The Broncos had a pair of injury issues pop up Thursday that throw a wrinkle into what otherwise was shaping up to be a fairly healthy week.

Denver All-Pro defensive tackle Zach Allen did not practice Thursday due to a calf injury. Allen played 73 of the Broncos’ 90 snaps Sunday night against Washington and then was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.

He took part in stretching during the portion of practice open to reporters, but a DNP means he did no team work as the session progressed.

Rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant, meanwhile, was listed as a limited participant due to a hamstring issue. Bryant also took part in stretching and individual workouts during the open portion of practice.

The Broncos were also once again without defensive tackle D.J. Jones (ankle) and tight end Nate Adkins (knee) for Thursday’s practice. Everybody else on the active roster was a full participant.

Adkins is trending toward missing a fifth straight game. Jones is a veteran and could theoretically play without practicing this week or with just a bit of Friday work, depending on the severity of his injury.

Game-winner. Vance Joseph always has an option on his play sheet when crunch time arrives.

So when Broncos coach Sean Payton took a timeout before Washington’s do-or-die two-point conversion try Sunday night in overtime, Joseph had a call at the ready.

Joseph and company got a look at the Commanders’ formation, made their best guess about what offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Marcus Mariota would dial up, and opted for what they typically opt for when the chips are down.

Pressure.

“You always have calls you save for two-point plays especially, or final game plays, big third downs, big fourth downs,” Joseph said Thursday.

That call: A seven-man, all-out blitz with man coverage across the board and no help behind.

“It was a call we had on the sheet for a couple of weeks and we knew we could get one free runner at the quarterback, hopefully make it through coverage and make a play on the quarterback,” Joseph said.

It worked just as intended. Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols was popping wide open in the flat when safety Talanoa Hufanga got caught up in traffic trying to run to the flat to cover him, but edge Nik Bonitto came free of the edge and knocked the pass down.

Ballgame.

“We knew if they scored, they’d go for two,” Joseph said. “So calling the timeout and getting the formation on what we thought the play would be kind of helped us make the next call.”

Joseph, though, wasn’t thrilled with how the Broncos played defensively overall on the night in Denver’s 27-26 win.

“We played OK in my opinion,” he said. “I wasn’t totally pleased with our tackling. We missed like 10 tackles for like 45 yards. The third downs early weren’t very good. We settled down and made some plays. We can play better. Obviously, after every game we play we watch the tape and we’re honest about what’s good and what’s bad. If it’s bad we fix it and if it’s good we celebrate it. No different there.

“But we can obviously play better. We have played better and I expect us to play better.”