Football

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton after TD extends win streak to 4: 'We serve an amazing God'

By Kevin Mercer Nov 20, 2023
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton catches the game-winning touchdown, November 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Bart Young)

A month ago, the Denver Broncos were 1-5, in last place in the AFC West and seemingly headed toward another losing season. But things change quickly in the NFL, and they certainly have for Denver.

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Denver’s most recent victory came at home on Sunday night in a tight 21-20 battle against the Minnesota Vikings (who had been on a five-game winning streak of their own). The Broncos have now won four straight, are second in their division, and are solidly in playoff contention.

The Broncos trailed Minnesota from early in the second quarter until late into the fourth, and had managed nothing but field goals all game. Finally, they broke through. Their winning score came with 1:03 remaining when quarterback Russell Wilson connected with wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone for the 15-yard go-ahead touchdown.

The Vikings couldn’t get in field goal range afterward, and the Broncos ran off the field victorious yet again.

On the field after the game, Wilson and Sutton were interviewed by NBC about their winning play. Both gave glory to God.

“We have a relentless belief. I got to thank God. Jesus is good through the hard times and through the good times. Just give Him the praise,” Wilson said.

Sutton echoed his quarterback: “We serve an amazing God. To be able to come out here and showcase the abilities that He’s given us is amazing. All I want to do is come out here and let my light shine as bright as I can.”

In recent weeks, Sutton has made spectacular catches look easy. He made an incredible toe-dragging touchdown grab while surrounded by defenders in the second quarter of last Monday night’s 24-22 road win against the Buffalo Bills.

And he caught a touchdown with one hand while blanketed by a defender on Oct. 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Beginning with that reception against the Chiefs, Sutton has now scored a touchdown in each of Denver’s last five matchups. He’s up to eight touchdowns on the year, which is a career high for the 28-year-old Brenham, Texas, native.

During Sutton’s six-year NFL career, the 2019 Pro Bowler hasn’t been afraid to share about his faith in God. On X, he describes himself as a “God fearing man on a mission,” and on Instagram he says he’s “living and loving life with God in command.”

 

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A post shared by Courtland Sutton (@court.)

 

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A post shared by Courtland Sutton (@court.)


In 2018 as a rookie second-round draft pick out of SMU, Sutton told Sports Spectrum that his work ethic stems from one of his favorite Bible verses, 1 Corinthians 15:10. It says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

“I think that you got to carry your cross every day,” Sutton told Sports Spectrum at the time. “That’s one thing I’ve told a lot of people. You got to make sure that you’re carrying your cross. You don’t have to be a guy who’s just throwing the Bible at people. … You don’t have to be a person who’s sitting there impacting millions of people. It can take one person that you impacted that day and you’ve done what you’re supposed to do. So to be able to have that and to use that in my platform is really important.”

Sutton has had to cling to the promises found in God’s Word as he’s endured nothing but losing seasons during his NFL career. Now, he will cling to those same promises as both personal and professional success are coming his way.

Sutton will seek to add more touchdowns to his career high while he and his Broncos teammates will seek to add to their four-game winning streak and continue to climb the standings in the AFC. Their next two games are against teams competing for the same three wild-card positions — the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans.

Denver hosts Cleveland (7-3) on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.

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