There's no such thing as moral victories in the NFL, so the Washington Commanders weren't celebrating anything in the locker room following their 27-26 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos.

But unlike in previous weeks, there were more positives to be taken from the outcome than the Commanders had experienced in months.

"I hate the outcome," head coach Dan Quinn said after the game. "But I loved the fight."

The Commanders (now 3-9) fought to the end against the Broncos, who came into the primetime game with one of the best records in the AFC, and even showed flashes of the team they expected to be in the offseason. The offense, which had Terry McLaurin back for the first time since Week 8, put up 419 yards -- the unit's best performance since Week 1. They converted eight of 17 third downs, rushed for 143 yards against one of the NFL's best defenses and kept the league's best pass rush largely in check with just two sacks.

McLaurin caught seven passes for 96 yards in his first game back, bringing the Commanders within a two-point conversion of winning the game in overtime. Tight end Zach Ertz, who moved to fifth all-time in receptions at his position, was the only player to surpass him with 10 catches for 106 yards on 13 targets. Quarterback Marcus Mariota had a solid night leading the offense, as he completed 28 of his 50 passes for 294 yards and rushed for 55 on 10 carries.

Even some of Washington's younger players showed flashes; Treylon Burks had the catch of the night in the second quarter, making a one-handed touchdown grab -- his first since his rookie season in 2022 -- to give the Commanders the lead.

"He's shown up in practice doing stuff like that, and [I] wanted to give our guy an opportunity, and he made an unbelievable play," Mariota said.

Washington's defense built on what it showed in Madrid and manufactured opportunities to reclaim momentum. They forced four punts, three of which came in the fourth quarter, and forced an interception from quarterback Bo Nix. Coverage was tighter on Denver's receiving corps with Will Harris back in the lineup and Mike Sainristil playing as a perimeter corner. The Broncos also struggled to find success on the ground, as they were limited to just 87 yards on 22 carries.

As promising as it was that Washington held its own against one of the AFC's best teams, it was still a loss, and there were multiple pain points from both sides of the ball. Nix still threw for 321 yards and was only sacked one time. The defense allowed the Broncos to score a touchdown in the final three minutes of the first half on a 10-play drive, and players like Evan Engram and Courtland Sutton took advantage of Washington's weaknesses in allowing explosive plays with gains of 41 and 31 yards, respectively.

There's also the sting that came from the final play of the game. Mariota's pass to Jeremy McNichols, who was open in the flat, on the overtime two-point conversion, was swatted away by Nik Bonitto.

Washington's defense has taken a "bend-but-don't-break" approach since Quinn took over as the play-caller, and while the Broncos managed to move down the field with ease on their first two drives, the Commanders' improvements in the red zone helped keep them in the game early. Noah Ighbinoghene broke up a pass to Pat Bryant on third-and-5, which forced the Broncos to settle for a 33-yard Will Lutz field goal. Then, following an interception from Mariota, Frankie Luvu forced Nix to dirt a pass on third down and settle for another field goal.

That gave the offense enough time to find its footing, and with help from a 12-yard run by Jacory Croskey-Merritt as well as a 21-yard catch from Ertz, the Commanders found paydirt and took the lead on an eight-yard Chris Rodriguez run up the middle of the Broncos' defense.

However, the Broncos efficiently moved down the field in the 141 seconds left in the first half. Nix completed eight of his 10 passes, including an impressive 11-yard strike to Sutton in the end zone while falling to the ground on a second-and-10 to make the score 13-7.

The team took turns holding the lead in the second half. Following Burks' acrobatic five-yard catch on third-and-goal that put the Commanders up by a point, the Broncos responded with their own touchdown drive that ended with a one-yard run from RJ Harvey. Nix threw an interception to Bobby Wagner five plays into the Broncos' first drive of the fourth quarter, which the Commanders turned into a field goal that cut the deficit from six points to three.

Both teams ran into a wall at that point, as they put up a combined 53 yards in the next five possessions.

It wasn't until there were three minutes left in regulation that Washington found another spark. They put together an 18-play drive, which included two fourth-down conversions, to get to Denver's 14-yard line. Jake Moody ended regulation with a 32-yard field goal that tied things up, 20-20.

The Broncos started overtime on offense and only needed five plays to get into the end zone. Engram's 41-yard catch-and-run moved them to the Commanders' 11-yard line, and Sutton caught a six-yarder to move them to the 5-yard line. RJ Harvey finished the drive from there with a touchdown run.

It put Washington in a sudden-death situation, and the following drive was perhaps the biggest roller coaster experience of the night. The offense stalled at the Broncos' 41-yard line on a fourth-and-6, but a defensive pass interference call kept the Commanders' hopes alive. McLaurin then hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass that was nullified by a holding call on Josh Conerly. One play later, Deebo Samuel got the Commanders to the Broncos' 1-yard line with a 38-yard catch.

Four plays later, McLaurin caught his first touchdown pass of the season, setting up the two-point conversion try.

Although Mariota was clearly disappointed with the Commanders' seventh consecutive loss, the quarterback said he could feel the team was heading in the right direction.

"It's not exactly where we wanna be, but I think putting together a great week of practice, I think we just continue to stack these," he said. "Regardless of what it looks like for us, it's all about the process and the journey. The more that we can find ways to improve week to week, I think that sets a foundation for what's to come."