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Jeff Legvold
Denver– Pat Surtain II Admitted that he had lost hope.
denver broncos Did not score till fourth quarter on Sunday, lagged behind New York Giants By 18 points with just under 10 minutes left and then by two points with 37 seconds left. But somehow they were thrilled and entered the locker room at Empower Field at Mile High win 33-32 This surprised Surtain and his colleagues.
“We fought to the end,” Surtain said. “In this league, no matter how low you are, there’s always a will and there’s always a way.”
Before Sunday, teams had lost 1,602 consecutive games when trailing by at least 18 points with six minutes to play. However, Denver turned it around with 33 points in the fourth quarter, the most in a quarter in franchise history and tied for the second-most points in a quarter in NFL history.
“I don’t even know how we scored 33 points in a quarter, it’s kind of crazy,” the Broncos quarterback said. bo nix Said. “We just had to do whatever, we did it…by any means necessary.”
This is the largest fourth quarter comeback for a team that did not score in the first three quarters in NFL history. And Nix became the first player in NFL history to rush for two touchdowns and throw for two in the final quarter.
The Broncos committed a lot of fouls on both sides of the ball resulting in a 19–0 loss at the end of the third quarter. veteran rookie quarterback jackson dart He was largely unaffected by the Broncos’ generally surging defense, throwing for 210 yards and two touchdowns up to that point. And the Broncos’ offense was forced to punt six times in its first nine possessions.
“We had to find a way to clean up our mess,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.
Things started changing for Denver when the Knicks hit troy franklin for a 2-yard touchdown pass, then converted the 2-point conversion to make it 19–8 with 14:08 to play.
“I was thinking about how I would answer the questions if we got eliminated,” Nicks said.
But the giants responded. tight end Theo Johnson Dart’s deflected pass went 41 yards for a 26–8 lead with 10:14 left in the game.
The Broncos answered with a 13-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, then added a 2-point conversion to make it 26–16. And then, almost from one player, the Broncos said linebacker Justin Strnad He came up with a play that made the impossible possible.
Facing third-and-5 at the 35, Dart tried to throw a pass over Strnad’s head, but he intercepted it and returned it to the Giants 19. The Broncos scored four plays later to cut the lead to 26–23.
and then things got In fact Wild.
The Broncos forced a three-and-out, and Nix quickly finished a six-play, 68-yard drive with an 18-yard TD run, giving them a 30–26 lead with 1:51 to play.
But eight plays into the next Giants possession, Denver held a pass interference penalty. riley moss in the end zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on an angry Payton – who had gone to the middle of the field to express his displeasure with the officials – put the ball on the Broncos’ 1. The Giants then took a 32–30 lead on a Dart sneak with 37 seconds to play.
On Denver’s final possession, the Knicks struck out. Marvin Mims Jr.for a gain of 29 yards and then Courtland Sutton Setting up, for a gain of 22 yards Will LutzA 39-yard winner on the last play of the game.
“I’ve never been that disappointed and been able to come back,” the Broncos linebacker said. Nick Bonitto Said. “It was crazy. I’m still crazy.”
legendary captain dexter lawrence He said the loss was even more hurtful than New York’s loss to Dallas in Week 1, when the Giants took the lead with 25 seconds left in regulation, but lost in overtime.
“Can’t give up 33 points in the fourth quarter,” Lawrence said.
The point of contention for the Giants appeared to be their defensive approach in the final minutes. brian burnsWhose two sacks increased his league-leading sack total to nine, came off the field screaming in frustration about rushing only three guys and giving up eight in coverage on a 29-yard throw to Mims on Denver’s final possession.
“Drop eight!” Burns said amid a series of expletives as he walked through the stadium toward the locker room.
When Burns was subsequently asked about it, he pursed his lips, turned his head and refused to answer. When Lawrence faced the same question he paused for an unusually long time.
“Leave it to the coaches,” he said.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.
