Hackett won’t make it about himself, thrilled Broncos finally get another win
Dec 18, 2022, 5:48 PM
For the first time since Sept. 25, the Broncos won on American soil.
In a long, miserable season, it had been nearly three months since the team won in the United States. That changed on Sunday as Denver took down Arizona 24-15, thanks to an excellent second half.
And while the win only got the Broncos to 4-10 on the year, it snapped a five-game losing streak and was much-needed as these final few weeks play out. The crowd might have been sparse, but those who did show up got to see a dominant rushing attack from Denver. Latavius Murray led the way with 130 yards on the ground and the team rushed for 168 overall.
Backup QB Brett Rypien played well enough in place of Russell Wilson (held out for a concussion), but this game probably meant the most to one person. And that’s head coach Nathaniel Hackett, whose seat is scorching hot and desperately needed victory.
Still, after the game, when Hackett was asked about how much it meant to him, he refused to make it about himself. Despite his job status for 2023 clearly up in the air, Hackett deflected to the players.
“These guys have worked and stuck together and that’s what I’ve appreciated. It’s not about me, it’s not about how much it means to me. It’s just our whole team together as a group and they deserve that win. They fought for it and it was a great team victory,” Hackett said.
Whether or not Broncos ownership has already made up their minds about Hackett remains to be seen. But wins could certainly help his case to get another year in charge. And Hackett knows those are difficult to get in the NFL.
“Every win means so much. The adversity that we’ve gone through, there’s all kinds of different things. We don’t make any excuses, and it’s hard to win in this league. I don’t care what your situation is. I don’t care if you’re winning a lot of games, losing a lot of games, I’ve been doing this for a while and every game is difficult and presents its own challenges,” Hackett said.
The challenges on Sunday weren’t all that difficult, as Arizona is a bad, bad football team. It didn’t help backup QB Colt McCoy had to leave with a scary injury and third-stringer Trace McSorley played most of the second half. Still, the Broncos did what they had to do, and that was earn a victory.
Whether it not it saved Hackett’s job remains to be seen. But even if it did, he wasn’t going to make this one about himself.
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