LB Alex Singleton on Broncos' 7-Minute Game-Winning Drive: 'Oh S***'

In Sunday's 24-7 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Denver Broncos' offense displayed some savvy and hard-nosed football in the clutch. After L.A. had just scored its first points of the day on an Austin Ekeler touchdown plunge, the Broncos were protecting a 17-7 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

There was still enough time left on the clock where anything could happen, especially as the Chargers had finally established some momentum by way of a touchdown-scoring drive. It was the type of clutch-time situation that often ends up being a turning point for teams who storm back.

Instead, Russell Wilson, with the help of some inspired play-calling by head coach Sean Payton, helped keep the Broncos' foot on the gas, orchestrating a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was punctuated by a phenomenal play-action touchdown pass to tight end Adam Trautman. That fully put the game away.

On the sideline, the Broncos' defense spent the initial stretch of the offense's last true drive on the iPad, but before long, the players on that side of the ball could hear from the crowd that things were going well for Wilson and company, and that victory was assured.

“I can usually tell how long a drive goes because we'll go through our plays, and then you sit there for a little bit, and then you kind of get antsy," Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton said via conference call on Monday. "And it's always nice to stand up and kind of see where we're at because unless you hear 'punt ready for third downs,' I'm not looking up at all for what the offense is doing. You're just hoping that they're doing good things, and so you can hear the crowd, based on who's cheering [and] what's going on."

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Singleton went on to detail how he and his fellow defenders in the Orange and Blue eventually stood up to join the crowd as spectators of Denver's march to a seventh win, perhaps even admitting a bit of surprise at seeing the offense stubbornly refuse to leave the field until hitting paydirt.

"Once it gets to that antsy part and you kind of like, ‘Alright,’ you stop looking at the iPad, you stand up, and you're like, ‘Oh, sh**. Okay, we're moving the ball here.’ And then you just look over the clock, and you realize it's just taking [time]… I mean, it's a great feeling," Singleton said. "You know you're going to win when the offense is doing that at that part of the game... It just rallies the team, especially on the sideline, even more. Like I said, the defensive guys have spent a lot of time in the iPads to be able to get up and fully cheer them on and get it going. And it's, it's really exciting."

Of late, Singleton and his fellow defensive teammates have been witness to some clunky offense from their Broncos brethren. Wilson and company struggled to find a thread of consistency the week prior in that loss to the Houston Texans, which left the defense on the field for vast stretches, chasing after dynamic rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Week 14's tilt at SoFi Stadium had the early makings of another similar offensive performance, but that changed in the second half when Wilson started finding a passing rhythm. The levy finally broke when Wilson connected on a beautiful moonball with Courtland Sutton for a 46-yard touchdown — the duo's 10th score together of the season.

One thing the Broncos did well offensively over their five-game winning streak was execute in critical moments, especially late in games. Over that span, we saw Wilson orchestrate game-clinching drives in the four-minute offense, as well as make gotta-have-it plays in the clutch to lead the Broncos to a comeback victory.

But it's also safe to say that Singleton's unit has done much of the heavy lifting as the Broncos have won six of their past seven games. The tip of the spear has been the shockingly predatory knack Vance Joseph's defense has displayed for taking the ball away, which was another hallmark of Sunday's victory in L.A.

For his part, Singleton finished with another Herculean day at the office, totaling 14 tackles (10 solo) and a sack. On the season, he cracked the 100-tackle mark weeks ago, and stands with 136 (81 solo), to go along with five tackles for a loss, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries.

The Broncos limited the Chargers to just 283 net yards of offense and seven points, holding the opponent to a combined 1-of-18 on third and fourth down combined, and sacking the quarterback six times. The Chargers went for it on fourth down a whopping six times, converting only one attempt and failing to move the chains even once on 11 third-down opportunities.

Singleton is now the proud owner of a resume featuring four straight seasons of 100-plus tackles. It hasn't been pretty 100% of the time, but it rarely is for a football player.

All in all, Singleton is a massive net positive to a Broncos defense that found its footing back in Week 8, and could end up paving the way to an unlikely, odds-defying playoff berth. For that to happen, though, the defense will have to continue to play its smothering, opportunistic style.

And Wilson and company will have to do their fair share of the heavy lifting, and more consistently, especially against a highly motivated 9-4 Detroit Lions squad this coming Saturday at Ford Field.

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