Broncos 30, Rams 26: The Good, Bad, & the Ugly

We all know Hufanga has struggled to catch would-be interceptions that hit him in the hands. It even happened on Sunday night early in the game, when he dropped a Matthew Stafford pass that hit him in the chest plate.

But the stars finally aligned for the Broncos' All-Pro safety. Deep in the fourth quarter, Hufanga picked off Stafford, returning the ball 67 yards to the house for the first pick-six of his Broncos career.

Hufanga wasn't done, though. With the game on the line and the Rams threatening from the 29-yard line, the Broncos had one last play to defend. With two seconds left on the clock, Stafford snapped the ball, dropped back, and fired for the end zone, but Hufanga jumped in front to pick off the pass and officially seal Denver's second win of the season.

Hufanga finished with five tackles and a sack, to go along with his pair of game-changing picks. Hats off to the veteran safety. Game ball.

The Bad: Patrick Surtain II

There's no other way to say it: Surtain wasn't good against the Rams. And if he wasn't good, that means he was bad.

The Broncos perennial Pro Bowler gave up one catch after another to Davante Adams. For most of the game, it was like Stafford couldn't miss when he targeted Adams with Surtain in coverage.

Late in the game, the Stafford-to-Adams connection cooled, but only because the veteran wideout dropped a pass and another throw deep in the fourth quarter sailed over his head. Adams finished with seven catches on 13 targets for 137 yards.

About the only win Surtain had was keeping Adams out of the end zone. I'm not sure we've ever seen PS2 get beaten that consistently throughout an entire game.

Every star player is allowed his setbacks, though. No doubt, Surtain will bounce back.

The Ugly: Painfully Slow Start

I don't know how else to put it, but the Broncos' offense sucked in the first half against the Rams. And the defense allowed L.A. to march up and down the field, reliquishing 16 first-half points, though the Broncos forced three field goals — a moral victory.

From the play-calling to the execution, Bo Nix and the Broncos' offense just couldn't wake up in the first half, getting booed off the field at multiple points. It was bad. Nix went 6-of-12 in the first half for 53 yards and was sacked once, while the Broncos' defense allowed north of 200 yards to the Rams.

The Broncos really have to get to the bottom of these slow starts because there's no rest for the weary. The schedule only gets tougher for the next few weeks.

Thank goodness for this team's second-half heart, though. Credit to offensive coordinator Davis Webb and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, as their half-time adjustments made the Broncos look like a different team.

Nix turned in another one of his signature performances, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another score in the second half. It was enough to prevail over one of the NFL's best, most experienced teams.

I tip my hat, deservedly so, to the Broncos' clutch-time excellence. If this team could figure out the slow starts, and play like they do in the second half for a full 60 minutes, the Broncos would be unstoppable.