SEATTLE -- Whenever Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II is asked if he'd like to match up with an opponent's best receiver -- no matter where they line up -- he has the same routine answer.
"You always want a challenge, but at the end of the day, I do whatever they ask me to do, whatever is best for the team," Surtain said. "My job is to execute the playcalls, play the scheme and do it without making mistakes. But yes, you always want that challenge."
One game doesn't necessarily forecast a season's worth of challenges, but Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph decided to move his most talented defender around the field in Sunday's opening-week loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to Sunday, Joseph promised that he'd consider putting Surtain on one receiver for an entire game if that matchup fit the Broncos' game plan. In Week 1, that meant having Surtain track Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf all over the field. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Surtain was lined up against him on 24 of Metcalf's 25 routes.
How'd it go? Surtain gave his usual low-key, always-want-more assessment.
"There's still some things I can correct," Surtain said. "I think I held my own at the end of the day; whenever the opportunities come my way, I want to capitalize."
The official numbers exceeded Surtain's personal assessment. Metcalf finished with 29 yards on three receptions, with his longest catch being 12 yards. (Metcalf averaged 16.9 yards per reception in 2023.) Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith targeted Metcalf four times. And Surtain was called for two penalties that several Broncos questioned, and one was declined.
Surtain also knocked a pass away from Metcalf to stop a Seahawks 2-point conversion attempt. Metcalf had only one reception on third down, a 6-yard catch on a third-and-5 late in the game.
"I'm a very hard critic of myself," Surtain said. "There's certain plays I feel like I left out there."
Surtain, a first-round draft pick who has made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons and was a first-team All-Pro in 2022, routinely lines up at left cornerback. During his first three seasons, Surtain stayed in that spot regardless of the opponent.
When opponents have been given the choice on whether to line their most-targeted and proficient receivers against Surtain -- who was chosen as the league's best cornerback in an ESPN survey of scouts, personnel executives and coaches in July -- most playcallers routinely chose against it, leaving Surtain to cover players who are rarely thrown the ball.
Joseph has noticed this, saying: "Our job as coaches is to find ways so people can't just avoid Pat ... and we can do some things to funnel the ball to him."
It remains to be seen how often Joseph will choose to keep Surtain aligned with an opponent's top receiver. Next up for the Broncos are the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose leading receiver, George Pickens, finished with 85 yards on six catches in Pittsburgh's Week 1 win over Atlanta. Looming after the Steelers are the Buccaneers' Mike Evans (Week 3), the Jets' Garrett Wilson (Week 4) and the Raiders' Davante Adams (Week 5).
Thanks in large part to Surtain shadowing Metcalf, the Broncos kept the Seahawks' passing game mostly in check, with Smith throwing for only 171 yards on 18-of-25 passing with a touchdown pass and an interception. Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett, often matched up with Broncos second-year cornerback Riley Moss, finished with six catches for 77 yards, including a key game-clinching third-down catch on the Seahawks' final drive that Moss barely missed batting away.
The Broncos' defense played well in the first half, forcing two safeties (while narrowly missing a third) and holding the Seahawks to 102 total yards. But the Broncos' run defense wobbled in the second half, especially in a third quarter when Seattle rushed for 76 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Walker III.
"We've got to hold ourselves accountable at the end of the day," Surtain said when asked if the Broncos defense got worn down. "I mean, no one else is out there playing for us. But we've got to execute the calls and execute the scheme and play to the best of our ability. We've just got to finish off all four quarters of the game, all four phases."
In the long-term, the frequency of Surtain being matched with an opponent's WR1 will be determined by Denver's run defense and its ability to force opponents into long second- and third-down situations. But as the cornerback prepared to walk to the team bus Sunday night, he repeated what he has said so often in his career.
"Whatever they ask me to do, need me to do, that's what I'll do," Surtain said.