With just under three minutes left in overtime, the Washington Commanders made a bold call that turned heads across the league. Down by one after a clutch fourth-down touchdown strike from Marcus Mariota to Terry McLaurin, Washington had a choice: kick the extra point and likely settle for a tie, or go for two and try to steal a win against a 10-win Denver Broncos team.
They chose door number two.
Mariota, stepping in under center, had just led a composed, high-pressure drive that gave the Commanders a shot. The offense had rhythm, the crowd was behind them, and momentum was finally swinging their way.
But when it came time for the two-point conversion, Denver’s defense stepped up. Nik Bonitto, one of the Broncos’ rising defensive stars, read the play perfectly and batted down Mariota’s pass attempt at the line.
Game over. Broncos win. Commanders fall to 3-9.
It was a gutsy decision, no doubt. And for a team that’s been stuck in the mud all season, sitting at 3-8 heading into the game, it made a certain kind of sense.
You’re at home, you’ve just executed a high-stakes drive to keep the game alive, and you’ve got a defense that’s been on the field a long time. A tie might’ve felt like a moral victory, but Washington wasn’t playing for moral victories.
They were playing to win.
This wasn’t about playoff math or long-term implications. It was about seizing a moment. And for a team that’s been searching for identity and direction, that kind of aggressiveness can say a lot about the mindset in the locker room-even if it didn’t pay off this time.
Meanwhile, Denver continues to roll. With the win, they move to 10-2 and now sit atop the AFC standings.
It wasn’t their cleanest game, but great teams find ways to win even when they’re pushed to the brink. And when the pressure was on, their defense delivered.
For Washington, it’s another close loss in a season full of them. But for a few minutes in overtime, they played like a team with nothing to lose-and almost pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the week.