ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A close football game is a normal football game.

In 2024, approximately 70 percent of all regular-season games were within one score in the fourth quarter, according to the NFL. And often, those games were decided in the final minutes — or moments.

The ability to thrive in two-minute situations — both as an offense and defense — can define a season, and the Broncos showed their mettle in 2024. In perhaps their most back-and-forth game of the year, the Broncos’ offense executed a seven-play, 70-yard drive in just 81 seconds to send their prime-time matchup with the Bengals to overtime.

“Well, there’s a poise, and the other thing is you can’t underestimate, the communication has to be paramount, on point,” Payton said of Nix’s ability in two-minute situations. “In other words, we can’t snap a ball with a receiver who really didn’t get the call. The communication on the road, it’s going to be signals.”

As Denver prepares for potentially more last-second battles, the Broncos replicated an end-of-game scenario at full speed on Friday for the first time in training camp.

In a scenario that Head Coach Sean Payton later said favored the defense, the Broncos’ offense trailed by six points and needed to march 75 yards in 1:48 for a go-ahead touchdown.

“The one thing that’s interesting when the season ends and we’re looking at our cutups [is] there are well over 150 snaps of two-minute,” Payton said. “When you think about it, every game at the end of the half, someone’s in a two-minute offense or defense. And at the end of the game, someone’s in offense or defense. And I would say situationally, it’s probably A1 on what’s most important. You have your goal-line offense and defense, and that cutup might be 12 plays or 14 plays on a year. But the significance of operating with a fixed amount of time on the clock, defending it and attacking it is extremely important. There are well over 200, 300 different scenarios, time, timeouts, what you need. So, we kind of go through all of those. Then, analytically, that really impacts what we’re thinking offensively and defensively. [Friday’s] situation … needing a touchdown, one timeout. At that moment, it’s probably advantage defense on the 25[-yard line]. If it was needing a field goal, it would be an advantage offense based on a timeout.”

While the offense picked up three first downs and moved the ball as far as the opposing 34-yard line, quarterback Bo Nix couldn’t connect on deep shots to wide receivers Marvin Mims Jr. or Courtland Sutton to grab the deciding score. The final full-speed play resulted in offsetting penalties that wiped out a pass-interference call that would’ve moved the Denver offense down by the goal line. For good measure, the Broncos repped a walkthrough-speed Hail Mary simulation to end the first-team’s attempt.

In the second-team’s rep, cornerback Damarri Mathis snagged an interception to help the defense go 2-of-2 in the scenario.

HUFANGA SNAGS ‘SICK’ INTERCEPTION

While the Denver defense has made its share of impressive plays during training camp, the unit was interception-free until Friday.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga grabbed the first one as he sprung into the air to make an athletic catch and earn a takeaway on a read-option play.

“The play, the interception was an RPO [run-pass option],” Payton said. “If you really looked at his distance from the throw, I’ll bet it was like eight yards. So, to be able to go up and catch that with a crowded look in front of him, I’m anxious to see it on film. I saw it from behind the line of scrimmage. The one thing over the years — if I asked you to give us the best safeties that are in the Hall of Fame, the traits are always instincts and football smarts. Some are faster than others, but it’s hard to be real effective at that position if you don’t have those high football instincts. And certainly, he brings that. We made a comment in the offseason [that] there are certain players [where] the ball finds him, and he’s one of those guys. So, that play was sick.”

In the next team period, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II snagged one of his own in the end zone.

“On the film study, when you get a better look at it that meeting might sound like, ‘All right, here’s the play. What are you thinking here?'” Payton said of his post-practice conversations with Nix. “And then, ‘Hey, you have to be alert.’ There’s one where Pat was floating back off, Sutton was on a double move, and it was just the location error and you clean it up.”

Payton said the route was a near replication of one the Broncos ran in 2023 when former quarterback Russell Wilson was picked off by All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. in Houston.

“It’s understanding there’s a blind area that the ball can’t go, and then it doesn’t happen again,” Payton said.