P.J. Locke waited and waited.
Finally, his chance arrived in the fourth quarter Sunday against Green Bay.
He didn’t miss it.
Locke, the fourth-year safety, played 15 snaps in relief of safety Kareem Jackson, who was ejected for a hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave, down the stretch of the Broncos’ 19-17 win.
He didn’t just fill in, either. He made a game-sealing interception of Packers quarterback Jordan Love on a deep throw for receiver Samori Toure with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining.
“He threw it and I didn’t hesitate,” Locke said. “I saw the ball in the air and I was like, ‘It’s mine.’”
Simmons ended up one-on-one with Toure, but had to turn and run in a trail position. Locke had responsibility on the opposite half of the field and covered a lot of ground to make the play.
“I normally don’t do this, but they were in the perfect offensive play call for what we were running,” Simmons said. “For anyone that goes back and watches the film, that is a one-of-one-type of play that P.J. made, basically playing the half field. … Pass breakup is going to be a heck of a play, but to have the pick to seal the game, I know that’s a big play and everybody knows that’s a big play, but I hope he gets the credit he deserves on that play because that was a heck of a play that not a lot of guys can make.”
Now Locke’s role in the Denver secondary looks more important than ever.
Jackson on Tuesday had his four-game suspension for a series of unnecessary roughness penalties reduced to two games on appeal, but he’ll still be out until a mid-November game against Minnesota and will miss contests against two of the most potent offenses in the NFL in Kansas City and Buffalo.
That puts Locke in line to make his first career start Sunday against the Chiefs.
“The standard is the standard, no matter who is in the game,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said Sunday night before news of Jackson’s suspension. “When Kareem went down, it was next man up. P.J. already a great player and he knew what he had to do. Just day in and day out, he’s got the mental reps, he’s a smart player and he’s a playmaker.
“It was no downfall when Kareem went out. It was just next man up. … That is what we preach week-in and week-out, and he came and delivered.”
Locke’s played plenty of football in his NFL career, but most of it has come on special teams. He’s been a regular on those units over 50 appearances and has also seen some spot work in sub packages on defense.
He might have had a bigger role than that this season from the start, especially after third-year safety Caden Sterns tore his meniscus in the season opener. Except that Locke himself started the year on injured reserve thanks to something of a freak injury — a dislocated big toe that happened during camp. It didn’t require surgery, but with something of an unknown timeline, Locke was placed on IR and thus ineligible to return early in the year even as injuries piled up at the position.
“When I got on IR, I was discouraged,” Locke said. “(Simmons) and (Jackson), they pulled me over and were like, ‘You have to stay engaged. Stay engaged with everybody.’ With the game plan, going to DB dinners and stuff like that. Anytime I was on the sideline, I was walking around with my iPad, following my (defensive backs coach Christian Parker) listening to every call on the field, seeing our team’s mentality.
“I think that paid dividends for me.”
It could pay dividends for the Broncos, too. Locke’s time is now. And if Denver ends up entertaining more trade offers between now and next week’s trade deadline, one or both of Simmons and Jackson could receive interest from other teams.
Even if both are still with Denver on the other side of the team’s bye week, Jackson will miss the game against the Bills.
It’ll be up to Locke to take the biggest play of his career and turn it into a springboard.
“Honestly I wanted to tear up, man,” Locke said of the immediate aftermath. “It just felt like all my emotions bottled up. I just wanted to go celebrate with my guys. Finally got my first pick. I feel like I have many more to come. Just all the stuff I’ve been through, at that moment I felt it.”
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