CB Pat Surtain II continues strong start to 2024 season

Before each week’s game, cornerback Pat Surtain II prepares to shut down each opponent’s best receiver.

“This is something I look forward to all week,” Surtain said.

And in Sunday’s 26-7 win over the Buccaneers, it was easy to see why.

Surtain followed Tampa Bay’s star wide receiver Mike Evans on 24 of 34 routes, according to Next Gen Stats, and allowed one reception for 8 yards on only one target as the closest defender in coverage.

Evans was targeted just three times total on Sunday after totaling 12 targets, 103 passing yards and two touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s previous two games.

“Obviously, Mike, he’s a great player,” Surtain said after Sunday’s win. “Just being him and what he does is unbelievable, so to be paired with a guy like that is pretty awesome. I just had to focus on the details and make sure I limited him, not let him make explosive (plays) on the court. I did my part there.”

Surtain said one of the biggest reasons for Sunday’s success was that the defense “played the way they prepared all week.” For Surtain, that preparation included very specific instructions from Head Coach Sean Payton.

“It’s a good series of receivers,” Payton said of Surtain’s start to the season. “(Saints cornerback Marshon) Lattimore has always defended Evans well. So we went and got 35 times of bump-and-run (coverage) with Lattimore and Evans, I put it in his hot folder, (we) talked about it on the plane and he responded. So, it was good.”

Surtain appears to have answered all the challenges he’s faced so far this season, limiting Seattle’s DK Metcalf to just 29 yards passing in Week 1 and Pittsburgh’s George Pickens to just 16 yards in Week 2.

That feat caught the attention of cornerback Riley Moss, who has played opposite Surtain in Denver’s first three games. Moss was also outstanding on Sunday, forcing a fumble that was recovered by safety Brandon Jones. While Moss has been impressed with Surtain’s shutdown coverage throughout the season, he was “absolutely” not surprised by his strong performance against Evans.

“It’s a confidence booster for him,” Moss said. “That’s why we keep him. He’s the best in the league and he showed it today.”

Denver now looks to a matchup with the Jets, in which the Broncos will see another standout wide receiver in Garrett Wilson. The team will once again expect its defensive preparation to be reflected in its on-field performance as it prepares for Sunday.

“I feel like as a team, as a whole defensively, we did what we did,” Surtain said Sunday. “We played the way we prepared all week, so (I’m) very excited for us.”