Traveling east to face the Philadelphia Eagles in a 1 p.m. battle, the Denver Broncos finished the game on an 18-point run, ultimately leading to a 21-17 victory. As underdogs, facing an Eagles team that had several streaks riding on this game, the Broncos squeezed the life out of not only the streaks, but the Eagles themselves.
Going into today's contest, the Philadelphia Eagles had won 10 straight games, with 12 straight games at home, and 20 out of their last 21 games. How did the Denver Broncos upset the juggernaut Eagles?
It came to fruition through patience, excellent coaching, some bold decisions, and calmness throughout the entire Denver Broncos organization. It looked like the team had been there before, like they truly believed they were going to beat the Eagles.
Denver's free agent acquisitions played a huge part in their win
Individually, Bo Nix stayed calm throughout the game. It was not a perfect game from Nix, mainly due to the middle of the game. But Nix was hitting receivers early; they just were not able to make the big plays they needed.
Nik Bonitto had another incredible game; he continued to prove he was worth every penny from the Walton-Penner group. Bonitto finished the game adding another 2.5 sacks to his season total and two more tackles for loss.
But where the Broncos really took a step forward tonight was through their free agent acquisitions, mainly J.K. Dobbins and Evan Engram. Both scored the Broncos' only two touchdowns today, Dobbins' touchdown coming with 13:11 to go in the fourth quarter. Engram's touchdown with 7:36 to go in the fourth quarter is when the tide really started to run for the Broncos.
What really got the offense going, moving with confidence was on Engram's 18-yard reception when the Broncos' started their second touchdown scoring drive. It wasn't a 90-yard catch, or a touchdown, but it was huge because it seems like for the first time, someone just went up and made a play for the Broncos' offense.
Pairing the big plays from Engram today, with J.K. Dobbins prevalent consistency, the Broncos found themselves victorious. Dobbins continued to dice and cut his way through the Eagles' defense. There were a handful of runs today from Dobbins that looked like dead plays, but Dobbins would always find a crease.
Last year, the Broncos' running backs were not finding those creases. Dobbins has been and continues to be the fail-safe option for the Broncos' offense. What made the difference today, was Engram playing his joker role and coming up with massive receptions when the Broncos needed him.