There were a handful of incredibly close games during Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season. But the overtime thriller between the Broncos and Commanders was one of the best games of the week. Denver won 27-26 in overtime thanks to a heroic defensive stop by Nik Bonitto on a two-point conversion attempt.
Commanders QB Marcus Mariota explained what happened during the crucial play after the crushing defeat.
“The DC, Vance, was doing a good job mixing up zero and showing zero [blitzes] and dropping out,” Mariota said after the game, per ESPN's Jeff Legwold. “And then on the 2 point, he brought zero — I knew I had to try to get some depth and give our guy a chance. He made a play on it, and that's the way it goes.”
Denver stacked the box on Washington's two-point conversion attempt. Bonitto was lined up out wide, well outside of Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The ensuing confusion led to Bonitto being left unblocked. He quickly closed in on Mariota and ended up knocking his pass away off target.
“I knew he was buying time,” Bonitto said. “At that point, I was just trying to make it hard for him to throw the ball, and I ended up knocking it down and we ended up winning the game.”
Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin appeared to have broken free on the play. If Bonitto has not deflected the pass, the Commanders may have won the game.
Denver called a timeout just before the attempt, which gave defensive coordinator Vance Joseph an opportunity to change his play. That ended up working out well and giving Bonitto that opportunity.
Bonitto also said the timeout “kind of helped calm us down a little bit, be able to get into what we were able to get into and get a stop.”
Both teams played well on Sunday, but they are moving in opposite directions ahead of the playoffs.
Denver is now 10-2 and in great position atop the AFC West standings. Meanwhile, Washington fell to 3-9 and is hopelessly far away from the NFC playoff picture.
Sunday's overtime game proved the age-old adage that the NFL is a game of inches.
