Beige Against The Machine.
Yacht Rock On.
Boring. Methodical. Physical.
This was the script for The Silence of the Rams.
And for a half, Davis Webb elected not to follow it.
Even a bright man can be a bad fit. And for eight of the first 10 quarters, Webb wasn’t it.
Then it happened. Like it has for the Broncos for the past two seasons. After a three-and-out drive to open the third quarter that lasted under a minute, after coach Sean Payton told a national TV audience at halftime they had to run the ball, the message finally reached Webb’s ears.
He ditched his swagger and found his balance in a dramatic 30-26 victory.
Believe what you want, listen to everyone communicate like heart emojis, but as Payton stared at Webb before the Broncos’ second drive, it appeared he made it clear: run the ball.
“Obviously a gutsy win. Really a tale of two halves. There were some runs in the second half that helped us stay on schedule,” Payton said after improving to 16-3 in Sunday Night Football games. “We have talked a lot about under center football. And I think that is important as well. We will look at the tape and pull our hair out about stuff and we will be excited about some things too. ”
After a 28-yard punt return by Kolbe Katsis, the team’s resident Evel Knievel, Webb went from trolling to play-calling.
Starting at the Rams’ 42-yard line, the former college quarterback passed on passes as Bo Nix handed off three straight times to J.K. Dobbins. The 11 yards breathed life into the offense and a soldout crowd eager for any reason to go full throat.
“For sure, 100 percent it helped get us going,” left guard Ben Powers said. “Running the ball like that with success gives the whole team confidence. It was good for us. And I wish we could do it more. ”
Little did the 76,633 know the fourth quarter was going to be an emotional ride on Elitch’s Mr. Twister.
But early in the third, Webb calmed the waters for Nix to slow his pulse after spending the first half looking like Nuke LaLoosh. He didn’t hit the bull. But he did not hit his receivers either, completing 6 of 12 passes for 53 yards.
With steadiness achieved, the ground stopped shifting under Nix’s feet. He fired a missile to Pat Bryant for a 5-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone. Then he delivered the best pass of his career, a dart through the helmet of cornerback — or at least it seemed like a magic illusion — as Jaylen Waddle pawed the ball for a two-point conversion.
“I thought it was going to hit his helmet,” Nix admitted after finishing 17 of 34 for 186 yards and two scores. “It is a play we have practiced a lot.”
On the next drive, Nix found Nate Atkins for a 5-yard score. Then he lobbed a pass to Pat Bryant for the deuce on the box out, tying the score at 16. Anyone who watched the first 30 minutes would have called BS on this.
Did you see those stats? The Rams had 17 first downs to the Broncos’ five. They had 273 yards. The Broncos countered with 67. One team looked ready to make a Super Bowl run. And the other could not have been blamed if it ran and hid.
But that’s the thing about these Broncos. They operate by the saying that to do things that have never been done, do things that have never been done. And no Broncos team has ever played so well late — not in John Elway’s prime or the 2015 cardiac kids — as Payton’s group.
The Broncos were relentless, but imperfect. Webb found his way, his calling. But the Rams’ Kobie Turner caused a Nix pick as he hit his arm and clicked the ball.
The Broncos were in trouble. Then they weren’t. A defense that spent nearly 20 minutes on the field in the first half was revived, rested and renewed. Safety Talanoa Hufanga picked a heck of a time to get his first pick. With Que Robinson in Matthew Stafford’s face, Hufanga undercut the route and rumbled and stumbled and scored a 67-yard touchdown.
This was supposed to be how the movie ended, the point where apEO Greg Penner sent Rams owner Stan Kroenke the text: Walton Bowl. Broncos 1, Rams 1.
Instead, the 23-19 score turned upside down as Konata Mumpfield had a bigger hit than any by the Rockies T.J. Rumfield, racing 48 yards for a score as Riley Moss slipped. Well, that’s not true. He got beat, and that remains a sore spot with apountry.
But down 26-23 with 3:38 remaining is the equivalent of a La-Z-Boy for Webb and Nix. This is where Webb can return to his Texas Tech days of slinging it, of finding mismatches in uptempo. And Nix did just that.
Of course it came with accompanying drama. A penalty. An ugly incompletion. But then he found a wide open Bryant for 39 yards. Fluke? Well then he connected with Troy Franklin for 21. And then the slow march to soak the clock and finish the drill was on.
Anyone who knows Payton’s history was left with mouths agape on what happened next. The Broncos got a few calls. Not gifts. But definitely a friendly lean.
Josh Wallace thought he had a pick to seal it for the Rams and he was called for pass interference.
Moments later, Quentin Lake was flagged for illegal use of hands on Evan Engram on third-and-goal from the 5. With the downs resetting, the Broncos finally scored on a Nix keeper from the 1-inch line with 47 seconds left.
This was not the biggest Broncos’ win for Payton. But it ranks near the top. The family affair made it more important, and if there was poetic justice, Penner and Carrie Walton Penner received game balls after they had to fire Nathanial Hazmat following the Christmas Day meltdown in 2022 at SoFi Stadium.
Most importantly, the Broncos found their offensive identity.
When it called for a run, Webb stayed out three-wide and put Nix under center.
He played old-fashioned football for long stretches, ironic for someone who is 31, seven years younger than Stafford.
And when he needed a big play in the air, he dialed it up like it was his life’s goal to do this job.
Under the bright lights, in soggy conditions, the Rams looked ready to reign. But with Webb figuring things out — with an assistance from his boss — the Broncos made the Rams look all wet.
It was one game in a season of referendums. But this was the official first Broncos’ Webb Gem.
