The Broncos’ start to their Christmas Eve outing against New England was about as Broncos as it gets in 2023.
They won the toss and deferred. The defense forced a turnover on the first play of the night when D.J. Jones came unblocked up the middle and smashed New England quarterback Bailey Zappe, forcing a fumble that set the offense up at first-and-goal at the 6-yard line.
And Sean Payton’s offense continued its season-long struggle in goal-to-go situations, getting stoned on three rush attempts and a pass, including a fourth-and-goal failure from the 2-yard line.
All of that added up to hit on several themes of the season, all in the first 1 minute, 42 seconds of action at Empower Field.