The Denver Broncos were forced to play a lot of Sunday night football against the New England Patriots defence, which cost them a tremendous opportunity to increase their chances of making the playoffs. Despite tying the game in the last seconds of their match at Mile High’s Empower Field, they fell 26–23.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Denver is currently 7-8.
The Broncos were behind 23–7, but in the closing minutes of play, they rallied with two touchdown passes from quarterback Russell Wilson to tight end Lucas Krull and wide Brandon Johnson, as well as two-point conversions from Williams and Javonte Williams.
With 1:42 left, the Broncos had a chance to win after taking the lead at their 39, but they failed to execute a three-point play, and with less than a minute left, they gave the ball to New England. The Patriots, who had gained 44 yards in seven plays, prevailed thanks to a career-long 56-yard field goal by Chad Ryland with two seconds remaining.
The Patriots’ first lead came on a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bailey Zappe to Ezekiel Elliott. But Ryland’s mishandled PAT attempt put the Patriots ahead 9–7.
Zappe extended the advantage to 16–7 after escaping pressure and finding Mike Gesicki for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Marvin Mims Jr. fumbled the kickoff at the 5-yard line that followed. At the one, Cody Davis grabbed hold of it and rolled it over the goal line.
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The concussion that wide receiver Courtland Sutton suffered in the first half significantly hampered the Broncos’ already awful offensive line. After three quarters, Denver’s only offensive highlight was Williams’ 3-yard touchdown run to start the game.
Despite needing a lot of assistance to get there, the Broncos, who have lost five of their first six games, are a long way from becoming the fourth team since the merger to make it to the postseason.
It was evident from the opening kickoff that Payton’s offensive could not carry the team by itself, despite the fact that Denver’s defence has kept the Broncos in the postseason chase.
D.J. Jones strip-sacked Zappe on the opening play of the game, recovering the ball at the New England 5-yard line.
The league’s best run defence stopped Williams three times, including on a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line. The Broncos lost a point when Christian Barmore stopped him one yard short of the goal.
After Mims returned a punt 52 yards, the Broncos started their second possession at the Patriots 46, but three consecutive passes were incomplete. Their third drive started at New England 25.
They eventually took advantage of their favourable field position when Williams scored a run to make the score 4-0.
Zappe completed 25 of 33 passes for two touchdowns and 25 yards. Wilson completed 25 of his 37 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
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