DENVER (AP) — One ignominious streak down, one more to go for the Denver Broncos, who turned an ugly showing into a pretty comfortable rout of the Indianapolis Colts to clinch the franchise's first winning season since 2016.
Outscoring Indy 31-3 after falling behind 10-0 Sunday, the Broncos (9-5) now have a better than 90% chance of stopping another long skid: their eight-year playoff drought.
They've cleaned out their lockers and quickly scattered to watch the postseason from afar every year since Von Miller, Peyton Manning and John Elway hoisted the franchise's third Lombardi Trophy following the 2015 season.
It was that type of moment Sean Payton thought of when he took over as head coach last year.
“The appeal to me was the tradition here, the years of sustained success here and the importance of this game here," he said. "You can only find a few cities you can say that about and then you find the right ownership group. There were certain things that were really important. The football tradition and history here was very appealing to me.
“I have known Peyton and John forever but it was somewhere where the fan base’s expectations were high. You want to be in New York, Los Angeles or Las Vegas if you’re in entertainment; you do not want to be in Rhode Island. If you are in this industry, you want to be somewhere where it is really important and the expectations are high."
And so, Payton said, "it is nice to get the ninth win.”
And in quarterback Bo Nix's first season. too.
“Good teams respond on a day like today.” Nix said after the Broncos' overcame a slow start, his first three-interception day and a variety of missteps and miscalculations.
“Good teams find ways to win, and playoff teams find ways to win these close ones," Nix said. “... It’s a good sign that we’re winning these close games, the tough ones that don’t necessarily look pretty, but we’re just finding ways to win.”
Coupled with the Chargers' loss Sunday, the Broncos and L.A. flipped playoff positions with the Broncos now in sixth and the Chargers in seventh. The teams play Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Broncos might be without their top two cornerbacks for that game, although Patrick Surtain II walked without any noticeable limp at a charity event Monday in which he partnered with Raising Cane's restaurant chain to give away 100 bicycles to kids in need during the holiday season.
“It's better,” Surtain said of his sprained right ankle. “I'm taking it day by day. That's about it.”
With fellow starter Riley Moss (knee) not expected back until next week at Cincinnati, the Broncos might have to go with two young players who replaced Levi Wallace, who was inactive after his poor performance against Cleveland.
Although Damarri Mathis played in the base defense, rookie Kris Abrams-Draine got his first career start as the Broncos started the game in the nickel.
Payton was impressed with both Abrams-Draine and Mathis, but bristled when asked Monday if those two might be pressed into bigger roles with this being a short week and Surtain ailing.
“No. 1, I thought those guys played well. That's the easiest way I can answer the question," Payton said. “You guys know we don't talk about injuries, but I also don't want to talke about hypotheticals, either. But those two guys really played well and I was encouraged.”
Abrams-Draine replaced Wallace late in the Broncos' 41-32 win over the Browns on Dec. 2.
“The last two weeks, he showed some moxie, stayed with his guy, didn't panic when the ball's in the air,” Payton said. “There's something about him.”
Denver's defense. The Broncos caught a break when Jonathan Taylor's premature celebration turned a touchdown into a touchback. But they also had healthy amounts of skill, preparation and execution to go with their bit of good fortune. They had five takeaways and two sacks.
The ground game. The Broncos managed a meager 72 yards on 27 carries for a 2.7-yard average. Take away Nix's 16-yard scamper and Denver has 56 yards and a 2.15-yard average.
Nik Bonitto. The Broncos would be wise to sign him to a long-term extension as soon as possible. With a pick-6 against Cleveland and a hijacking of Indy's trick play Sunday, Bonitto became the second Denver defender to score TDs in back-to-back games. The other was Billy Thompson in 1973.
Levi Wallace. (See above).
In addition to Surtain, RG Quinn Meinerz (shoulder), McLaughlin (thigh) and DT D.J. Jones (finger) left with injuries.
97 — yards on three punt returns for Marvin Mims Jr. whose 61-yard return set up Denver's go-ahead touchdown.
A short turnaround as the Broncos visit the Chargers on Thursday night. The Chargers won in Denver 23-16 on Oct. 13, but have lost three of four.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Denver Broncos' Bo Nix throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Denver Broncos' Nik Bonitto celebrates his interception and return for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos' Marvin Mims Jr. celebrates after a long return during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — Like many retirement communities, The Terraces serves as a tranquil refuge for a nucleus of older people who no longer can travel to faraway places or engaging in bold adventures.
But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers at the community in Los Gatos, California, schedule a date for residents — many of whom are in their 80s and 90s — to take turns donning virtual reality headsets.
Within a matter of minutes, the headsets can transport them to Europe, immerse them in the ocean depths or soar them on breathtaking hang-gliding expeditions while they sit by each other. The selection of VR programming was curated by Rendever, a company that has turned a sometimes isolating form of technology into a catalyst for better cognition and social connections in 800 retirement communities in the United States and Canada.
A group of The Terraces residents who participated in a VR session earlier this year found themselves paddling their arms alongside their chairs as they swam with a pod of dolphins while watching one of Rendever's 3D programs. “We got to go underwater and didn't even have to hold our breath!” exclaimed 81-year-old Ginny Baird following the virtual submersion.
During a session featuring a virtual ride in a hot-air balloon, one resident gasped, “Oh my God!” Another shuddered, “It's hard to watch!”
The Rendever technology can also be used to virtually take older adults back to the places where they grew up as children. For some, it will be the first time they've seen their hometowns in decades.
A virtual trip to her childhood neighborhood in New York City's Queens borough helped sell Sue Livingstone, 84, on the merits of the VR technology even though she still is able to get out more often than many residents of The Terraces, which is located in Silicon Valley about 55 miles south of San Francisco.
“It isn't just about being able to see it again, it's about all the memories that it brings back,” Livingstone said. “There are a few people living here who never really leave their comfort zones. But if you could entice them to come down to try out a headset, they might find that they really enjoy it.”
Adrian Marshall, The Terraces' community life director, said that once word about a VR experience spreads from one resident to another, more of the uninitiated typically become curious enough to try it out — even if it means missing out on playing Mexican Train, a dominoes-like board game that's popular in the community.
“It turns into a conversation starter for them. It really does connect people,” Marshall said of Rendever's VR programming. “It helps create a human bridge that makes them realize they share certain similarities and interests. It turns the artificial world into reality.”
Rendever, a privately owned company based in Somerville, Massachusetts, hopes to build upon its senior living platform with a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health that will provide nearly $4.5 million to study ways to reduce social isolation among seniors living at home and their caregivers.
Some studies have found VR programming presented in a limited viewing format can help older people maintain and improve cognitive functions, burnish memories and foster social connections with their families and fellow residents of care facilities. Experts say the technology may be useful as an addition to and not a replacement for other activities.
“There is always a risk of too much screen time," Katherine “Kate” Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies aging issues at Sheridan College in Canada, said. “But if you use it cautiously, with meaning and purpose, it can be very helpful. It can be an opportunity for the elderly to engage with someone and share a sense of wonder.”
VR headsets may be an easier way for older people to interact with technology instead of fumbling around with a smartphone or another device that requires navigating buttons or other mechanisms, said Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who is examining the use of VR with older adults.
“The stereotypes that older adults aren’t willing to try new technology needs to change because they are willing and want to adapt to technologies that are meaningful to them,” Bhowmick said. "Besides helping them to relieve stress, be entertained and connect with other people, there is an intergenerational aspect that might help them build their relationships with younger people who find out they use VR and say, ‘Grandpa is cool!’"
Rendever CEO Kyle Rand's interest in helping his own grandmother deal with the emotional and mental challenges of aging pushed him down a path that led him to cofound the company in 2016 after studying neuroengineering at Duke University.
“What really fascinates me about humans is just how much our brain depends on social connection and how much we learn from others,” Rand said. “A group of elderly residents who don't really know each other that well can come together, spend 30 minutes in a VR experience together and then find themselves sitting down to have lunch together while continuing a conversation about the experience.”
It's a large enough market that another VR specialist, Dallas-based Mynd Immersive, competes against Rendever with services tailored for senior living communities.
Besides helping create social connections, the VR programming from both Rendever and Mynd has been employed as a possible tool for potentially slowing down the deleterious effects of dementia. That's how another Silicon Valley retirement village, the Forum, sometimes uses the technology.
Bob Rogallo, a Forum resident with dementia that has rendered him speechless, seemed to be enjoying taking a virtual hike through Glacier National Park in Montana as he nodded and smiled while celebrating his 83rd birthday with his wife of 61 years.
Sallie Rogallo, who doesn't have dementia, said the experience brought back fond memories of the couple's visits to the same park during the more than 30 years they spent cruising around the U.S. in their recreational vehicle.
“It made me wish I was 30 years younger so I could do it again,” she said of the virtual visit to Glacier. “This lets you get out of the same environment and either go to a new place or visit places where you have been.”
In another session at the Forum, 93-year-old Almut Schultz laughed with delight while viewing a virtual classical music performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and later seemed to want to play with a puppy frolicking around in her VR headset.
“That was quite a session we had there,” Schultz said with a big grin after she took off her headset and returned to reality.
Rendever CEO Kyle Rand is pictured at Salesforce Park in San Francisco on June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Jim Holtshouse and his son, Mike Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Bob Rogallo watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Mike Holtshouse and his father, Jim Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Jim Holtshouse watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
