DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 31: Melvin Gordon III #25 of the Denver Broncos runs with the ball in the fourth quarter against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field At Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
A Halloween game between the Broncos and WFT brought many "tricks" and fortunately for the Broncos, they improved to .500 with a "treat" beating the Washington Football Team 17-10.
The Broncos defense got off to a faster start as they stopped the Washington offense on downs and then on their second drive, Shelby Harris was able to block a 45-yard FG attempt.
The Broncos offense, meanwhile, struggled with penalties early on having their first two drives stalled as a result of penalties and a pair of sacks but the Broncos were able to strike first with a Brandon McManus 45-yard Field Goal.
The Washington Football team didn't struggle to move the ball in the first half as they drove right down the field and connected on a 52-yard Field Goal after Dre'Mont Jones and Shelby Harris combined for a sack on Taylor Heineke to force the attempt.
Denver's offense finally was able to punch in a touchdown after some big plays by Albert Okwuegbunam and Tim Patrick with back-to-back 19 yard completions. Melvin Gordon caught a pass in the flat from Teddy Bridgewater and took it up the right sideline for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Broncos 10-3 lead.
Washington put together a drive to mid-field right before the half but a Stephen Weatherly sack put WFT in a Hail Mary situation where Justin Simmons came up with the INT as the clock ran to 0.00.
Denver started out the 2nd half with a fairly uneventful drive but a good punt by Sam Martin pinned WFT back in the shadow of their endzone where a holding penalty followed by a Dre'Mont Jones sack forced a punt to midfield where the Broncos began their next drive. Unfortunately, the Denver offense couldn't capitalize on the momentum as they went 3-and-out.
Washington took advantage and moved the ball down the field on a 10-play, 94 yard drive capped off by a perfect fade route pass from Taylor Heineke to DeAndre Carter to tie the game 10-10.
On Denver's next drive, the Broncos were aided by a roughing the passer call against Jamin Davis and a nifty move by Javonte Williams to pick up 11 yards on 3rd-and-8 at midfield but unfortunately, Brandon McManus had his first FG miss of the season as he couldn't connect on a 53-yard attempt.
Washington drives down the field with ease on their next drive but another blocked Field Goal attempt, this by Dre'Mont Jones, sets the Broncos offense up at their own 37 yard line. They didn't miss an opportunity to take advantage of the momentum swing this time, capping off a 6-play drive with a Melvin Gordon 7-yard rushing touchdown.
With 4:27 remaining in the game, Taylor Heineke and the Washington offense had a chance to win it but Justin Simmons intercepted a 4th and 19 attempt that seemed to put the game away. Being this is Halloween, there was apparently another twist to the game as Melvin Gordon fumbled the ball at the Broncos 23 yard line giving Washington life with 21 seconds remaining.
Thankfully, the Broncos defense held the Washington offense out of the end zone including Malik Reed getting his 2nd sack of the game to help seal the win 17-10 and help Denver improve to 4-4.
The Broncos will hit the road for a game against the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday, November 7th. Coverage starts at 7am MTN on KOA 850AM and 94.1FM.
KOA Broncos Interviews in order: Peyton Manning with Dave Logan during the 3rd quarter, Susie Wargin with Dre'Mont Jones postgame, Vic Fangio with Dave Logan postgame and Teddy Bridgewater with Dave Logan postgame.