There were many moments on Sunday night that could have flipped the outcome. If the Broncos had failed to force a field goal on Minnesota’s penultimate drive, the Denver offense would not have had a chance at last-second heroics. And if the Denver defense failed to hold on to a one-point lead and stop the Vikings on their final drive, the offense’s performance would have gone to waste. Still, the offense’s performance in the final moments stood out. The Broncos took over, trailing by five points, with three timeouts and 3:17 to play. They needed to mount a touchdown drive — something they hadn’t accomplished all night — to earn another win and even their record at 5-5.
In the biggest moments, the offense came up big. Sutton made a one-handed grab on fourth down — and drew a pass interference call — and Samaje Perine picked up three first downs on the drive. The defining play, though, was made as Sutton launched himself into the air and plucked a Russell Wilson pass out of the Denver sky for a go-ahead touchdown. Empower Field at Mile High erupted, and the Broncos had the lead for the first time. Seconds later, they would clinch their fifth win of the year.
The Broncos continued their stretch of forcing turnovers, as Denver recovered a pair of fumbles and intercepted Dobbs on Sunday. The Broncos scored just nine points off those takeaways, but they would not have won the game without winning the turnover battle. Denver did not turn the ball over and held a plus-three advantage in the takeaway column.
“If it hadn’t been tonight, three [to zero], then obviously, that result would’ve been different,” Head Coach Sean Payton said.
First appeared on www.denverbroncos.com