Nov 26, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (42) sacks Cleveland Browns quarterback PJ Walker (10) in the second half at Empower Field at Mile High. credits: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Nik Bonitto, put some respect on that man’s name.
For the second straight week, a player that made the biggest defensive splash in the league wasn’t awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The award is like a popularity contest. It’s got to land on someone every week, and the NFL will try to spread the love when handing it out to grow brand recognition of multiple players.
But Bonitto had a 71-yard pick six in a 41-32 shootout win against the Cleveland Browns—and no DPOW award.
For an encore, Bonitto’s 50-yard scoop-and-score touchdown in a 31-13 second-half beatdown of the Indianapolis Colts was a replayed highlight. It wasn’t, apparently, worthy of an award.
The wins will have to do for Denver.
The Broncos (9-5) moved up to the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff race by defeating the Colts and have a 91% chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Barring a collapse, Denver is a shoo-in to make the playoffs for the first time since its 2016 Super Bowl 50 win.
Bonitto has stuffed more stat sheets than Santa has stuffed stockings. He got another lump of coal for his effort last week.
Here’s his line from the game: five tackles, one for a loss, one quarterback hit, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one-half sack, and the partridge in a pear tree came when he sniffed out a play the offense-desperate Colts must have seen work in a high school homecoming game.
Colts’ quarterback Anthony Richardson threw a backward pass to rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.
Mitchell spun the football to get a good grip on the laces, backpedaled with a little slide, and flung the ball back in the general direction of Richardson. The play took so long that two-day shipping guarantees for Christmas Day delivery expired.
Bonitto, tied for third in the league in sacks with 11.5, just one behind Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, spread some Yuletide cheer to everyone in orange and blue when he caught the backward pass—not-so-obviously labeled a fumble return on the stat sheet—and coasted into the end zone.
As he crossed the goal line with a little backward dive and Michael Jackson crotch grab, referee Carl Cheffers reached for his belt. The white hat didn’t make any gestures that would prompt the CBS cameras to divert their lenses; he just tossed a yellow flag in the general direction of a celebrating Bonitto.
This week offers another resume-building opportunity for Bonitto. The NFL flexed the game at the Los Angeles Chargers to Thursday night. It’s a quick turnaround, but the Broncos bye came late, in Week 14.
The standalone spotlight game Thursday has huge playoff ramifications.
It also means Bonitto will have a national audience and two days of attention all to himself if he can deliver a third consecutive game in which he leaves an indelible mark.
If he does, the grab he could be making at the end of the season won’t draw a penalty. It should be for the Defensive Player of the Year trophy at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
