Denver, CO
Broncos QB Bo Nix after overtime victory: ‘Pressure is a privilege’
The Denver Broncos entered the NFL’s Sunday night game on an eight-game winning streak. The Washington Commanders came in on a six-game losing streak.
But Denver needed outside linebacker Nik Bonitto to bat down a 2-point conversion pass with 2:47 left in overtime to keep the streaks going as the Broncos escaped with a 27-26 victory.
“When you realize the game’s over, you can take a deep breath and enjoy it,” Denver quarterback Bo Nix said.
First with the football in overtime, the Broncos went 76 yards in five plays for a touchdown. The big play was a 41-yard gain when tight end Evan Engram took a pass across the middle from Nix and ended up at the Washington 11-yard line.
RJ Harvey ran 5 yards for Denver’s overtime touchdown, but Nix had gotten the rest of the yards on four consecutive completions.
“Being able to go down the field and score flips the pressure,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “… Bo was fantastic in that final drive. Evan made a great play. A lot of guys stepped up. And then defensively, look, they’re a tough out. The quarterback was able to make some plays.”
Washington’s overtime drive to a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota to wide receiver Terry McLaurin was much more dramatic than Denver’s overtime series after the Commanders kicked a field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter to cap an 18-play possession.
The Broncos lost a fourth-down interception to a pass-interference penalty after Mariota made a miraculous escape from a sack, Mariota lost a 30-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin to a holding penalty and the touchdown that counted came on fourth down.
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As in each of the victories in the streak, Denver trailed on Sunday night before coming through with its seventh win by four or fewer points.
“I was told a long time ago by one of my many offensive coaches that pressure is a privilege and not many people get to be in that opportunity,” Nix said, “so if it’s going to be me who gets this opportunity, I’m going to make the best of it. It doesn’t always go your way. Fortunately for us, it’s gone our way in these games. Last year, we were on the opposite end of these close ones, so I understand what it’s like to be on the other side of things.
“But you just got to keep moving on, and you got to have a belief you’re going to find a way. It didn’t look great for a minute, but we just found a way to get the next best play and, at the end of the day, score one more point than they did.”
Before the overtime fireworks, the play of the game had occurred with 23 seconds left in the first half.
Denver took a 13-7 lead when Nix threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton even though the quarterback was about to hit the ground, falling sideways after being smacked on a scramble.
“From my perspective, it kind of feels like you’re floating for a second,” Nix said. “But I was obviously a little bit close to being down, but stayed up just long enough. (Sutton) did a great job. He started on the other side of the field and ran all the way to the other side, so he just scrambled with me and got open.
“And in a game like that, we literally talk about a game of inches, but it really does come down to an inch or two every once in while.”
The pass to Sutton was Nix’s eighth completion of the drive as he accounted for all 64 yards in the scoring series.
“That was an amazing throw,” Payton said. “… That was an important drive. That two-minute drill was the difference between winning and losing.”
After Washington took a 14-13 lead on the opening series of the second half, Nix converted three consecutive third-down snaps – on an 11-yard scramble and completions of 31 and 21 yards – to set up Harvey’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, which has been so pivotal during Denver’s winning streak, Nix completed 6-of-11 passes for 32 yards, took a sack and was intercepted by linebacker Bobby Wagner at the Broncos 36, setting up one of the two fourth-quarter field goals that Washington used to send the game into overtime.
A former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn quarterback, Nix completed 29-of-45 passes for 321 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran two times for 16 yards against the Commanders. The passing yardage tied for the second-most on Nix’s career list.
In their next game, the Broncos play the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:05 p.m. CST Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. At 10-2, Denver has a two-game lead at the top of the AFC West standings with five games to play.
“There’s something special, but we also feel like there’s more in the tank, more to grow from,” Nix said. “As much as we feel like we’ve had success, there’s a lot of guys in that locker room that are eager to perform better. We know that there’s a higher ceiling we can play up to.”
DENVER — It was another record-breaking day in Denver Tuesday as the high temperature topped 80 degrees, crushing the previous record of 76 degrees set in 1896. It’s going to be even hotter Wednesday!
As this ridge of high pressure moves closer into Colorado, temperatures will climb about 30 degrees above normal. It’ll be the hottest day of the week with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s across the plains.
Denver will easily break the current record of 75 degrees, set in 2012. And the city could even challenge its all-time March record high of 86 degrees on Wednesday. It will likely be the fifth record breaking day of the month so far.
Gusty winds, hot temperatures and low humidity values will lead to high fire danger in south central Colorado Wednesday. A Fire Weather Watch and Red Flag Warning are posted for much of that area.
Temperatures will cool a bit on Thursday as a cold front moves into the state bringing a slight chance of showers, mainly to the mountains. Highs will still stay in the upper 70s to low 80s, with some gusty winds around the Denver metro.
Cooler air will settle in behind the front on Friday. Temperatures will dip into the 50s. It seems chilly compared to what we’ve seen, but it’s very seasonal for late March. Enjoy the brief break from the heat while it’s here. Warmer air and possibly more record-breaking heat return just in time for the weekend.
More record breaking temperatures across the Denver metro area
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Denver, CO
Keeler: Why did 2026 Broncos trade for Jaylen Waddle? Because they learned a lesson from 2025 Chiefs
Even Snakes roll snake eyes. As a Broncos quarterback, Jake Plummer went 3-3 in one-score games during the 2004 regular season. In 2005, Jake The Snake improved to 5-2 in those tilts. Plummer followed that up with a 3-5 record in one-score games during 2006.
Down. Up. Down. Close wins in the NFL, year-to-year, are about as consistently reliable as New Jersey Transit.
“You can’t coach clutch,” Plummer texted me Tuesday. “It’s either in your blood, or it isn’t.”
The Bo-lief is strong enough in Broncos Country right now to bench press a F-450 Super Duty. Bo Nix is 24-10 as a Broncos QB1 in regular-season tussles, 25-11 overall. He’s 13-8 in games decided by eight points or fewer as an NFL starter, and went 12-2 last fall.
The Broncos put up a mark of 11-2 in one-score games in 2025, tying an NFL record for one-score victories (11) in a season. Nix replaced Patrick Mahomes as the NFL’s Comeback King. Before the madness of Sean Payton’s fourth-down call in the AFC Championship, Denver had a method.
“The ones that have it, you can see it in their eyes,” Plummer continued. “It permeates the whole situation and something akin to faith!”
Faith is contagious.
Fortune is fickle.
Why did Denver trade for Jaylen Waddle?
Why are fans clamoring for another hammer at tailback to pair with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey?
Why do they want more speed at inside linebacker, someone who can run with tight ends up the seam?
Because history doesn’t say 11 one-score victories is hard to repeat.
History says it’s nearly impossible.
Over the last five decades, only five NFL teams have won 10 or more one-score games in a season — the Broncos became the newest member of that club last December.
But get a load of how those other four teams fared the very next year:
• 2024 Chiefs: 11 one-score wins, 15 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 1-9 in one-score games, six wins overall.
• 2022 Vikings: 11 one-score wins, 13 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-8 in one-score games, seven wins overall.
• 2019 Seahawks: 10 one-score wins, 11 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 8-3 in one-score games, 12 wins overall.
• 1978 Oilers: 10 one-score wins, 10 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-3 in one-score games, 11-5 overall.
Summing up? Two of the four teams that’d racked up double-digit close wins regressed badly, while the other two improved slightly.
But none of them won more than eight games by eight points or less the following season.
In fact, their combined winning percentage in one-score games that next year was 45.6% (21-25). And the average relapse was a 3.25-win falloff compared to the prior season.
With a tougher schedule, a new offensive coordinator and the usual spate of wacky, unpredictable NFL gremlins lurking, would it shock you if the Broncos finished 11-6? Or 12-5? In this division, you’d take either one of those records in a so-called “regression” year. Take it and run with it.
The Broncos’ floor is as high as it’s been since Sheriff Manning hung up his spurs. The ceiling is fluid. You swap draft picks for a proven, win-now talent such as Waddle because the football gods are going to demand that you make your own luck from here on out.
“Each season is different,” Plummer said. “When there is unfettered belief in each other, it’s contagious and those wins can happen naturally. On the contrary, when there is unrealistic expectations from the outside, pressure to perform can impede the natural flow of what’s happening on the field. That’s why believing is paramount to achieving!”
While the Snake’s Dove Valley chapter was coming to a close, the New Orleans Saints won four games by eight points or less in 2006, en route to a 10-6 mark.
The Saints were 2-3 in those close contests the next season and slipped to 7-9 overall. The year after that? A 3-6 record in one-score games and an 8-8 mark overall. Payton knows. And if he doesn’t, he’s sure as heck about to find out.
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Two more days of record-breaking heat are forecast for northern Colorado this week, including in the Denver area, according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier forecasts from the weather service projected 90-degree temperatures in Denver on Wednesday, which would have marked the city’s first of the year and earliest on record. The expected temperature high has since dropped to 88 degrees, which would still break daily and monthly heat records, according to the weather service.
NWS Tuesday forecasts:
- 64 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 63-degree record for March 24.
- 75 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 71-degree daily record.
- 81 degrees in Denver, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 84 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 80-degree daily record.
NWS Wednesday forecasts:
- 69 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 62-degree record for March 24.
- 80 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 75-degree daily record.
- 88 degrees in Denver, breaking the 75-degree daily record and the 86-degree March heat record. Denver has broken or tied the March heat record three times so far this month, according to the weather service.
- 89 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 87 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 78-degree daily record.
- 89 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 79-degree daily record.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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