The Denver Broncos got themselves a gritty, comeback win after defeating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football, 21-20. Heading into the game, both teams were riding winning streaks, with the Vikings having the longer streak at five games. With the Broncos' victory, they're now in sole possession of the league's longest winning streak.
After starting the season 1-5, the Broncos have miraculously turned their season around and sit at 5-5. They also find themselves right in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
Let's discuss the Broncos' biggest heroes in their Week 11 victory over the Vikings.
Kicker Wil Lutz
The Broncos swung and missed on multiple kicker tryouts in the preseason including Brett Maher and Elliott Fry. Both performed rather poorly, and the Broncos found themselves back perusing the kicker market. They ultimately decided to trade for Lutz, who had experience working under head coach Sean Payton while he was with the New Orleans Saints.
After a bit of a shaky start with the Broncos, Lutz has established himself as one of the most consistent kickers in the league this season. Through 11 weeks, Lutz is 22-of-24 on all of his field goal attempts. He's also been super consistent from long distance, going 3-of-4 from 50+ yards, and 3-of-3 from 40-49 yards.
Against the Vikings, Lutz was responsible for 15 of the Broncos' 21 points. The Broncos' offense had drives that often stalled in the red zone, but thanks to Lutz, they were able to get away with some points on those drives.
QB Russell Wilson
Believe it or not, Wilson has been one of the best-performing quarterbacks in the league this season. While the stats have not been flashy, Wilson has still been one of the reasons why the Broncos are on their current win streak.
Wilson currently has the best TD-INT ratio in the NFL at 4.8 (19 touchdowns to four interceptions.) Since 2012, Wilson has been the king of comebacks. He is responsible for 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, and 39-game winning drives in his career.
Wilson's stat line against the Vikings wasn't flashy, but it was enough to lead the Broncos on a 4th quarter game-winning drive. He was 27-for-35, had 259 passing yards, and threw one touchdown and no interceptions. Wilson's heroics came in the fourth quarter when he orchestrated a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 15-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
WR Courtland Sutton
Two weeks in a row, Sutton has been responsible for arguably two of the best touchdown catches this season. Against the Bills, Sutton caught a nearly impossible ball from Wilson in the endzone, where he put his toe-drag skills on full display. According to Next Gen Stats, this touchdown had a completion probability of 3.2 percent, making it the most improbable completion of the Next Gen Stats era.
This season, Sutton has established himself as a security blanket-like target for Wilson. Sutton's size and physicality makes him incredibly difficult to cover, and he's become a serious threat when it comes to 50-50 balls.
Against the Vikings, Sutton was the Broncos' leading receiver with four receptions for 66 yards, and one touchdown. Sutton played hero alongside Wilson after he hauled in the game-winning touchdown over two defenders.
With how Sutton has been performing, he honestly should be getting some looks for a Pro Bowl nomination. Should the Broncos continue their winning, perhaps Sutton heading to the Pro Bowl could become a reality.
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