bring his total to 11.5 on the season and also returned a pick-six on a trick play. The NFL is calling it a fumble return, but we’ll just use our eyes and acknowledge that Bonitto grabbed a pass that was thrown in his direction.
Bonitto and Surtain contributed to two of the Broncos’ four total takeaways on Sunday, with Brandon Jones and P.J. Locke forcing the other two.
Rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine also impressed in the action he saw during Sunday’s game and did a great job in both man and zone coverage, defending a couple of crucial passes and only giving up only one catch for 11 yards on seven total targets in 34 coverage snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Check out the full film review above for an in-depth look at Denver’s defense.
