The Denver Broncos aren’t a one-trick pony after all.

So many in the national media, even locally, were desperate to label the Broncos as just that during their eight-game winning streak.

Now that the number has reached nine after a dramatic and thrilling OT win over the Washington Commanders, some folks are forced to change their tune.

And that’s a good thing.

The Broncos defense made a massive play, Nik Bonitto specifically, on the Commanders two-point conversion that would’ve stolen the game 28-27. But Denver didn’t leave Washington with a 27-26 victory because of the defense. On a cold night in the Northeast, the offense was the biggest reason why.

QB Bo Nix looked spectacular at times, and really only made one bad throw, an interception in the second half that cost the Broncos three points. Overall, Nix was 29-45 for 321 yards and a touchdown. His scoring pass to Courtland Sutton right before halftime was absolutely filthy.

Then, what he did in overtime, deserves to be praised over and over again. Tied at 20, the Commanders gave Nix the ball and dared him to beat them.

He did just that, finding RJ Harvey and Adam Trautman for 12-yard completions, before busting a big one to tight end Evan Engram down the middle of the field. Engram’s 41-yard gain was his best play in a Broncos uniform thus far; Nix set him up with a perfect throw.

It took guts for Denver to take the lead back at 27-20 after the Commanders rallied to force the extra period. If Nix and the offense go three-and-out there, all Washington would’ve needed was a field goal to send the Broncos to 9-3.

Instead, thanks to that side of the ball and Harvey scoring two touchdowns, Denver is 10-2 and a real contender for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

And just because the Broncos defense made a clutch play at the end doesn’t mean they had a good outing.

Commanders QB Marcus Mariota played really well. It was almost like he took a time machine back to when he was thought of as a future star in the NFL.

But Mariota didn’t look like a journeyman against perhaps the best defense in the league. He threw for nearly 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He added another 55 yards with his legs as Washington gashed Denver for 143 yards on the ground. Mariota, like Nix, had one bad throw — a key interception by Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw early on.

Still, it felt like every time the Commanders touched the football they moved it down the field. Mariota was getting his throws out fast, taking only two sacks and neutralizing a massive strength of Vance Joseph’s unit.

A blueprint, if you will, might have been laid out to solve this elite Broncos defense. Run it down their throats and have the quarterback release the ball quickly. Now it’s up to Joseph and the rest of the Denver coaching staff to adjust during the final five regular season games with the playoffs looming.

In their only two losses of the season to the Colts and Chargers, fans were bummed the Broncos defense couldn’t get a key stop late. That changed against Washington with Bonitto’s heroics, but this was perhaps the group’s second or third worst game of the season outside of Indianapolis and the New York Giants.

At the end of the day, that’s a positive for the Broncos. It wasn’t sustainable for one side of the ball to be the reason they won every week. It was nice to change things up, with Nix being the catalyst for Denver’s 10th triumph of the season.

One great unit can lead a team to a Super Bowl, but generally balance is the recipe for hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Even if it was stressful at times, the Broncos may have found it on the last day of November.

Balance was important to a clutch win — and you can bet it’ll be important moving forward.