Wide receiver Brandon Johnson doesn’t have too many highlights in his two seasons with the Broncos. But on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, he made the catch of all catches.
Denver was pinned midfield and trailing 35-27 with three seconds left in regulation when quarterback Russell Wilson rolled to his left and launched a prayer deep down the field. The throw was a few yards shy of the goal line, but the ball bounced off wide receiver Courtland Sutton and Adam Trautman before Johnson corralled it for a 50-yard touchdown.
Moments after Empower Field at Mile High rocked in celebration, Johnson’s shining moment faded into oblivion.
In need of a two-point conversion to tie the game, Wilson threw to Sutton in the end zone. Commanders cornerback Benjamin St. Juste appeared to have his hand on Sutton’s facemask just as the ball was entering his direction. But no flags were thrown. The pass was ruled incomplete, and the Broncos are now 0-2 after a crushing 35-33 defeat.
“There’s enough cameras and TV coverage that everyone can watch it and figure out for themselves what happened,” Sutton said. “But I can only talk about what I can control. Russ gave me a chance to make a play. We got to find a way.”
Sutton didn’t have to outright say the referees missed a game-changing penalty. His facial expression was enough. Sutton’s teammates, however, openly admitted that they expected to see flags after the play.
Rookie wideout Marvin Mims Jr., who recorded a team-best 113 receiving yards on two catches, watched the conversion attempt from the sidelines and thought there was a pass interference.
“(It was) a bang-bang play,” Mims said. “A lot of guys wanted it to be pass interference to give us another run at it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, so we have to learn from this game and keep moving forward.”
Asked about the play, head coach Sean Payton seemed to point a finger at Wilson, saying he thought wide receiver Jerry Jeudy got open before his quarterback opted to target Sutton. Payton added that he didn’t have a good view to determine whether a flag should’ve been drawn. “We’ll see it on tape,” Payton said.
Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II said he thought St.-Juste grabbed Sutton and the referees would make the call, but “there’s nothing you can do about it now.”
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey called Johnson’s touchdown catch “one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen.”
For a moment, Johnson was a hero. Now, his biggest reward for the Hail Mary grab might be a spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.
Johnson, who caught two passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns, said he wasn’t the designated jumper for the pass, but once the ball got tipped, he saw it as an opportunity to make a play.
“It’s a shame we didn’t get that call at the end,” Johnson said. “I’m (not) even thinking about the touchdown.”
Pass interference or not, the Broncos could have avoided being in that position in the first place. Denver held a 21-3 lead with 9:01 to go in the second quarter before getting outscored 32-12 the rest of the way.
“There’s no way the game should’ve come down to that,” McGlinchey said. “We let this game slip away.”
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