When Pat Surtain II was ready to sign his huge contract extension that briefly made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, coach Sean Payton wanted to see even more from him, specifically more turnovers.
Surtain delivered with two interceptions on Sunday in the Denver Broncos’ 34-18 win over the injury-plagued Las Vegas Raiders.
He returned the first interception for a 100-yard touchdown, turning around an early 10-0 deficit, and his second interception set up another touchdown as the Broncos (3-2) ended their eight-game losing streak against the Raiders (2-3).
“It didn’t start off well,” Denver coach Sean Payton said, “but we bounced back.” And they did so in a big way, thanks to Surtain’s impressive performance.
The day began with a jersey swap with Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey, who was at the Broncos’ alumni weekend to honor the franchise’s first Super Bowl team from 1977, led by Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar.
“That jersey swap was legendary,” Surtain said. “That’s something that I’ve always wanted to have in the inventory.”
And he wanted a game like this too.
Not only did the signage, field, and scoreboards feature throwback themes, but Denver’s strong defense also limited the Raiders to just 5 yards rushing after halftime.
The Raiders scored on Brock Bowers’ 57-yard touchdown catch and Daniel Carlson’s 40-yard field goal, and were close to taking a 17-3 lead when Gardner Minshew, who completed his first nine passes for 115 yards, rolled to his left on first-and-goal from the 5.
He had Bowers open, but his throw went over Bowers’ head, allowing Surtain to catch it at his own goal line and sprint down the sideline.
The only Raider who could have stopped the touchdown was Minshew, but he got knocked down by rookie linebacker Jonah Ellis 35 yards downfield, allowing Surtain to stroll into the end zone with the ball held high.
“I caught the ball and saw a full head of green grass,” Surtain said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a touchdown.’”
However, his excitement faded when he turned around in the end zone and saw a flag.
“I was worried. I was scared. And I was tired,” said Surtain. His worries quickly disappeared when the referee decided there was no foul on the return.
“It definitely swung the game,” Minshew said. “And obviously I can’t do that to our team, put us in a bad spot. That swing was definitely on me. … I thought we got off to a good start, and then I killed our momentum with the pick six.”
Rookie Bo Nix, coming off a win against the Jets despite throwing for only 60 yards, had a breakout performance with two touchdown passes after entering the game with just one. He also ran for a touchdown as Denver scored 34 points without reply.
Completing passes to a franchise-record 11 players, Nix finished 19 of 27 for 206 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, helping the Broncos achieve their first win over the Raiders since December 29, 2019.
First-year starter Riley Moss also intercepted Minshew, marking his first career interception just a week after his first fumble recovery and two weeks after his first forced fumble in his two years as a pro. This also ended Minshew’s day.
He was replaced by Aidan O’Connell with Las Vegas down 20-10. Minshew, who was missing superstar Davante Adams (hamstring) for the second week in a row, finished 12 of 17 for 137 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two sacks after hitting his first nine passes for 115 yards.
His tenth pass turned into a 100-yard interception return, the second-longest in team history after Aqib Talib’s 103-yarder against Dallas in 2017.
“It was a big momentum swing, for sure,” said Raiders star defender Maxx Crosby, who had two sacks despite a sore ankle. “As a defense, as a unit, we talked about being the engine. And so regardless of the situation, we’ve got to be able to respond. But yeah, we weren’t good enough. We’ll be better.”
O’Connell went 10 of 20 for 94 yards and threw an interception. Surtain picked off O’Connell’s first pass of his second series, giving Nix the ball back at the Las Vegas 39 right after the rookie QB’s 1-yard run made it 27-10.
Nix then quickly connected with Josh Reynolds for a 9-yard touchdown.
“We got short fields,” Nix said, giving credit to Denver’s defense on a day when the Broncos’ offense converted just 3 of 12 third downs.
