That hit, a jarring blow deep downfield on wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins as quarterback Deshaun Watson tried to extend the play with his feet, said everything about the kind of impact the Broncos had in mind from Jackson when they signed him as a free agent in March.

"That was huge," safety Justin Simmons said. "… I just remember that like, 'All right, he's here to play. We've got to rally around him and make some plays for him so we can get a win in this stadium.'"

That kind of hit was familiar to running back Phillip Lindsay. During a 2018 game between the Broncos and the Texans, Jackson lifted Lindsay off his feet on a memorable play. That memory sprung to mind again Sunday as Lindsay discussed why Jackson means so much to the team.

"Kareem's a beast," Lindsay said. "… There's no words that can explain what that man is. He's 185 pounds just like myself, and he does the things he does. He puts fear in people's hearts out there. And I just think he came with an edge, and he was really, really focused coming back. The thing is, how do you get rid of a guy like that? He, right there, is the NFL. And the fact that you get rid of him and we get him, I'm excited. I'm happy that he's on our team because of what he did to me last year."

And even if Jackson didn't want to approach the game differently from any other, his teammates' sentiments gave it a different feel anyway.

"It was real special," Jackson said. "Especially when we got the guys kind of rallying behind me like that. But for me I wanted to treat it as another game on the schedule. Obviously, I knew I was coming in here early in the year. It's just all about me being a piece of the puzzle. I didn't want to make it all about me and my return here. At the end of the day we had to come here, we had to execute as a team. Regardless if I play here or if it was another team. It was all about executing today and just coming in getting the job done as a team."

After getting that team win, Jackson received a game ball from Fangio and was hoisted into the air by his teammates in a euphoric locker room.