Broncos won’t have arguably the NFL’s best defender on Thursday

To no one’s surprise, the Denver Broncos will play without perhaps the best defender in the NFL on Thursday night in New Orleans.

That became official on Wednesday afternoon, when the Broncos ruled Pat Surtain II out for the contest against the Saints. Surtain suffered a concussion against the Los Angeles Chargers on the first defensive snap of the game last Sunday, and the turnaround was simply too quick for him to realistically get back on the field.

Wednesday's #DENvsNO injury report:

Note: We held a walkthrough so today's report is an estimation.

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— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 16, 2024

Surtain left with trainers grabbing his head early in the first quarter and quickly made his way to the locker room after a stop in the blue medical tent. The Broncos deemed him out for the day shortly after.

And without PS2 on the field, things didn’t go well for Denver’s defense. Vance Joseph’s group simply couldn’t get a stop on third-down, as the Chargers went 11-18 on the afternoon. The result was the Broncos being down 23-0 after three quarters and basically out of the game.

Los Angeles QB Justin Herbert completed 21-34 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t an insane day from Herbert, but he made the completions when he needed them, hitting nine different receivers in the process.

Of course Surtain has been special this year, consistently locking down the opposing team’s top wide receiver and returning a 100-yard pick-six against the Raiders that completely swung the momentum. It was eventually a 34-18 Broncos win, but if Surtain didn’t do what he did, they could’ve been down 17-3.

The good news is both cornerbacks Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian are off the injury report and good to go against the Saints. Levi Wallace should step in for Surtain, like he did against the Chargers.

Elsewhere, Mike McGlinchey and Baron Browning are both questionable. They both had 21-day IR windows activated to return this week. McGlinchey could help a beat up offensive line, while Browning could add another element to the pass rush.

Denver will face rookie QB Spencer Rattler for New Orleans, making just his second NFL start. They should hopefully find a way to win, but they’ll have do it without Surtain on Thursday night.

Luckily, the Saints are very injured on offense, perhaps lessening the blow of PS2 missing the game.