Dixon breaks 30-year streak for Denver punters
nashville, tenn.» Among the first questions issued to Riley Dixon when he arrived in Colorado in May were about his history of trick plays. The 6-foot-4 punter from Syracuse, whom the Broncos drafted with their last pick, built a reputation for his fake punts in college. He looked more like a running back than a punter on occasion.
But the questioning was more out of amusement.
“I think we ran five this year, maybe, so every other (game),” he said then. “Whenever Coach (Scott Shafer) saw an opportunity, he took advantage of it. He was always on top of it.”
On Sunday the Broncos coaches added one more trick, the first of Dixon’s pro career.
On a fourth-and-2 play late in the third quarter Dixon faked a punt and threw to the left sideline for a 16-yard completion to receiver Cody Latimer.
It was the first pass completion by a Broncos punter since Nov. 16, 1986, when Chris Norman threw a 43-yard touchdown against Kansas City.
“Yeah, we’ve been working on it,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We got exactly what we wanted (coverage wise), so it was a good execution by Riley and Cody. Good execution by both of them.”
While the surprise play helped jumpstart the stagnant Broncos offense, the drive ended on downs. Denver trailed 13-0 into the fourth quarter before it would get on the board.