The Denver Broncos (1-2) went on the road and upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) 26-7 in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.
“It’s a good win — a good road win — against a good team,” coach Sean Payton said after the game. “I credit the players. I thought we played well in the front on both sides of the ball. [When you look] at certain statistics, [like] the pressures, the turnovers, the rushing, and then third downs — all of those kind tipped in our favor. Credit the players, though, the leadership. We had a good week of practice. We came in with the right frame of mind. It wasn’t our best game but certainly it was good enough today.”
The offense started off hot with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with quarterback Bo Nix’s three-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. Nix was a perfect 4-of-4 for 70 yards on the team’s opening drive.
Later in the first quarter, safety Brandon Jones intercepted a Baker Mayfield pass and set Denver’s offense up with good field position at the nine-yard line. A few plays later, running back Jaleel McLaughlin made a man miss on fourth down to score from one yard out and make it 14-0.
Wil Lutz kicked a 43-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 17-0. On their ensuing drive, the Bucs turned the ball over on downs at Denver’s 45-yard line.
The Broncos squandered that opportunity as running back Javonte Wiliams gave the ball right back to Tampa Bay with a fumble. Mayfield capitalized on that fumble by later throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin that cut the deficit to 17-7.
Denver then got the ball back at its own 30-yard line with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter and Nix led a nine-play, 50-yard drive that set up a 38-yard Lutz field goal to make it 20-7 going into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Lutz kicked a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 23-7. After the defense forced a turnover on downs and running back Tyler Badie ripped off a 43-yard run, Lutz added a 43-yard field goal to make it 26-7.
After the defense forced and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, the Broncos secured a 26-7 victory. The defense finished the game with seven sacks and two takeaways.
Following Sunday’s game in Florida, Denver will practice in West Virginia this week ahead of a road game against the New York Jets (2-1) in Week 4.
