High Points: The comeback

Wins come in many colors. There is the bright gold of a dominant victory easily achieved when everything goes right, exactly as planned. There is the rusty red of a win that comes through labor, where grinding it out and staying the course counts and triumph is the result of effort.

Then there is the comeback win. In this case, the colors were orange and blue.

If you are a fan of the Denver Broncos, and there are many in this valley, then you may still be basking in the joy of the comeback victory that the team achieved this past Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High. Under a cobalt blue October sky, the Broncos resiliently cobbled together a 33-32 win over the New York Giants in a game that instantly became part of the lore and one of the most memorable moments in the 66-year history of the franchise. It was a win for the ages.

If you were there, you’ll never forget it. If you saw it on television, it will live in your memory through the emphatic calls of CBS Sports’ Kevin Harlan. If you listened to it on the radio … well, you likely didn’t in this valley as the local broadcaster was silent for much of the afternoon — then you got your score from others. Still, it was a game day that will be long remembered.

To recap, the game did not start well for the Broncos.

On a day where they honored the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50 and the late great Demaryius Thomas, one of the most tenacious players in team history, the current Broncos came out flat against the visiting Giants. For the first 45 minutes, the Giants from New York dominated in both points and enthusiasm. The fourth quarter began with the score 19-0 in favor of the Giants, and it seemed the favored Broncos were headed for a certain defeat.

But slowly, the momentum began to change. Denver showed signs of life with a drive that culminated in an unconventional touchdown when Troy Franklin caught a deflected pass in the back corner of the end zone. The two-point conversion was successful, and suddenly, the morbid Broncos were down 19-8.

However, the gods of football decided to even things up. Just four minutes later, Giants tight end Theo Johnson caught a pass that was karmically deflected by teammate Wan’Dale Robinson into his hands. He took the tipped ball down the sideline to the house. The Giants now had a seeming insurmountable 26-8 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. According to the “win probability,” the Giants had a 98.9% chance of winning the game.

On this day though, Denver wasn’t done yet. The offense, behind quarterback Bo Nix, methodically marched down the field for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 26-16. There was light at the end of the tunnel, but just five minutes remained in regulation.

Then Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart made the mistake of the game: throwing an interception to Denver’s Justin Strnad. The Broncos — and their fans — were energized, and rookie RJ Harvey caught a touchdown pass to pull Denver to within three points, 26-23.  

A defensive stop gave Denver the ball back, and an unlikely win now seemed inevitable as all the momentum and roaring crowd was on the Broncos’ side. Sure enough, Denver drove the ball to the Giants 18-yard line where Broncos’ quarterback Bo Nix took a quarterback sweep into the end zone, giving the Broncos a what previously seemed impossible 30-26 lead. Mission accomplished, right?

Not so fast.

There was still 1:51 left to play when the Giants, now trailing for the first time all game, got the ball back. Dart, who had previously thrown the game-changing interception, converted a fourth and 19 and was hit late by the Broncos. An ensuing pass interference penalty and unsportsmanlike conduct flag on the incensed Broncos’ coach Sean Payton put the ball on the Broncos’ one-yard line. Dart snuck in for the go-ahead touchdown. But the Giants kicker, an unlucky Irishman from Derry named Jude McAtamney, pushed the extra point wide right. Trailing by two points, 32-30, with 37 seconds left to play, the Broncos were still alive. Barely.

Behind Nix, helped by some shaky coaching decisions by the Giants, the Broncos moved the ball with no timeouts from their own 23-yard line to Giants 21-yard line, where they killed the clock with just two seconds left to play. Enter kicker Wil Lutz, who made the game winning field goal as time expired.

According to those who track such things, “NFL teams had won 1,602 straight games when leading by 18+ points in the final six minutes.” Not this time.

It took resiliency, persistence, labor, and luck, but the orange and blue Denver Broncos got the best kind of win. A comeback win.