Denver Broncos

Sunday’s slate of games includes a couple of big late-afternoon game. For CBS, one was deemed to be a little bigger than the other.

Via Jimmy Traina of Underscore Media, CBS has assigned the No. 1 broadcast team of Jim Nantz and J.J. Watt to the Chiefs-Raiders game, and not to the Broncos-49ers contest.

At first blush, it was a surprise. Broncos-49ers could be a much better game, and a possible Super Bowl preview. The 49ers are unbeaten, and the Broncos are 2-1.

But the Chiefs and Raiders are both 3-0. Beyond the fact that it was one of the great rivalries of the ‘70s, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Taylor Swift factor.

The winner will be 4-0. For the Raiders, that would be more wins than they had in all of 2025.

Mahomes and Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins have met twice before. Mahomes has won both games: in 2023 vs. the Vikings at Minnesota, and in 2023 vs. the Falcons at Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the assignment means that — not surprisingly — Tony Romo’s leave of absence from CBS won’t be ending.

Sunday night’s instant classic between the Rams and Broncos had a back-to-the-future moment, when teams coached by Sean McVay and Sean Payton were involved in a potential pass interference situation with the game on the line.

The controversial non-call from the 2018 NFC Championship between the Rams and Saints happened just outside the L.A. five yard line. The controversial call from Sunday night happened in virtually the same spot on the field.

There are different opinions about the play. Some saw interference. Some did not.

Personally, I saw interference. Rams defensive back Josh Wallace used his right hand to shove Broncos receiver Pat Bryant just before the ball arrived.

And the operative rule, which lists seven different prohibited acts by the defender when the ball is in the air, starts with this one: “Contact by a player who is not playing the ball that restricts the opponent’s opportunity to make the catch.”

If the ball is arriving and the defender shoves him away from it, common sense says that was and is contact that restricts the opponent’s opportunity to make the catch.

The only question is whether Wallace was “playing the ball.” While on one hand he was hoping to make the interception (and did), the shove with the left hand wasn’t part of the effort to make the catch. It was part of the effort to ensure that the intended receiver couldn’t.

Chances are that it was a technique Wallace has learned, at some point in his time as a defensive back. A subtle, well-timed shove may not be seen by an official who is trying to sort through everything else that’s happening.

Bryant, for his part, flopped after he was shoved. The SGA-level reaction, while cartoonish, doesn’t change the fact that Bryant was shoved.

After the ridiculous non-call from 2018, which prompted a New Orleans boycott of Super Bowl LIII, the NFL decided to make pass interference calls and non-calls subject to replay review. The good idea was very poorly executed, and it lasted only one year.

Interference, or lack thereof, is a judgment call. Some could look at that play and see interference; others could look at the same play and reach the opposite conclusion.

That’s one of the biggest problems with the former officials who take jobs in broadcasting and periodically pontificate with the benefit of a frame-by-frame, 4K monitor. The question isn’t whether the former official (some of whom are former officials for a reason) subjectively believes pass interference happened. The question is whether the current official who was required to make the call in real-time with the naked eye abused his or her broad discretion.

One of the biggest problems with the TV referees is that they focus only on giving us their own interpretation of what they saw. In many cases, who cares? We all see the same thing. In those moments, those who do the job best remind us of the standard that applies to the decision that was made.

For the Broncos-Rams play, the best explanation would have been this one: “If probably wouldn’t have thrown a flag if I was in that position, but there’s enough there to justify someone else making a different decision.”

The Vikings have scrapped the J.J. McCarthy experience after the 2024 first-round pick made only 10 starts in two-plus seasons.

That adds McCarthy to a short list of first-round quarterbacks who, for whatever reason, didn’t last very long with the teams that drafted them.

Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN, Elias Sports Bureau identifies only four first-round quarterbacks in the past 25 years who started 10 or fewer games for the team that picked them.

Paxton Lynch, the 2016 first-round pick of the Broncos, started only four games in Denver. He never played in a regular-season game for any other team.

Trey Lance, for whom the 49ers traded up in 2021 to make the third overall selection, started only four games in San Francisco. (He has since made eight appearances with two starts for the Cowboys and Chargers.)

Johnny Manziel, a first-round pick of the Browns in 2014, started eight games in Cleveland. He never played for another NFL team.

McCarthy had exactly 10 starts with the Vikings. He won six of them. But the Vikings have opted to take a fifth-round pick in order to move on from him.

While it’s far less than the first-round pick plus more that they gave up to get him, it’s more than what they would have gotten if he’d been cut before the start of the 2026 season. Which seemed to be a real possibility in late August, especially after he slipped to third on the depth chart.

Either way, the Vikings pulled the plug. And now they’ll have to hope that McCarthy doesn’t become the latest second-act (or third-act) quarterback who becomes a star for someone else.

Sure, the Vikings would never say it out loud. They don’t need to. They know that the only thing that will make their McCarthy misadventures worse will be watching him become for someone else what the Vikings hoped he would be.

Sunday night’s Rams-Broncos game had an interesting postscript arising from coach Sean McVay’s postgame press conference. It was short, mainly because he started and finished before the bulk of the reporters covering the team could get to the media room.

On Monday, McVay opened his day-after availability with an apology.

“I’m sorry that I missed you guys yesterday,” McVay said, via a transcript provided by the team. “I had been going for a few minutes and there was some misunderstanding with some of the timing. Once a question was asked, there was enough silence [for the press conference to end].

“It never was my intention to ever miss any of your questions. If there was any sort of misunderstanding, that was definitely not the case. I apologize for that, but [V.P. of communications] Artis [Twyman] just made me aware of that. I understand my role and responsibilities to be able to talk, whether it’s after a win or whether we don’t get the results that we want. I want to at least acknowledge that. I know a couple of our beat reporters were just — there was a mix-up with timing, but I was in there for a few minutes. There was a pause in any sort of questions and obviously, [it was an] emotional game. That was what led to that, but if there was any misinterpretation, I do apologize for that.”

It’s good that McVay apologized. Still, it’s hard to imagine McVay doing a 90-second cameo if the Rams had won the game.

We saw and heard a blunt and feisty McVay last December, after a tough, hard-fought game against the Seahawks. He’s intense. He’s emotional.

Ultimately, he’s human. And while, in most circumstances, he’s able to keep those emotions in check, he may have said something he didn’t want to say if he’d been given repeated chances to talk about some of the calls that were made down the stretch on Sunday night.

Sean McVay and the Rams benefited from a missed defensive pass interference penalty in the 2018 NFC Championship Game against the Sean Payton-coached Saints. It was one of the worst missed calls in NFL history.

On Sunday, McVay’s Rams were called for a questionable defensive pass interference penalty late in Sunday’s loss to Payton’s Broncos. The penalty nullified Josh Wallace’s interception and instead gave the Broncos a first-and-goal at the 7.

Five plays later, the Broncos scored the game-winner with 47 seconds remaining.

McVay, though, wasn’t about making excuses or blaming officials on Monday.

"[It] doesn’t really matter,” McVay said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “It is what it is. That was the call that was made and there was a lot of opportunities that we had to be able to close the door on that game. . . . But I wouldn’t have any additional coaching points for how Josh plays through the cycle of the snap. But I’m not going to make excuses either and we’re not going to play the victim card.”

Referee Bill Vinovich’s crew called the Rams for five penalties in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, tied for the most by any team in a game since 2000, according to ESPN Research. Vinovich was the referee for the 2018 NFC Championship Game.

The midterms are coming. Which means it’s time to dust off the “migrant caravan” trick.

The latest effort to turn out the vote via fear of “the other” included a Department of Homeland Security video using highlights of Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins. As explained by Robert Klemko of ESPN, the NFL has asked DHS to remove the social-media post.

Dawkins told Klemko via text message that he did not sign off on the use of his name and image.

“I have very respectfully not given permission,” Dawkins said.

Klemko also points out that, earlier this year, the league had no comment when the White House used NFL highlights in connection with videos of the war in Iran. The video remains in place, more than six months later. (At the time, we sent multiple emails to the league seeking comment, but received no response.)

It’s unclear why or how the latest mIGrAnT CaRAvAN will move the needle with anyone. Just last night, the White House declared that “our border is secure.” Unless a large, hollow horse will be involved, it’s hard to imagine a throng of invaders getting in.

The Broncos were down 16-0 against the Rams at halftime on Sunday night, but they put up 30 points in the final 30 minutes to close out the game with their second straight win.

The first of those wins played out in similar fashion. The Jaguars led the Broncos 13-3 in Week 2, but Denver rallied to score the final 17 points of the game and the two wins now give them 10 fourth quarter comeback wins since Bo Nix became the team’s starting quarterback.

After the game, Payton said he likes that Nix is at his best in those moments but he believes that the Broncos “have to find a way to play better earlier” because continually falling behind is a recipe for disaster in the long term.

“I’m pleased with how we responded,” Payton said. “We can’t, like — it’ll cost us in bigger games against teams that are playing better later in the season. It will be something we’re frustrated about later if we can’t clean it up.”

Next week’s trip to visit the 3-0 49ers would be a good time for the Broncos to show they can hit the ground running rather than giving the opposition a sizable head start.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford took responsibility after losing 30-26 to the Broncos on Sunday Night Football.

“We’ve got to be more efficient with some of the stuff we’re doing throwing the football. Obviously, I’ve got to be better, and I will be,” Stafford said.

Stafford threw two fourth-quarter interceptions, both to Denver’s Talanoa Hufanga, one of which was returned for a touchdown. That one gave Stafford his 33rd career pick-six, breaking a tie with Brett Favre and giving Stafford the most pick-sixes in NFL history. Stafford was as frustrated after the game at his inability to tackle Hufanga as the interception.

“Obviously don’t want to have a pick-six,” Stafford said. “Hufanga makes a good play, I couldn’t get him on the ground and that’s points to them there.”

Stafford said the Broncos called up the right blitz to bring pressure and that he should have just thrown the ball into the dirt rather than trying to force something.

“They brought more than we had, I had nobody in the backfield,” Stafford said. “Hufanga did a nice job of fighting through the Y, and I just left it back behind him. I think if I just dirt it we come away with three points. I’ll take myself trying to make those plays all day. Obviously don’t want those things to happen, but I’m proud of the way we came back, threw a touchdown on the next drive and took the lead right back.”

Stafford still believes the 1-2 Rams have the right people in their locker room.

“Our guys fought,” Stafford said. “So many guys played through a bunch of stuff tonight, not feeling their best, and I appreciate the hell out of that.”

After getting blanked in the first half, the Broncos put together a strong final 30 minutes, eventually hanging on to beat the Rams 30-26.

Down 16-0 at halftime, the Broncos stormed back with two touchdowns and two-point conversions to tie the game at 16-16 with 2:15 left in the third period.

But even as the Rams took a three-point lead with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter, the Broncos were able to take advantage of every Los Angeles mistake to win.

On third-and-6 from the Denver 38, quarterback Matthew Stafford was picked off by Talanoa Hufanga and returned for a 66-yard pick-six, giving the Broncos a 23-19 lead.

That pick-six was the 33rd of Stafford’s career, breaking a tie with Brett Favre for the most in league history.

But Stafford was able to shake it off, coming right back with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield to make the score 26-23 with 3:38 left.

Rams penalties allowed the Broncos to go up by the final margin with under 60 seconds in the fourth quarter. While it looked like Josh Wallace had made his second interception, a questionable defensive pass interference penalty wiped the pick off the board and kept Denver’s possession going. Reviewing the play, NBC analyst Terry McAuley noted that it looked like receiver Pat Bryant pulled Wallace down rather than Wallace interfering with the receiver.

An illegal hands to the face penalty gave the Broncos another first down at the 2-yard line.

A couple of plays later, Nix dove into the end zone for a 1-yard, go-ahead touchdown.

The Rams were in it until the end, getting deep into Denver territory to spike the ball and stop the clock with two seconds left. But Stafford’s pass from the 19 to Davante Adams was intercepted by Hufanga, ending the game.

Nix finished the contest 17-of-34 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Pat Bryant and Nate Adkins caught Nix’s TDs.

Stafford — who also became the first player in league history to throw for 20,000 yards for two teams in the first half — finished 30-of-55 for 390 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Adams registered seven receptions for 137 yards, recording back-to-back 100-yard games with the Rams for the first time.

In his second game back from retirement, Aaron Donald had just one tackle and one QB hit.

As a whole, the Rams had just one sack and three QB hits.

The Broncos’ defense was particularly active around Stafford in the second half, registering a total of 14 QB hits in the game and five sacks. The unit also registered eight tackles for loss.

Now at 2-1, the Broncos will be on the road to face the 3-0 49ers in Week 4.

The 1-2 Rams will travel across the country to play the Eagles next Sunday.

The Broncos were down 16-0 to the Rams at halftime.

With two touchdowns and two two-point conversions, it’s a brand new ballgame.

Bo Nix’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Nate Adkins and a two-point conversion to Pat Bryant, tied the game at 16-16 with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

Denver used a nice punt return to spark the offense for the team’s first points of the night. In his regular-season debut, rookie Kolbe Katsis put the Broncos on the Rams’ 42-yard line with a 28-yard punt return after the club went three-and-out.

The Broncos then converted four third downs, including a third-and-goal with Bo Nix’s 5-yard touchdown to Pat Bryant for the score. Nix connected with Jaylen Waddle in the back of the end zone for a successful two-point conversion.

Then a costly special teams mistake set the Broncos up for another score. Emmanuel Forbes was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for being pushed out of bounds while covering a punt and did not immediately return to the field of play. So instead of the Broncos having it backed up at their own 10-yard line, the Rams had to re-kick and Denver started at the Denver 48.

Jaylen Waddle put the Broncos in the red zone with a 14-yard end around. Then the Broncos got inside the 10 with a 12-yard pass from Nix to Tyler Badie.

On second-and-goal, Nix connected with Adkins who turned and walked into the end zone for the TD. Nix then hit Bryant with a jump ball to tie the game with a successful conversion.

Notably, Broncos running back RJ Harvey is being evaluated for a concussion.