Tag: Record

Nik Bonitto has matched an impressive Von Miller stat

Nik Bonitto and Von Miller are the only players in Broncos history to record 10+ sacks and grab a pick-six in the same season.

Denver Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonitto had another huge performance in a 41-32 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 13.

Bonitto recorded a sack and grabbed a 71-yard pick-six in the win. Following that impressive play, Bonitto became just the second player in franchise history to record at least ten sacks and a pick-six in the same season, joining Broncos legend Von Miller.

Nix’s 71-yard return was the third-longest by a linebacker in franchise history, only trailing Randy Gradishar (93 yards in 1980) and Tom Jackson (73 yards in 1977).

Bonitto reached a top speed of 19.88 mph on his return, the second-fastest among linebackers carrying the ball this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Following the play, the father of Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain called for Bonitto to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Surtain Sr. certainly isn’t alone in his stance.

Bonitto still has another year on his contract after this season, but after giving Jonathon Cooper a big extension, Bonitto’s deal should be the team’s next priority.

“I’ve been trying to tell people I used to play safety back in the day and people are surprised,” Bonitto said after the game. “Just trying to do my job. When I saw a chance to break on the ball, I kind of just went and did that.”

Bonitto’s 11 sacks this season rank second in the NFL, only trailing Trey Hendrickson (11.5). He’ll look to build on that total after the bye when the Broncos host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.

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Cameron Jordan only needed six letters to react to last-second Rams loss

Cameron Jordan only needed six letters to describe the reaction in the Saints locker room after their last-second loss to the Rams:

There’s a lot you could say about the New Orleans Saints’ loss tot he Los Angeles Rams last week. It was another missed opportunity to right the ship and salvage a season some would say has already been lost. It was a waste of a great effort by Cameron Jordan and the defense, who pitched a rare shutout in the first half. It was something of a disaster as star playmakers like Taysom Hill went down with season-ending injuries. And there were elements of encouragement when backup wide receivers like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kevin Austin Jr., and Dante Pettis came through in clutch moments.

But Jordan needed just one six-letter word to describe the mood in the locker room after players walked off the field, having taken a 21-14 loss after leading for most of three quarters.

“Pissed,” Jordan told reporters after the game. “We let one get away. We don’t have enough time to let one get away.”

He’s not wrong. The Saints are barely holding on as the NFC playoff picture gets painted without them. They’re 4-8 and even playing in a weak division won’t be enough to squeeze them in for January’s playoff tournament. They can’t afford to lose any more ground.

Jordan, specifically, is someone running out of time. The longest-tenured player in New Orleans is facing a decision on retirement this offseason with just one year left on his contract; his workload has been reduced at times as the team has tried to rotate younger players into the lineup to try and find a spark. These next five games might be his last five games in a Saints uniform.

So letting an opportunity to beat a team that’s given them so much trouble over the years is frustrating. For the stakes to be as high as they are? Doubly so. Things might have gone differently if the offense could have ended more drives with points early on, or if protection had held up half a second longer on their final play from scrimmage — allowing Derek Carr to find an open man in the end zone right as Juwan Johnson stepped into a hole in the Rams’ coverage.

But that’s a whole lot of words to achieve the same result Jordan did in just one. The Saints don’t have time to harbor regrets or vent frustrations. All they can do now is focus on their next game and go to work.

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Marquez Valdes-Scantling kept his touchdowns streak alive in Week 13

Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been effective in stretching the field, and his deep touchdown led to the Saints tying the game against the Rams:

It took Marquez Valdes-Scantling a game to get adjusted to being a part of the New Orleans Saints offense. After that first week, Valdes-Scantling has been everything the Saints desired from him.

The Saints wide receiver room is empty in general, but Valdes-Scantling was brought in to specifically replace Rashid Shaheed’s ability to stretch the field. Mission accomplished. Over the last three weeks, the in-season addition has caught four touchdowns and three of them have been longer than 25 yards. Valdes-Scantling is the second player in Saints history to score four touchdowns in his first four games, joining Donte Stallworth.

Against the Los Angeles Rams, Derek Carr connected with Valdes-Scantling early in the fourth quarter for a 28-yard touchdown. This continued the trend of Carr targeting his new wide receiver on vertical routes.

The Saints followed up the touchdown with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 points. Valdes-Scantling has become the field-stretcher the team desperately needed after injuries sidelined Shaheed and Chris Olave. Carr wants to throw the ball deep and Valdes-Scantling gives him a reliable target.

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Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends

Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends. His predecessor lost four times after shutting out an opponent in the first half:

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi has a chance to buck an alarming trend that started under Dennis Allen, after holding the Los Angeles Rams scoreless in the first half.

Saints fan and professional statistician Jeff Asher shared an interesting stat; Allen-led New Orleans teams had lost four games after not allowing the opponents to score in the first half. Sean Payton never once lost one of those games.

And the only other time the Rams had been shut out under Sean McVay was the infamous Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots. Los Angeles will be entering unknown territory here.

The Saints were only able to muster six points themselves, so the game could still go either way. It’s another important test for Rizzi, and a big opportunity for him to buck one of the most troubling trends of his predecessor’s tenure.

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Courtland Sutton is making Broncos history and getting close to big incentives

Courtland Sutton was the third-fastest Bronco to reach 5,000 career receiving yards, and he’s now closing in on some big incentives.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton continues to climb the team’s all-time receiving list.

Following his eight-catch, 97-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Sutton became the fifth player in franchise history to post at least 50 receptions and 700 receiving yards in five separate seasons. Sutton has also surpassed 5,000 career receiving yards in 93 games, making him the third-fastest Bronco to reach that milestone.

Sutton’s 355 career receptions rank ninth on the team’s all-time list and his 5,003 receiving yards rank 11th. He needs 358 yards over the last five games to pass Emmanuel Sanders for 10th place on Denver’s all-time list.

Sutton’s productive season could pay dividends after the Broncos added $1.5 million worth of incentives to his contract this summer.

Sutton’s contract includes a $500,000 incentive for 500 receiving yards + Denver scoring more points than in 2023, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. He’s already passed 500 yards — now the offense needs to average more than 21.0 points per game (they’re currently at 22.0).

There’s another $500,000 incentive for 750 receiving yards and the team’s points improving. Sutton’s just six yards away from that total.

Finally, Sutton could receive another $500,000 if he reaches 1,065 receiving yards. He’s currently on pace for a 1,054-yard season. If he’s close going into the team’s regular season finale, Sutton will likely be given an opportunity to hit that mark.

Suton ranks 13th in receptions (57), ninth in receiving yards (744) and 13th in touchdowns (five) in the NFL this season. He’s making a case for the Pro Bowl in his seventh season with the Broncos.

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Surpassing the ‘interim bump’ must be a focus for Darren Rizzi

Darren Rizzi won his first two games as interim coach, but he is placing an emphasis on not letting the energy taper. They must sustain it past the interim bump:

When a team makes a change at head coach, that can sometimes lead to a jolt around the team. Renewed energy can make you feel like you’re watching a completely different team. That energy a lot of times, but not all the time, is temporary.

The New Orleans Saints moved on from Dennis Allen in the middle of the season and appointed Darren Rizzi the interim head coach. Since then, the Saints have won their last two contests.

The temporary nature of these jolts isn’t lost on Rizzi, and it’s his responsibility to ensure the momentum wasn’t temporary. He labels keeping energy steady a point of emphasis. Rizzi encouraged players to focus on “all the reasons we’ve done well the last two games.” Remain consistent on that and the hope is the results will the same as well.

As far as energy fading, Rizzi doesn’t see that as a concern this week. The energy and enthusiasm in the locker room remains high. Rizzi felt the team had one of their best practices on Tuesday. It just needs to translate and earn results on Sunday.

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Travis Kelce passes NFL legend on all-time TE receiving yards leaderboard

Travis Kelce moved past a legend on the NFL’s tight end receiving yards leaderboard during the #Chiefs’ Week 12 matchup against the #Panthers.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has broken many records during his time in the NFL, and after a 19-yard catch against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, he inched closer to setting another high-water mark among players at his position.

Kelce went into Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers fourth on the all-time list of receiving yards for a tight end, needing just six yards to pass the great Antonio Gates.

After early scores by both teams in the first quarter, quarterback Patrick Mahomes continued to air out the ball, and found Kelce on a short screen where he was able to pick up 19 yards after the catch.

This catch put the former Cincinnati Bearcat at third on the all-time list of receiving yards by a tight end, passing Gates:

As Kelce continues his reign of dominance, he is well on his way to earning a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio upon his retirement.

Stay tuned to see if the All-Pro tight end can rack up even more yards as Kansas City looks to get back into the win column against the Panthers.

Saints’ 2024 season following a similar script as previous years

After 11 games, the New Orleans Saints sit in an unfortunately familiar position whether it’s Darren Rizzi, Dennis Allen, or Sean Payton leading them:

The New Orleans Saints get to rest during Week 12, as they enjoy their bye week. After 11 games, they sit in an unfortunately familiar place. New Orleans is currently 4-7. They have alternated between 4-7 and 5-6 for the last four seasons. It doesn’t matter if they’re led by Sean Payton, Dennis Allen or a mix of Allen and Darren Rizzi.

The path to the outcome is different but the outcome remains the outcome. The Saints are below-.500 football team after 11 games. Payton’s last year in 2021 was the most unfortunate because Jameis Winston led the Saints to a 4-2 record when healthy. They won the game he was injured in, then lost four in a row with Trevor Siemian at quarterback to land at 5-6.

This year’s variation included a seven-game losing streak, a coaching change and a two game winning streak by the interim head coach. It’s been quite the rollercoaster, but the Saints still ended at the same point.

The end of the season has been kinder to New Orleans. They have won three or four of their last six games each season. That would give Rizzi five or six wins as the interim coach.

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Darren Rizzi is already one of the Saints’ winningest interim coaches

After just two games, Darren Rizzi is tied for the second-most wins by a New Orleans Saints interim head coach. How far to reach the top?

Darren Rizzi’s the only New Orleans Saints head coach other than Sean Payton to start 2-0. The second victory tied him with Aaron Kromer for the second most victories by a Saints’ interim head coach. The only person with more victories is Joe Vitt, who took over for Kromer after six games.

The big difference between Rizzi, Kromer and Vitt is the situations they inherited. Kromer and Vitt were interim coaches because Payton was suspended for a year. The team the year prior went 13-3 and is one of the greatest teams in franchise history. Did we mention Drew Brees was still the quarterback?

That was a flourishing team who lost their head coach for the entirety of the season. Rizzi took on a team in the middle of the year that was in the midst of a seven game losing streak. These were drastically different circumstances, to say the least.

Unless there’s a complete explosion, Rizzi will finish the year with more victories than Kromer. To cross Vitt’s bar of five wins, New Orleans will have to beat the Rams, Packers, Commanders or Buccaneers in addition to winning the easier games on the schedule.

Rizzi has started his run strong, but how it ends will determine how the Rizzi Era is remembered.

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Sean Payton moved to Denver and still owns the NFC South

Sean Payton swept the NFC South, proving nothing’s changed but his address. Unfortunately, his dominance now includes the Saints:

The Atlanta Falcons were painfully reminded of something that has been true for nearly 20 years. Sean Payton has partial ownership in the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe they hoped things changed since Payton was no longer leading the New Orleans Saints.

However, when the Falcons visited the Denver Broncos, Payton showed the new emblem on the hat doesn’t lessen his dominance over the Falcons. Payton improved his record to 22-9 against the Falcons with a dominating 38-6 victory.

Atlanta wasn’t the only team to get this reminder. Payton swept the NFC South this year and showed them why they all felt relieved by his temporary retirement. This included Payton’s first career victory over the Saints.

The games haven’t been too close either. The Carolina Panthers kept it the closest, and they lost by 14 points. At the end of that game, Payton flat out said Carolina isn’t a good team. Maybe that was the jolt Carolina needed because they haven’t lost a game since those comments.

During his 16-year run with New Orleans, Payton had a winning record against every team in the division. As the coach of the Denver Broncos, he’s undefeated against his former division.

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