For people of a certain age Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton compares quarterback Bo Nix to a fictional movie character Ferris Bueller was beautiful. Frankly, Sunday was a day for beautiful things in the Mile High City under the perfect blue sky that gloriously matched the ’77 Throwback uniforms that the team rocked beautifully against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Broncos superstar cornerback Patrick Surtain II showed off his knack for timing. Right on cue, he picked off an ill-advised pass from Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew and returned it 100 yards to the house for the second-longest pick-six in Broncos history.

It was the crucial turning point for the Broncos, who were teetering on the edge of a 17-3 hole at the time. Indeed, Payton knew the seismic seriousness of Surtain’s game, even taking it as a 10-point swing.

“You don’t have to step on the gas. He played well,” Payton said after the game after beating the Raiders 34-18. “He made a really good play. The importance of the play is that it’s 10 points because they’re probably going to at least make a field goal from where it happened. That was a huge play for us.” At that moment it was suddenly 10-7.”

Framed in the broader context of breaking the Raiders’ pesky eight-game winning streak, the importance of Surtain’s pick six was enormous. As for regaining the momentum the Broncos lost early, Surtain intrinsically knew how much it meant to flip the script the way he did.

“We felt like we needed that momentum to move forward,” Surtain said after the game. “Obviously we were in a situation where we had to take advantage of the opportunities we could get. That situation there I had to take advantage of to make a play and I could just feel the momentum shift. You could tell that to the team see So far we’ve been playing forward and really feeling the pace, the urgency to really step up the energy and really improve the game.

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don’t miss news and analysis! Take a moment, sign up for our free newsletter and get the latest Broncos news delivered to your inbox every day!

The nervous Minshew gave Surtain every opportunity to do his thing over 100 yards and a score. These days, throwing the ball near the potential Defensive Player of the Year is playing with fire.

The referees’ untimely intervention throughout the season may have slowed Surtain down to some extent so far. So seeing a flag hanging behind his opportunistic return, the elite coverage corner was a little concerned that his scoring game might be coming back.

“The ball was in the air and my eyes went wide; I thought, ‘There’s no way this is happening.’ Then I caught the ball and I saw a full green blade of grass and I thought, ‘Yes, that’s a touchdown.’ I didn’t look back,” Surtain said. “I saw a flag and in my head I said, ‘No way, this isn’t happening right now. I don’t know if it’s rigged or if someone’s trying to mess up my game, but I was just happy that it worked out. (picked up). That moment was very special. It was very special to see the audience roar after that piece.’

Nix admitted after the match that he enjoys watching the John Hughes classic Ferris Bueller’s day off which Payton was referring to with him in mind, so maybe it was the perfect day to sit back and watch beautiful things unfold.

“That was huge. That was probably the play of the game, a big momentum shifter,” Nix said during Surtain’s home visit. “I was sitting there with (QBs Coach) Davis (Webb) and the guys on the bench. I saw him catch and how their offense was set up, I didn’t think anyone was going to score a tackle, so I just sat there, watched at it from the jumbotron and enjoyed the celebration.”

As we learn more about this team, the two pillars of Surtain and Nix will be fundamental to whatever Payton and the Broncos will build. Great players tend to step up in big moments, so as Ferris said in ’86, “Only the meek get pinched; the bold survive.”

Follow up on Mile High Huddle X And Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos livestream podcasts!