NEW ORLEANS — Darian Stewart had a feeling Sunday was going to be a special day for him. A lot of his family members made the 450-mile trip from Huntsville, Ala. to New Orleans to watch his Broncos play the Saints. A couple of his nieces who had never seen him play were among them. The Broncos’ safety even wore one of his best suits to and from the game.
He looked good intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble, leading to 10 points for the Broncos in their 25-23 victory in the Superdome on Sunday.
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Denver was desperately searching for playmakers, someone to give them a consistent spark to compete against the high-powered Saints’ offense. They found one. He played for the defense.
“I’m just trying to get AFC defensive player of the week. Thatap my goal right there,” Stewart said. “I’m just trying to continue the trend.”
The Broncos’ veteran safety has a strong chance of being the third Broncos player to win AFC defensive player of the week honor. Von Miller versus Indianapolis and Bradley Roby versus San Diego won previously this season.
Stewart is the first Bronco in 15 years (Deltha O’Neal, 2001) and the first NFL player this season with three takeaways in a game. He joined cornerback Aqib Talib as the only Broncos with two interceptions in a game this season. Stewart struggled to recall a better personal performance.
“Not since high school,” Stewart said. “That ball was finding me today.”
The Broncos safeties were unsafe to the Saints Sunday. Safety T.J. Ward recovered a Saints fumble. Rookie safety Justin Simmons and rookie safety Will Parks ran it back for two points, the winning margin. Cornerback Bradley Roby had a hand in two of the Broncos’ four takeaways. He tipped a pass that Stewart intercepted and forced a fumble.
“Stew called out almost every Saints play during practice. You could tell he knew them well,” Parks said. “He was always around the ball. It translated on the field. He’s playing on a Pro-Bowl level right now.”
Ward added: “I’ve had a day. Bradley had a day. Stew had a day. As long as somebody has a day, we’ll be alright.”
Itap a testament to the Broncos’ defensive depth that Stewart, perhaps the fifth-best player on their defense, can be the best player on a given Sunday.
Stewartap timing is good, as the 28-year-old safety is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Stewart is following up a solid 2015 campaign with another top-notch season. He has a career-high three interceptions and may be the Broncos’ most consistent player in the defensive backfield, showing little to no weaknesses in coverage or run defense. And his fierce hits make receivers afraid to go across the middle of the field.
He’ll likely be one of the top safeties on the market and might price him out of the Broncos’ range. Stewart said he hasn’t thought much pay after signing a two-year, $4.25 million contract with Denver in 2015.
Sunday showed how important Stewart is to the Broncos’ defense.
The Broncos are glad to have Stewart as their least known star of an elite secondary.
