The Broncos keep finding ways to win, which is all that really matters

For thirty minutes on Sunday night, it looked like the national audience was going to see the same Broncos team that got embarrassed at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 1. Denver trailed the Los Angeles Rams 16-0 at halftime, the offense couldn’t get going and the scoreboard at Mile High was starting to feel like a verdict.

Then, the second half started. The Broncos offense and defense both came alive, and Denver scored 30 points to beat a fellow Super Bowl contender 30-26. It was loud, stressful and familiar.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Brandon Stokley put the comeback in the context of how the league actually works.

“We’ve talked a lot about this during the offseason; that’s the NFL. The NFL is one-score games,” Stokley said.

This Broncos team fits that description. Last season they won 11 one-score games, which tied an NFL record. Sunday night added another close win to the list, and this one came against a Rams team led by reigning MVP Matthew Stafford on national television.

Stokley said the result comes down to who delivers late.

“Either you make the plays when it matters the most, or you don’t. And it seems like Bo Nix and this football team always seem to make the play when it matters most,” he said.

There’s still a catch. The slow starts aren’t new. They have followed this team through the Sean Payton and Bo Nix era, and Broncos Country’s collective blood pressure is paying for it. At some point, falling behind by two scores stops being a quirk and starts costing games.

Stokley still prefers the Broncos’ version of the problem to the alternative.

“We would much rather be talking about them finding ways to win and nitpicking on the slow starts, than ‘gosh dang it they blew another one,'” Stokley said.

He finished with a clear-eyed view of what still needs work.

“But this team finds ways to get it done. Now you just gotta clean up stuff in the first half. I don’t know how, or what the solution is there. But you know what, when it matters the most, they figure out how to get it done,” Stokley said.

The Broncos are 2-1 heading into the rest of the opening six-game stretch. The team has plenty of fight. The next step is fixing the first half so the fans aren’t in for another stressful night every week.

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