Were you still in the stadium when Will Lutz kicked the game-winning field goal?
Or if you were watching the game on television, had you turned away by then?
When did you think the Broncos were too far behind to come back and win?
It would be understandable if your answer to either of the first two questions is “No.” Or to the third, any of several points from the start of the fourth quarter to the last minute.
The Broncos themselves had to overcome those feelings.
Quarterback Bo Nix acknowledged as much in a post-game interview with CBS sideline reporter Melanie Collins, and pro football’s reigning defensive player of the year said he’d despaired.
“I lost hope,” Pat Surtain said post-game. “I ain’t going to lie. I lost hope.”
That could have been at the end of the third period, when the Giants led 19-0, or early in the fourth when it was 25-8, or with 5:13 to play and Denver still trailing by two scores, 25-16.
Then linebacker Justin Strnad restored it by intercepting rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and setting up the Broncos on New York’s 19-yard line, three plays after they’d cut a seemingly insurmountable deficit to 10 with 5:19 left to play.
Nix admitted that “morale was low on the sideline” at several points during the seesaw fourth quarter. “But the guys never quit.”
And that’s the bottom line, and not just for professional athletes. It applies to everyone.
I am frequently teased because I insist on staying to the end of games that seem hopelessly out of reach. And, usually, I’ve wasted my companions’ time.
But not always, and Sunday was one of those times. What unfolded in the last 5:19 was a rollercoaster of epic proportions.
When the game was over and the Broncos had miraculously won 33-32, they had done something never before accomplished in the history of the National Football League: score 33 points in one quarter after being held scoreless the first three periods.
Nix turned Strnad’s pick into another touchdown in just four plays, and Denver was within three points, 26-23.
But still . . .
Hope was a longshot, at best. Denver’s supposedly invincible defense had given up more than 350 yards and been flagged for most of the Broncos’ whopping 127 yards in penalties.
But the Giants punted—three-and-out—and Denver went on offense at its 32, needing a field goal in the final 2:42 to tie the score and send the game to an unlikely overtime.
“We fought to the end,” said Surtain, reflecting the attitude everyone should have. “In this league (and in life, he could have added), no matter how much you’re down . . . there’s always a way.”
In less than a minute of playing time, the Broncos took the lead on an 18-yard run by Nix that followed passes of 31 and 20 yards. The extra point made the lead four, 30-26, which meant the Giants would have to score a touchdown, not just a field goal, in the final 1:56.
That seemed a stretch, especially considering New York would have to cover 65 yards. But with the help of 53 yards in penalties on Denver, that’s what the Giants did.
After rookie placekicker Jude McAtamney’s second missed extra point kick of the game, however, NY led by only two, 32-30, which meant Denver had 33 seconds to advance far enough to attempt a game-winning field goal.
It was noted that both of the Broncos’ losses earlier this season were on last-play field goals, so it was only natural to wonder if, this time. the kicking shoe would be on the other foot.
Denver was facing a 60-yard field goal attempt with 18 seconds to play when Nix and Courtland Sutton connected for 22 yards, reducing the distance of the field goal attempt to a realistic 39 yards—provided Nix could spike the ball at the new line of scrimmage before time expired.
The teams lined up with three seconds on the clock.
Interviewed on the field after Lutz’s game-winner, Nix said the pass to Sutton was a play the team had practiced for the first time just the day before the game.
“I feel bad for the people that left early,” Nix said.
“It ain’t over,” as Yogi Berra often said, “until it’s over.”
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Denny Dressman’s 17th book, a collaboration with Kansas City artist Anthony High titled Black Baseball’s Heyday – Capturing An Era in Art and Words, will be published late this year. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.