Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto played a decisive role in the Denver Broncos’ 27-26 overtime win against the Washington Commanders, securing the team’s ninth consecutive victory and moving them into a tie for the best record in the NFL at 10-2.
During overtime on “Sunday Night Football,” Bonitto nearly ended the game with a sack on Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota. However, Mariota escaped and a defensive pass interference penalty allowed Washington to continue its drive, which ended with a touchdown by Terry McLaurin. Reflecting on that moment, Bonitto said, “I apologized to my teammates on that one. [I’ve] got the club on, but there’s no excuses. I’ve got to find a way to make the sack and grab him and finish [the play].”
After scoring, Washington opted for a two-point conversion rather than an extra point. The Broncos called a timeout before the final play, allowing their defense to regroup and adjust their strategy based on what they saw from Washington’s formation. Head Coach Sean Payton explained, “We went from one pressure to another. The initial call that we had was a zone call, and we felt like this was going to be a [designed run], so we quick-called a timeout. Vance and his staff did a great job of coming up with the correct call. It’s obviously the correct call when it works, but there’s going to be a free rusher if you pressure the way we did.”
On that decisive play, Bonitto came off the line unblocked and managed to bat down Mariota’s pass attempt with his taped right hand. This sealed Denver’s first overtime win since 2015.
Cornerback Pat Surtain II commented on how Denver’s defense approached Mariota: “Obviously, Mariota is very mobile on his feet. We were trying to send pressure at him to make one read, and that’s the only read he can get. That’s the key thing: we executed at the right time. We made a key play, and that’s what it came down to, what it all boiled down to.”
Bonitto described how challenging it was facing Washington’s fast-paced offense: “It was challenging all night for what they were doing,” he said. “They were running no huddle dang near the whole game, so we were having to get in the calls and having to play fast. The timeout kind of helped, it calmed us down a little bit, [to] be able to get into what we were able to get into and get a stop.”
Bonitto finished with three tackles and one sack in addition to breaking up Mariota’s last pass attempt.
Reflecting on their performance throughout this season’s challenges he added: “We’ve been battle-tested all year,” Bonitto said. “There’s no situation that we’re new to. It was just a matter of just finding another way to win today, and we did that.”
