Simmons’ two picks help Denver end slide
While the Broncos remain irrelevant, Justin Simmons keeps proving he’s among the NFL’S elite safeties.
Simmons demonstrated that point again with his performance Sunday at Empower Field, helping the Broncos snap a fivegame losing streak. He had two interceptions in the 24-15 win over the Cardinals, picking off Colt Mccoy in the first half and Trace Mcsorely in the second half.
“Obviously it’s been a weird year, but my confidence has never wavered,” Simmons said. “I know it has been a tough season for us as a team, but the most important thing is to find a way to win ( like we did)… Today was a nice team win.”
Simmons, who entered Sunday as the only NFL player with at least three interceptions each of the past five seasons, picked off Mccoy in the first quarter when the quarterback airmailed a pass downfield under pressure from Denver inside linebacker Alex Singleton. That set up a field goal opportunity, which Brandon Mcmanus missed from 38 yards.
“There were two (receivers) running across the field and away from coverage, and I saw the ball sail a little bit,” Simmons said. “Plays like that are a culmination of really great defense, and then executing at the last second on the back end.”
In the fourth quarter, with Mcsorely in for
a concussed Mccoy, Simmons intercepted an errant pass that was nowhere near anyone but No. 31 as the intended receiver stopped on the route. Simmons returned the pick 23 yards to the Arizona 10yard line. He was one broken tackle away from his second career pick- six, the first of which came in 2017.
“I wish I would have scored,” Simmons said. “That would have been fun.”
Simmons, who has either equaled or surpassed
his previous year interception total every season of his career, now has the third-most picks (26) by a Denver player through his first seven years. And with his two-pick game on Sunday, he became the team’s first safety since 1974 (Billy Thompson) and first defensive back since 2006 (Champ Bailey) to have at least two games with multiple interceptions in a single season. Simmons also had a pair of interceptions in the Broncos’ 10-9 loss to Baltimore in Week 13.
It’s been a late- season surge for Simmons, who missed Weeks 2- 5 on injured reserve with a quad injury, and then was also inactive for Denver’s Week 10 loss in Tennessee with a knee injury. Prior to 2022, injuries had been a non-issue for Simmons, who made 66 consecutive starts from 2018 through Week 1 of this season.
“To go out there and execute the way he has, and overcome the adversity he’s dealt with before that he really hadn’t experi
enced before with the injuries and being out and on IR, is great,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “But he’s come back (with force), and I love how that whole back end is communicating.”
To follow up Simmons’ two picks, Pat Surtain II recorded his second interception of the season (and sixth of his career) with 1: 03 left. That play underscored the secondary’s dominant day and allowed the Broncos to kneel out the clock for the win.