Broncos 29, Raiders 19
Q. Bo, what did you think the adjustment was you guys made after they showed so much zero early, got some heat. How did you guys react to that and make some hay off of that?
BO NIX: Well, we were expecting a little more zone. Got a little bit more pressure. They zeroed us the first three times. We had to shift to that mindset.
We went into the game expecting it. We had some calls for it. Now we had to get to those and adjust to them. I thought we did a good job of handling the pressure, getting to more one on ones.
Courtland got going the second half. We protected it up and made some big plays in the pass game. Just different plays here and there that got chunks, got us down the field.
Honestly, the biggest thing was the interception got us the short field and we were able to capitalize on it. That was really kind of what sparked us, was the pick.
Q. Sean always says it bothers him when the defense is dictating to the offense. Can you sense when that sort of turns and you're dictating?
BO NIX: Absolutely. It's tough when they get you behind the chains. They get a few stops. Feels like you're having some trouble finding some things that are working.
Eventually I felt like we turned those field goals into touchdown drives. We had good drives. We were sustaining some drives. I think we did one of our better games on third down. We just would get down there and shoot ourselves in the foot, get behind the chains again. It's hard in the NFL when you're in third and long.
They're a good defense. They play hard, had good scheme. We just found a way to have a few drives that we scored touchdowns on. That was the difference in the game.
Q. (Indiscernible) from a resilience standpoint, as a team, when you win a game like this, when you're trailing at halftime and it's not going perfectly and you still find a way to win?
BO NIX: It's huge. I never felt on the sideline like we were down or that we were out of it. Again, we were moving the ball. We just had to get field goals. Wasn't anything we needed to change besides get in the fringe, red zone area, converting a little bit more.
Our defense played really well again from start to finish. They were put on the field a lot at the end of the game, had to make some key stops. They did. So it was a complete team win. Very resilient from our guys.
But just never lost that edge. We never lost the faith on the sideline. Always kind of figured we were going to find a way to win. That's what marks a good team.
Q. When a receiver is as good at a 50/50 ball as Courtland is, what does that do for a quarterback?
BO NIX: It's huge. His touchdown, first the one, man-to-man, throw it up, makes a spectacular catch, goes up and gets it. Several times on other one on ones, he's going one on one, having a win, contested catches. He's just reliable. He's just always there where you need him. He's smart. He's savvy. He makes plays when the ball's in the air. You can trust him. When it's up in the air, it's his or nobody's. It's not going to be a pick.
He just continues. Didn't target him in the first half. We come out and say, Look, Courtland, this is your half. We take over the game. He goes for two touchdowns. That just kind of speaks for what he means to our team.
Q. When Brandon Jones did have that interception and long return, is your mindset, attitude -- you sense that you've got a chance to change the game right there if you --
BO NIX: Absolutely. Turnovers kill games. You can't turn the ball over and expect to win. We've done a good job of forcing turnovers. We've gotten turnovers. Then his return set us up inside the red zone.
When you don't have to drive the length of the field already, you're placed in the red zone, it makes it much easier. Momentum is a real thing in this game. It's very important.
After that, we score, it was kind of like, Okay, this is our time to take it over. We did after that. We still could have put it away even more.
I was just proud of the way that special teams with field goals, offense with conversions, scoring when we had to, defense, they always play really well and get turnovers and sacks. You can almost say they carried us later in the game. They got us to the finish line.
But again, it's just a team win. We all feed off that momentum.
Q. The question of how Marvin's role has helped boost the offense --
BO NIX: Well, it's huge. He has big play element to his game. When he's on the field, they have to play like that. We're not just putting him in there at back and throwing it to him. He's getting carries now.
He's just playing well in what we're doing. Whatever we ask him to do, he's taking it and he's running with it and he's doing a great job. Whether we're using him as just a motion guy to draw defense, getting him the ball, asking him to run a route, go deep, get a handoff, he's doing it really well.
Since we've been doing that, we added explosive plays to our offense. Defense is trying to find where everybody is at because we're using so many personnels.
Q. You guys swept the Raiders, 2-0. You also won a road division game. How important is it to have those two things stack up?
BO NIX: It's huge. It's what your goal is going into the season. They're a good football team. We played 'em two tough games. We got two good wins out of it. I know after last year, it was the opposite.
It was good for us to find a way to win this game, find a way to go in a hostile road environment against a divisional team. They're fighting every week. They're a good football team.
It was a good win for us. Happy for the guys.
Q. Are you all where you are, week 12, without what Courtland has done, without that help?
BO NIX: No, I'm not where I am without all those guys. O-line has really played well down the stretch. They're keeping me upright. Running the ball when we need to. They're doing really well up front. Communication. Those guys are playing well at the right times.
Skill guys, Courtland and Troy and LJ and Marvin, those guys are playing, know their offense. When their ball comes, they're making plays. Tight ends are blocking really well. They're scrappy right now, playing really gritty, getting some key catches. They'll go for an explosive catch or two here and there that will just move us forward.
At back, we're just continuing to get those tough yards. I feel like as a team, as an offense, we've all kind of relied on each other. Been 'what's next' mentality. What do you need me to do for this offense to succeed? We've kind of found a little rhythm.
Q. You mentioned hostile environment, but I imagine you and your teammates noticed the large Broncos contingent?
BO NIX: Yeah, a lot of orange in that stadium. When you can go on the road and you see a lot of your fans, it's almost half, they're cheering, it almost turns into a neutral environment. That's good.
When you take that chaos and the noise and the atmosphere, when you can kind of relieve that from your team, it's really important.
When we do make good plays, when we do have explosives or have turnovers, it almost turns into a mini home game. But it's good to see that we have great fan bases. Good to see that they travel well. Good to see that even though we've had some hiccups throughout the season, they're still right behind us. Now we're going on a two-game winning streak.
It's crazy how it can flip. The crowd and the atmosphere is a big advantage, as they've showed, as they've proven. We're always going to need that. I'm glad I'm at an organization that has that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports