The Week 12 bye couldn’t have come at a more fortunate time for the 9-2 Denver Broncos, who swept the rival Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday without several starters, including cornerback Patrick Surtain II and linebacker Alex Singleton.
Both of them have a legitimate chance to bounce back against the Washington Commanders in Week 13, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler Information was given on Tuesday,
“The Broncos are optimistic that LB Alex Singleton and CB Patrick Surtain can make it back into the lineup Week 12 (after the bye).
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Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Surtain has missed the last three games due to a pectoral injury suffered in Denver’s Week 8 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The expectation was always that he would return just before or after the team’s bye.
Singleton recently underwent surgery for testicular cancer, which was discovered before the Broncos’ Week 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Like Surtain, Denver expected him to rejoin the team at some point this season.
Fowler said of Singleton, “Multiple sources say he’s not ready to return on Nov. 30 against the Commander, but so far it’s trending that way.”
Peyton pleased with the result
The Broncos weren’t the only ones without Surtain and Singleton vs. Kansas City. They started running back JK Dobbins (who is out for the year with a foot injury) and left guard Ben Powers (who is on injured reserve), as well as key backups Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull and Karen Reed.
That’s how life is in the NFL: Adapt or die. And the Broncos adapted, much to the delight of head coach Sean Payton.
“Look, it’s not me, it’s coaching your culture,” Patton explained after beating the Chiefs. “There’s this (Hall of Fame college coach) Nick Saban quote about toughness not really being physical, but mental and how much you can take, and he compared it to storm windows. You can get 139, 150 or 189. Obviously if you go up, they cost more. So I did the same thing with a beach house, and it’s right in the 189s, and Sometimes you have to do something that can be tempting, but it’s finding people who can silence the noise, a lot… but I hear some stories, and I just want to cry. But it’s your job to focus on winning and there’s a right way to win each game.’
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