The pride and responsibility of being Courtland…

Sometimes, in a slog of a game, when the offense cannot get going, the first downs are hard to come by and the points even harder, all it takes is one snap.

In the span of a few seconds, the complexion of an NFL game can change. A scoreless tie can give way to a go-ahead score, and a seemingly insurmountable deficit can vanish with one momentum-changing play.

There’s a certain sense of pride that comes with being the player that makes that play. And there’s a certain sense of responsibility, too.

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton carries both with him.

“I feel that pressure a lot,” Sutton tells the media in early October. “All week we hear that whatever the strength of that [team] is, the other side of the ball kind of gets challenged that week. If they have a really good defensive line, then the offensive line gets challenged. [If they have] a really good secondary, then the receivers get challenged. We look at it as an opportunity when we get challenged. We want to go out and make plays. That’s kind of our M.O.

“… I use the term ‘being the spoon.’ When you make some chocolate milk, you have regular milk and you put the chocolate in there. You have to have the spoon and stir it up. I always use that term of being the spoon. I look at myself as a guy who wants to go out there and be the spoon and go out there and make a big play to get the offense going and get some juice going. I know the rest of my guys in my room and the rest of the offensive guys all look at that.

“If there’s a lull, everybody’s like, ‘Let’s get that one play to get us going and get the momentum rolling so that we can have the success that we want.”

In the Broncos’ Week 2 win over Jacksonville, Sutton made that play.

Denver’s offense struggled early in that game, punting on two of its first three possessions, and the team entered the final minutes of the first half trailing 7-3. Late in the first half, Sutton stirred things up. He caught a pass on a critical third-and-6 for a 16-yard gain that pushed the Broncos near midfield, and two plays later, he hauled in an over-the-shoulder pass for a 33-yard gain. Denver scored three plays later to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

After halftime, Sutton just kept rolling. On the second play of the second half, Sutton caught a 55-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater that set Denver up for another touchdown pass. It was the third time Bridgewater looked for Sutton deep down the field that afternoon, and the long-awaited connection helped Denver effectively ice the game.

“I definitely think that the right big play — you know, there’s always big plays throughout the game — I think the right big play gives the offense or the defense that confidence of, like, ‘Hey, we can really go do this,'” Sutton says. “I do think that that happens. … The opportunities come, and it’s upon us to maximize them. Whether it’s five opportunities in a game or 10 opportunities in a game, we’ve got to maximize each one that comes to us.”

In that Week 2 win, Sutton gave the Broncos a career-high nine catches for 159 yards — and he also gave them a spark. After the game, Head Coach Vic Fangio’s message was concise.