Broncos notes: Meet Dondrea Tillman

Tyler Badie leads Broncos’ rushers with 70 yards. Surtain and Moss have big games at cornerback.

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield dropped back to pass 40 times Sunday against the Denver defense.

He only got throw it 33 times. He was sacked seven other times before he could throw it. And six of those sacks came in the second half when the visiting Broncos, who train in a dry heat and thin air, wore down the home team Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who should be accustomed to Florida’s heat in humidity that lingers into late-September.

“This is a good lesson for our team,’’ Mayfield said after his Bucs were ripped by the Broncos, 26-7. “You have to prepare like you’re playing in a playoff game every week. Or else this can happen. We got our asses kicked physically-wise, execution-wise, all over the board for us.”

Sean Payton, the Broncos’ head coach, credited his secondary for the front-line finishing up so many of their pass rushes.

“I think we made him hold it,’’ Payton said of Mayfield. “I think we made him hold it some. That is a credit to coverage. I haven’t seen the tape, but I think we made him hold it.’’

Broncos Country, introducing Dondrea Tillman. He played at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he had 30 sacks in 48 games. A tweener at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds – a bit small as a prototype 4-3 defensive end, a bit large for 3-4 outside linebacker – he went undrafted in 2022 and spent three seasons playing for the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL and UFL.

But his agent Marty Magid is nothing if not loyally dedicated to his clients. Magid got Tillman in to Broncos Park for a tryout, then later got him signed a week after the team completed its offseason program in June.

Tillman took it from there. He played well in training camp and the preseason. He didn’t make the season-opening roster but he was signed to their practice squad. When Broncos’ outside linebacker Baron Browning went down last week with a foot injury, Tillman was promoted to the 53-man active roster.

And in his NFL debut Sunday, at 26 years and nearly 5 months of age, Tillman had two of the Broncos’ seven sacks.

“I feel like it doesn’t get much better than this,’’ Tillman said. “To get here and be able to produce right away, it’s a great feeling. It comes from my preparation, my hard work, my dedication, my film study. I’m just glad it’s finally paying off.”

Did he ever wonder, during three years in Birmingham, why he didn’t get his NFL shot earlier?

“No, I just trusted my journey,’’ Tillman said. “I knew I had to take it one day at a time and eventually I’ll get there. The main thing was putting in the work so when I did get out there I’d be ready for it.”

Devon Key, a backup safety; Jonathon Cooper, the team’s sack leader with 3.0 in three games; Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto and John Franklin-Myers, playing despite suffering a concussion last week, finished off the Broncos’ second-half pass-rush parade on Mayfield.

“From A to Z, we were all from the first quarter to the end we were just on him,’’ said Franklin-Myers, who was cleared Friday from the concussion protocol. “Coaches had a good plan, offense, defense, special teams. And defensively, shoot, run and hit. That’s what we talk about being the most physical team on the field and (bleep) I thought we were.”

Call him, Bad

For the second straight game, Tyler Badie – pronounced Ba-day, he told the Broncos’ public relations department this week – was the Broncos’ best running back. He only got one carry for 16 yards last week against the Steelers – his one carry an issue for a team struggling to run the ball. Badie had 9 carries for 70 yards Sunday against Tampa Bay with 8 carries and 66 yards coming in the second half.

His biggest run was for 43 yards with 9:52 left in the game. No. 1 back Javonte Williams again struggled, gaining just 12 yards on five carries, and No. 2 back Jaleel McLaughlin was held to 7 yards on five carries, although he did make one yard count big on his touchdown run.

Again, Payton was asked about getting more carries for Badie.

“I’m used to – right, wrong or indifferent – it’s easy to work two backs into a rotation; it’s hard with three,’’ Payton said. “It’s hard to feed three. He’d been practicing well. There were a handful of – ‘Bad 21,’ we just abbreviate his tags B.A.D… ‘Bad 12’ – there were a handful of plays designed with his name on it and then he’s running well and so he gets some more plays, but we’ll keep working that combination.’’

After a big senior year at Missouri in 2021 — 1,604 rushing yards on 6.0 yards per carry and 14 touchdowns plus 54 catches and another 4 scores — Badie was a 6th-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. He spent nearly the whole season on Baltimore’s practice squad until the Broncos signed him away Dec, 29, 2022 to help replenish their injury-ravaged running back position.

On his first play, Badie took a flare from Russell Wilson and turned into a 24-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Badie only got one more touch in the two years since then — until his 16-yard run last week. Sure, he’s a bit small at 5-foot-8, 197 pounds. Still.

Get. This. Guy. The. Ball.

Bronco Bits

No. 1 cornerback Pat Surtain II held the Bucs’ top receiver, Mike Evans, to just two catches for 17 yards. The Broncos’ No. 2 cornerback, Riley Moss, had six tackles and forced Tampa tight end Cade Otton to fumble at the Denver 10 yard line, a fumble that sfety Brandon Jones recovered and returned 34 yards. …

Marvin Mims got one chance to return, and he brought a punt back 27 yards. Otherwise, there were two punts kicked away from him and two kickoff touchbacks. …

Alex Singleton again led the Broncos in tackles with 10, his 33rd double-digit tackling game since 2020.