NFL fans were enthralled with a thrilling game at Northwest Stadium

NFL fans were enthralled with a thrilling game at Northwest Stadium on Sunday night when the Denver Broncos, led by Bo Nix, defeated the Washington Commanders in a fierce Week 13 contest by holding off a valiant effort by Marcus Mariota.

After their bye week, the first-place Broncos (10-2) needed overtime on Sunday Night Football to extend their AFC West lead against a Commanders team eager to pull off an upset. After several big-time plays, Washington (3-9) came dangerously close to winning, but Denver’s victory was clinched on the final play of the game thanks to a crucial defensive stop.

The Washington Commanders weren’t celebrating anything in the locker room after their 27-26 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos because moral triumphs don’t exist in the NFL.

However, the outcome featured more good aspects than the Commanders had seen in months, in contrast to previous weeks.

Coach Dan Quinn remarked, “I hate the outcome,” following the match. “But I loved the fight.”

The Broncos, who entered the primetime game with one of the best records in the AFC, even displayed glimpses of the squad the Commanders (now 3-9) anticipated being in the summer as they battled to the very end. With Terry McLaurin returning for the first time since Week 8, the offense recorded 419 yards, the most since Week 1. They ran for 143 yards against one of the NFL’s top defenses, converted eight of 17 third downs, and only had two sacks to hold the league’s top pass rush mostly in check.

In his first game back, McLaurin caught seven receptions for 96 yards, which put the Commanders within two points of winning the overtime match. The only person to overtake him was tight end Zach Ertz, who finished sixth all-time in receptions at his position with 10 catches for 106 yards on 13 targets. Leading the offense, quarterback Marcus Mariota had a strong evening, completing 28 of his 50 passes for 294 yards and rushing for 55 on 10 carries.

Even some of Washington’s younger players had moments of brilliance. Treylon Burks gave the Commanders the lead in the second quarter with a one-handed touchdown grab, his first since his rookie campaign in 2022.

“He’s shown up in practice doing stuff like that, and [I] wanted to give our guy an opportunity, and he made an unbelievable play,” Mariota stated.

Building on its performance in Madrid, Washington’s defense created chances to gain ground. In addition to forcing an interception from quarterback Bo Nix, they forced four punts, three of which occurred in the fourth quarter. With Mike Sainristil playing as a perimeter corner and Will Harris returning to the starting lineup, Denver’s receiving corps was subject to more stringent coverage. The Broncos were only able to gain 87 yards on 22 carries, demonstrating their inability to succeed on the ground.

Even while Washington’s performance against one of the top teams in the AFC was encouraging, it was still a loss, and both teams had a number of problems. Nix was only sacked once despite throwing for 321 yards. Players like Evan Engram and Courtland Sutton exploited Washington’s limitations by enabling explosive plays with gains of 41 and 31 yards, respectively, while the defense let the Broncos score a touchdown on a 10-play drive in the last three minutes of the first half.

Additionally, there’s the pain from the game’s last play. Nik Bonitto batted away Mariota’s pass to Jeremy McNichols, who was open in the flat, on the overtime two-point convert.

Since Quinn took over as the play-caller, Washington’s defense has adopted a “bend-but-don’t-break” strategy. Although the Broncos were able to march down the field with ease on their first two drives, the Commanders’ gains in the red zone kept them in the game early. On third and five, Noah Ighbinoghene stopped a pass to Pat Bryant, forcing the Broncos to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Will Lutz. Frankie Luvu then forced Nix to drop a pass on third down and settle for another field goal after Mariota’s interception.

This allowed the offense enough time to settle in. Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s 12-yard run and Ertz’s 21-yard reception helped the Commanders find paydirt, and Chris Rodriguez’s eight-yard rush over the middle of the Broncos’ defense gave them the lead.

But with 141 seconds remaining in the first half, the Broncos made a strong move down the field. The score was 13-7 after Nix completed eight of his ten attempts, including a spectacular 11-yard ball to Sutton in the end zone as he collapsed to the ground on a second-and-10.

In the second half, the squad alternated between holding the lead. After Burks’ spectacular five-yard catch on third-and-goal put the Commanders ahead by one point, the Broncos answered with a touchdown drive of their own, which culminated in RJ Harvey’s one-yard run. Five plays into the Broncos’ first drive of the fourth quarter, Nix threw an interception to Bobby Wagner, who converted it into a field goal that reduced the margin from six to three points.

Next five possessions saw both sides gain a total of 53 yards before running into a wall.

Washington didn’t find another spark until three minutes remained in regulation. They reached Denver’s 14-yard line after an 18-play drive that featured two fourth-down conversions. Jake Moody knotted the score at 20–20 with a 32-yard field goal to finish regulation.

After going on the offensive in overtime, the Broncos needed just five plays to reach the end zone. They moved to the Commanders’ 11-yard line after Engram’s 41-yard catch-and-run, and then to the 5-yard line after Sutton’s six-yard catch. From there, RJ Harvey ran for a touchdown to complete the drive.

It put Washington in a life-or-death position, and the journey that followed was possibly the night’s most exhilarating event. On a fourth-and-six, the offensive stopped at the Broncos’ 41-yard line, but the Commanders’ hopes were preserved by a defensive pass interference call. After that, McLaurin caught a 30-yard touchdown pass, but Josh Conerly was called for a holding call, negating the play. With a 38-yard reception one play later, Deebo Samuel moved the Commanders to the Broncos’ 1-yard line.

McLaurin set up the two-point conversion attempt after catching his first touchdown pass of the year four plays later.

Mariota stated he felt the squad was moving in the right path, despite his obvious disappointment at the Commanders’ sixth straight defeat.

“It’s not exactly where we wanna be, but I think putting together a great week of practice, I think we just continue to stack these,” he stated. “It’s all about the journey and the process, no matter how it appears to us. I believe that the more we can find methods to get better every week, the better off we’ll be in the future.