Broncos’ rising star shuts down reporter and answers his own question with unforgettable postgame message
Broncos’ Nik Bonitto, respectfully, shut down the reporter and answered his own question first.
The Denver Broncos locked up superstar linebacker Nik Bonitto for the long term this offseason, and he’s looked worth every penny through the early stages of the 2025 season. Once again, Bonitto made an impact against the Cincinnati Bengals in the team’s Week 4 victory on “Monday Night Football,” earning 1.5 sacks in the contest along with three tackles and a tackle for loss.
Denver’s stout defense made life miserable for quarterback Jake Browning and the Bengals’ offense, limiting them to only 159 yards of total offense.
After the contest, Bonitto went viral for his postgame comments. While he was respectful, he shut down a reporter’s question, pivoting to praise teammate and cornerback Riley Moss. Bonitto was asked about the defensive performance and how the team stopped the Bengals, not allowing the team to get over the 50-yard line. That’s when Bonitto interjected.
“I’m going to answer your question in one second. First, I want to give a shoutout to Riley Moss,” Bonitto said. “They went at him early in the game. He told me he loved that (expletive), he loves it when they keep coming at him, he did his thing, and they went away from him. Shoutout to Riley Moss [ . . . ] they tried to test him early, but he wasn’t going. Alright, you can ask your question.”
Riley Moss and Patrick Surtain II shut down the Bengals
Bonitto’s comments weren’t just lip service; Moss and fellow cornerback Patrick Surtain II backed it up with lockdown coverage all night.
As Bonitto alluded to, the Bengals targeted Moss early in the contest but quickly moved away from it after finding little success. In the first drive of the game, receiver Tee Higgins had two catches for 25 yards, but he only mustered one catch for seven yards in the rest of the game. Moss locked down his side of the field the rest of the way.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, Surtain was on the other side of the field. He might’ve played even better than Moss during the contest. Surtain held receiver Ja’Marr Chase to one catch for eight yards on 13 coverage matchups while holding him to zero catches on 10 man coverage snaps.
Surtain, in his career against Chase, has allowed 15 receptions for 128 yards on 27 targets, a true lockdown corner against one of the best receivers in all of football.
The dynamic duo was instrumental in limiting Browning to only 125 yards through the air. It was a performance Bonitto wasn’t going to let go unnoticed.
With Moss and Surtain shutting down the outside, and Bonitto and the defensive front wreaking havoc, Denver’s defense looked every bit like the elite unit the Broncos envisioned when they locked up their stars for the long haul.
The only question remains: can they do it again on a short week against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles?
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Bo Nix keeps it real with blunt postgame assessment after Broncos’ big win over the Bengals on ‘Monday Night Football’
Bo Nix didn’t hold back with his postgame comments after the Broncos’ ‘Monday Night Football’ win over the Bengals.
