PHILADELPHIA — Courtland Sutton never wavered on the sideline at Lincoln Financial Field when trailing 14 points late against the defending Super Bowl champs. 

“If you can get every single person on that sideline to have that same faith … you can see it turn,” the Broncos wide receiver said after a 21-17 road win over the Eagles. “It takes one play. You don’t know what that one play is going to be … for a team to be able to say: ‘Alright, we’re back in it.’” 

The play in question: Midway through the fourth quarter, trailing 17-10, facing third-and-15 at the Philadelphia 45-yard line. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke the huddle as 69,879 (mostly) Philly fanatics brought the noise. 

Sutton ran a 15-yard dig route and caught a laser from Nix at the first-down marker. Sutton wanted more. He broke two tackles before gaining 34 yards into the red zone. Nix called it “probably one of the biggest plays in that game.” The Broncos scored their go-ahead touchdown — with a gutsy two-point conversion — on the following plays. 

Sutton’s performance mirrored the game. He posted two catches for 11 yards in the first half. Then he roared back in the second with six receptions for 88 yards. Sutton is entrenched as Nix’s favorite clutch target. 

Like when the Broncos were ahead 18-17 late in regulation when Nix found Sutton, again, on a third-and-6 to move the chains. It allowed kicker Wil Lutz to nail a 36-yard attempt to stretch the Denver lead. 

“He’s got strong hands in traffic,” Payton said when asked about Sutton’s third-down heroics. “The play he made to get us into field goal range, that was a huge third down catch and throw. … Bo and (Sutton) now have been together for a good year and a half, two years. You can feel it. I knew he was throwing that ball to Sutton on that third down and it was a good throw and a good catch by Courtland. He’s a terrific player.” 

The Broncos (3-2) were determined to erase the foul taste of losses to the Colts and Chargers on walk-off field goals. Sutton now travels with the team to London to face the Jets (0-5) after arguably the biggest win of the Payton era in Denver. 

“It was exciting to be out there on the field, man. To see the desire. To see the passion that guys were out there playing with,” Sutton said. “There was no flinch in that team. I think that being in some of those earlier situations, it’s one of those things where you either learn from it or let it beat you again. … We learned from it.” 

Cat and mouse 

J.K. Dobbins was the Broncos’ featured running back in Philadelphia with a team-leading 20 carries for 79 yards. He also rushed for his fourth touchdown in five games since signing with the team. Dobbins is averaging 5.2 yards per carry entering Week 6 against the Jets. 

“That’s what I was brought here for, you know?” Dobbins told reporters in the postgame locker room. “I know a lot of people doubted me. A lot of people didn’t think I was that good. A lot of people thought a lot of things about me. He’s been hurt. Go look at the numbers.” 

Dobbins praised the Denver offensive line as the NFL’s best. He described running behind it as playing “cat and mouse” with opposing defenses.  

“A lot of people ask me: ‘How are you so patient?’ Well, I got some big guys protecting me. Some very good o-linemen protecting me. So, I get to play cat and mouse,” Dobbins said. “That’s what I’m out there playing. … They’re not gonna touch me because they’re protecting me. So, let’s play cat and mouse with the linebackers and safeties. That’s how I see it.” 

AFC West update 

The Chargers have squandered their early stranglehold on the AFC West.  

Los Angeles dropped consecutive games to the Giants and Commanders. The Broncos (3-2) are currently tied atop the AFC West standings with the Chargers (3-2) — yet Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker after a Week 3 victory over Denver.

The Chiefs (2-2) are within striking distance with a Monday night game against the Jaguars. The Raiders (1-4) are struggling to begin the Pete Carroll era. 

Briefly 

The Eagles were held to 0 for 1 in the red zone on Sunday. Denver has allowed four touchdowns over 14 opponent trips into the red zone this season. Their red zone efficiency rate (28.6%) leads the NFL. Defensive lineman D.J. Jones said postgame: “When you speak something into existence, it’s not a surprise what happened.” … Tight end Evan Engram eclipsed 5,000 career NFL receiving yards on Sunday with four catches for 33 yards. He also scored his first touchdown with the Broncos since signing in free agency. … The Broncos opened as a 7.5-point favorite against the Jets in Week 6, according to ESPN Bet. … The Broncos signed wide receiver Samori Toure to their practice squad on Monday, according to the NFL’s transactions wire. Toure is a former seventh-round draft pick by the Packers out of Montana. He appeared in 22 games for Green Bay between the 2022 and ’23 NFL seasons.