Bo Nix had a career-best performance on Sunday, completing 85% of his passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns. However, it was Javonte Williams’ 14-yard touchdown run that truly stood out for the Denver Broncos’ rookie quarterback.
Williams was stopped at the 5-yard line by his former teammate, Justin Simmons, but he was then pushed into the end zone by several of his teammates, and the Broncos went on to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 38-6.
“No one play ever defines any game,” said Falcons coach Raheem Morris. “(But) that was a great-effort play by those guys and not a great-effort play by us. You’ve got to give those guys a lot of credit for playing hard, playing physical.
And they absolutely went out there and beat us today with their effort and their physicality, and that was a key to the game.”
Whether or not that play defined the game, Nix believed Williams’ touchdown run showed the Broncos’ determination, especially after their tough loss to the Chiefs last week, when a blocked field goal ended their hopes of winning as time expired.
Simmons had managed to hold Williams at the 5-yard line for a brief moment, but then both teams’ players joined in for a pushing battle that looked more like a rugby scrum.
“My feet came off the ground and I was still moving,” Williams said. “I said it must be Quinn (Meinerz). It was a collective effort. I felt like everybody played well today on both sides of the ball.”
Williams explained that the shove into the end zone wasn’t something the team practiced.
“Nah, they just saw me and Justin 1-on-1,” he said. “We kind of stalemated and after that the cavalry came.”
With the help of his teammates, Williams was pushed across the goal line, giving the Broncos a 14-3 lead early in the game.
“I think that play is kind of the epitome of this week,” said Nix. “Those are the plays that you love to see from an offense — one united team that’s going for one goal. … Just keep fighting and finding ways to get the touchdown.”
Nix, who completed 28 of 33 passes, made history by joining Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as one of only two rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 200 or more yards with two or more touchdowns in four straight home games. He also became one of the only rookies, along with Dak Prescott (2016), to post four games with a completion rate of 70% or higher, multiple touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The Broncos (6-5) broke a two-game losing streak and made it a tough return for Simmons, who spent his first eight years in Denver before the Broncos traded him away last year.
Simmons, who now plays for the Falcons (6-5) on a one-year, $7.5 million contract, had five tackles in the game. The Falcons have now lost two straight games.
“I’ve got to find a different way to get him down,” said Simmons, who was trying to stop Williams but didn’t want to risk twisting him or letting him get pushed into the end zone.
“So I’m trying to just drive my feet,” Simmons said. “I probably could have knifed him. But in my head, I’m the last line of defense. I’m just trying to drive it back.”
Simmons described that play as “a little sample size” of how the Broncos dominated the game on Sunday.
Nix was the main contributor, throwing touchdown passes of 12 yards to tight end Nate Adkins and wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., which helped Denver take a 21-6 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Nix connected with fellow rookie Troy Franklin for a 7-yard touchdown and then threw a 41-yard touchdown to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, completing the scoring and ending his day as backup Jarrett Stidham finished the game.
