Marvin Mims Jr. scored his first career punt-return touchdown in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, giving the Denver Broncos a lead they held for the rest of their 24-17 victory. The play unfolded when Mims, after being hit hard on his first return, positioned himself behind his blockers and broke free down the left sideline for a 48-yard score.
“I got lit up pretty well in that first kickoff return,” Mims said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, these guys are right here, I’ll protect myself.’ And the next thing you know, I’m out of there.”
Head Coach Sean Payton described the moment as significant: “It was amazing … from my angle, which was right there, to see Mims come out of that pile. That was a big play.”
Mims has already established himself as a standout returner for Denver. He is one of two players in franchise history with multiple All-Pro selections as a returner within his first two seasons and led the league in punt-return average last year. Despite these achievements, Sunday marked his first punt-return touchdown.
He had prepared for such a moment with teammates: “[The salute has] been planned, it’s been talked about in the receiver room,” Mims said. “Sometimes they call me ‘Mile High Marv,’ so I always saved it for a kick return. I finally got another [touchdown] and ended up doing it.”
On this particular play, Mims took a risk by attempting to return a high-trajectory punt from Raiders punter AJ Cole.
“For a second there, I thought for sure I was going down,” Mims said. “A short kick, and as a returner, you get a short punt that’s one of those high sky-ers and you’ve got to look up, so you don’t know what is in front of you. It’s kind of like a trust thing. I ended up taking a chance, returning it and then all those guys right there just thought I was going down. I ended up staying up.”
Special teams have played an important role in both matchups between Denver and Las Vegas this season. In their previous meeting at Empower Field at Mile High in November, JL Skinner blocked Cole’s punt with his face mask during the third quarter; Wil Lutz converted the subsequent field goal opportunity to secure Denver’s win.
On Sunday night in Las Vegas—a similar situation arose: Skinner again contributed by making the final block that cleared Mims’ path to score.
“It’s always JL Skinner right there, waiting for the biggest block,” Mims said. “He turned around [toward me]. At first he was looking back, and I was like, ‘Dude, please turn around, I’m telling you, and get this guy.’ He nailed him pretty well.”
Drafted out of Oklahoma in 2023’s second round, Mims has provided big plays both on offense as a receiver and on special teams as a returner.
Quarterback Bo Nix commented on how valuable such plays are: “When you return a kick for points, that’s the best offensive drive you’re going to have,” Nix said. “That’s just a great advantage for us. He’s a great threat in that game and he’s been All-Pro twice so he’s going to continue to do big things in the return game.”
With their latest win—their tenth consecutive—Denver improved its record to 11-2 and remains tied for best overall record while holding onto top seed status in the AFC playoff race heading into games against four playoff contenders.
“The way we approach the game—offense defense special teams—we know people we have in front of us,” Mims said.”… All these teams have great players It’s better teams we’re going against as season closes but we have take week-by-week do what we do”
