DENVER (AP) — Once the bungling, bumbling Denver Broncos finally got going, they couldn't be stopped.
Shut out for three quarters, the Broncos rallied with 33 points in the fourth in one of the most stunning turnarounds in NFL history.
Wil Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Denver to a thrilling 33-32 win Sunday over the stunned New York Giants, who watched the Broncos score on their last five drives.
“I lost hope, I ain’t gonna lie. I lost hope," star cornerback Patrick Surtain said.
“It was one of them games where we felt like we didn’t execute. Going to film room, there’s a lot of corrections. But one thing we didn’t lose was composure,” Surtain added. "We fought to the end. In this league, no matter how much you're down, there’s always a will, and there’s always a way."
At least now there is.
The Broncos' 33 fourth-quarter points were the most in NFL history by any team that was shut out for the first three quarters and quarterback Bo Nix became the first player ever to run for two scores and throw for two touchdowns in a fourth quarter.
The Broncos’ improbable comeback snapped a streak in which NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final 6 minutes of a game.
“I don't even know how we scored 33 points in a quarter,” Nix admitted. “That's kind of insane.”
“You win a game like that, it's the best thing ever.”
The Giants were in disbelief after losing leads of 19-0 and 26-8.
“This is going to haunt us for a long time,” said Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger.
“Tough loss," Giants coach Brian Daboll said. "Put their heart and soul into it. Not a lot of talking that needs to be done when you lose a game like that. Everybody gave everything they had.”
When the Broncos (5-2) trailed 26-8 with 6:38 remaining in the game and were facing fourth-and-3, their win probability was less than 1%, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Broncos, though, scored on a 7-yard Nix scamper, R.J. Harvey's 2-yard catch after Justin Strnad's interception, an 18-yard keeper by Nix and Lutz's game-winner after Jaxson Dart seemingly broke the Broncos' hearts with a 1-yard TD with 37 seconds left that gave New York a 32-30 lead.
Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point of the afternoon, however, and after Tyler Badie returned the kickoff 19 yards to the 23, Nix found Marvin Mims for 29 yards and Courtland Sutton for 22.
With no timeouts remaining, the Broncos raced to the line of scrimmage at the Giants 21 and Nix spiked the ball with 2 seconds left.
The snap was high but Lutz nailed the field goal to secure Denver's fourth consecutive win overall and NFL-best eighth straight at home.
“I was proud we fought to get back in it,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “It's like we had to find a way to clean up our mess.”
The Broncos took a 30-26 lead on Nix's 18-yard scamper with 1:51 left. But the Giants (2-5) appeared to dodge the defeat when Denver cornerback Riley Moss was whistled for pass interference on an incompletion to Beaux Collins near the goal line. Payton ran out onto the field to argue the call and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. That put the ball at the 1 and Dart took it from there.
“That was silly,” Payton said of his penalty. “I just wanted them to hear me. Can’t do that.”
The Broncos were actually in danger of getting shut out at home for the first time in their 66-year history when they were blanked for three quarters. Denver’s managed 111 yards on its first eight possessions and got 295 yards on its final five drives.
The Broncos' 33-point quarter was the second-highest in NFL history, behind only a 34-point performance by Detroit in a 37-27 win over Chicago on Sept. 30, 2007.
Deflected TDs
R.J. Harvey's 2-yard TD catch that got Denver on the scoreboard, came on a deflected pass, but on the ensuing drive, on third-and-17 from the Denver 41, the Giants got their own ricocheted touchdown when tight end Theo Johnson hauled in Dart's pass after it went off wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson's hands.
Honoring Thomas
The Broncos' historic comeback came on a day the franchise honored the late Demaryius Thomas, who died at age 33, by inducting him into the team's ring of fame on day they also celebrated the 10th anniversary of their Super Bowl 50 team.
By the halftime ceremony, the Giants had taken a 13-0 lead on Dart’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Bellinger and his 13-yard strike to Cam Skattebo for the rookie running back's first career TD grab.
Greenlaw's Denver debut
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw made his debut for Denver after spending the first six weeks of the season sidelined by a quadriceps injury. He had six tackles.
Injuries
Giants: S Jevon Holland left with a knee injury in the first half and didn't return. ... CB Paulson Adebo went out with an unspecified injury in the third quarter.
Broncos: RT Mike McGlinchey got hurt with 4:42 remaining and walked off the field but returned, saying, “I certainly wasn’t going to miss out on the fun. I was a part of three and a-half quarters of (bad) football, so I might as well get in for the good ones.”
Up next
Giants: Visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Broncos: host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
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