CINCINNATI — Sean Payton was in the midst of discussing the Broncos’ 30-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Saturday night when he made and immediately reiterated a point, almost in passing.
“No. 5 is a good player,” Payton said, referring to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. “A real good player.”
Higgins didn’t catch his first pass until a third-down conversion in the second quarter, but from then on he worked over cornerback Riley Moss and the rest of Denver’s secondary all the way through his 31-yard toe-tap and walk-off overtime touchdown on back-to-back plays.
Higgins authored the first three-touchdown game of his career and, in the process, helped keep Cincinnati’s season alive.
Whenever the Bengals’ season ends — the Broncos can ensure it’s a week from now if they beat Kansas City and clinch the final AFC playoff spot — Higgins is in for a massive payday. He’ll either sign a lucrative extension to continue his career with Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase as one of the most formidable trios in football or he’ll get a chance to be a No. 1 target elsewhere.
Payton, of course, is well aware of Higgins’ impending free agency.
He also knows the Broncos need to upgrade their offensive skill talent around rookie quarterback Bo Nix going into the future.
In fact, if Payton and the Broncos take one thing from Saturday’s loss, it’s likely to be just that.
Whether Denver makes a big run at a top-of-the-market free agent like Higgins or works more in the middle tiers of free agency and the draft, the Bengals’ offensive weaponry most certainly made an impression.
Burrow and Chase are a separate conversation entirely. Not many teams have a quarterback like Burrow or a receiver like Chase, let alone that pairing. Good luck replicating that.
What stands out about the Bengals, though, is the way all of the other parts work together.
Chase commands outsized attention, but everybody else can hurt defenses, too.
Higgins, sure, but also slot man Andrei Iosivas. And tight end Mike Gesicki. And running back Chase Brown.
On Saturday night, Higgins went for 11 catches on 12 targets for 131 yards and the trio of touchdowns.
Gesicki had 10 catches on 12 targets for 86 yards.
Iosivas added three catches on four targets for 59. Each of his catches went for at least 16 yards and he also had a 50-yard touchdown wiped off the board by an illegal shift.
Brown had 24 touches (20 carries and four catches) for 91 total yards, including a critical 11-yard reception on a fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter.
Denver’s going to have salary cap room to spend this offseason despite having to account for the final $32 million of Russell Wilson’s money on its 2025 books. From 2026 onward, the books are clean. If the Broncos want to try to spend big Higgins or another receiver — other potential free agents include Chris Godwin coming off an ankle injury, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins — they can.
They will also be looking to the draft to add young talent.
Payton multiple times has referenced Detroit’s 2023 draft haul, which netted them a pair of “Joker” players in running back Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12 overall) and tight end Sam LaPorta (No. 34 overall) in the same class.
Those are positions Payton exploited matchups with year after year after year in New Orleans with a variety of body types and skill sets. The Broncos don’t have a true difference-maker at either spot.
Of course, Denver’s going to have other needs that require attention and the skill group isn’t fully barren. Courtland Sutton is on the verge of his first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2019 and has created a tough call for the Broncos on whether to extend him, let him play on a $20.2 million cap number in 2025 or move on. They’ve got a handful of young skill players that look like pieces to the puzzle, too, in second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr., rookie receiver Devaughn Vele and running back Audric Estime.
Still, the Broncos have their starting offensive line all under contract for 2025. The core of their defense is set, too, with D.J. Jones the biggest impending free agent. Payton and general manager George Paton set out to build Denver from the inside out and they’ve done that.
Whether Denver tries to lure Higgins himself or finds other routes, the next step in the roster build is to outfit Nix with not only more surrounding talent but more balance.
One small thing I liked: A glimpse of Burrow’s brilliance also doubled as a testament to Pat Surtain II’s dominance.
Chase finished with nine catches on 15 targets for 102 yards. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, here’s how that production broke out.
Against Surtain, Chase ran 43 routes and had three catches (six targets) for 27 yards.
Against everybody else, Chase ran 13 routes and had six catches (nine targets) for 75.
That means Burrow only targeted Chase’s 14% of the time when Surtain was in coverage.
Burrow, though, looked Chase’s way on 69% of the routes he ran against anybody else. That’s identifying matchups and coverage at an elite level. It also speaks to the respect even the very best in football have for Surtain. A terrific chess match all around, despite the bitter ending for Surtain and the Broncos.
One small thing I didn’t like: Two things, actually. Two throws Nix will want back in overtime that could have flipped the outcome. He missed Troy Franklin up the left side on third-and-6 on Denver’s first drive and then got caught between Adam Trautman and Franklin on third-and-8 on the second drive.
Either would have been a substantial gain and both came in situations when the Broncos only needed a field goal.
The first one was a continuation of a confounding trend. The rookie pair just hasn’t been able to get on the same page down the field despite playing two years together in college.
The second one stung just even more. The Bengals had used both of their overtime timeouts. Nix climbed in the pocket with 2:33 left but his throw was wide of Trautman and short of Franklin. Had Trautman caught it, he might have been tackled short of a first down anyway. Franklin easily had first-down depth.
A completion takes the clock to the two-minute warning. Then three kneeldowns and ball game.
Tie at 24 and on to the playoffs. Alas.
One trend to watch: Zach Allen authored one of the most dominating outings of the NFL season from a defensive lineman.
He finished with 3.5 sacks and eight pressures (per Next Gen Stats), but even that undersells it some. Allen had a hand in getting Burrow to the ground a whopping seven times on the day.
Second quarter: Full sack.
Third quarter: Full sack and half sack each wiped off the board by defensive penalties, then a half sack.
Fourth quarter: Half sack.
Overtime: Half sack and a full sack on back-to-back plays to force a punt on the Bengals’ opening drive.
Allen’s now up to 8.5 sacks this season, blowing past his previous career high of 5.5. He and Jonathon Cooper (9.5) each have a chance against Kansas City to join Nik Bonitto (11.5) with double-digit sacks.
Denver’s balance has been impressive on the rush front. Dondrea Tillman logged his fifth sack Saturday, giving the Broncos six players with at least five. That’s the most players with five-plus sacks in a season in team history and tied for second-most in NFL history, trailing only the 1986 Chicago Bears.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.