Tag: broncos

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Pat Surtain II is out and Dre Greenlaw in back.

Denver’s defense saw some shuffling this week as the Broncos (6-2) prepared to put their five-game winning streak on the line Sunday at Houston, where the Texans (3-4) were installed as slight favorites.

Surtain, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to miss multiple games with a strained left pectoral muscle he injured while making a tackle last week in Denver’s 44-24 rout of the Dallas Cowboys.

He’ll be replaced in the starting lineup by second-year pro Kris Abrams-Draine, whom coach Sean Payton said this week has the best hands on the team.

“Not having Pat’s going to be huge for us,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “But I expect no drop-off. The standard doesn’t change.”

It sure helps they’ll be getting Greenlaw back from his one-game suspension for berating referee Brad Allen following Denver’s historic come-from-behind 33-32 win over the New York Giants two weeks ago.

“I just shouldn’t have put my teammates in that position,” Greenlaw said Thursday in his first public comments since his suspension. “That was just an emotional game, first game back.”

That game marked Greenlaw’s Denver debut after he missed the first seven weeks of the season with a quadriceps injury that lingered for six months.

Greenlaw, who missed most of last year after tearing an Achilles tendon in the 2024 Super Bowl between his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Kansas City Chiefs, had six tackles in just 21 snaps against the Giants.

“I thought it went well. We won the game. It felt good for me to go out there after a year and a-half just to play football,” Greenlaw said. “I felt like the game went good, but that’s two weeks ago now so I don’t even know how that game went, man.”

After making a splash in his Denver debut, Greenlaw had to miss yet another game, something he called “very difficult.”

“Of course you want to be out there anytime you’ve got a game, but I mean just whoop the Texans, that’s all I can think of,” Greenlaw said.

Greenlaw said he’s confident he’ll slip right back into his role despite a dearth of practice reps since he got injured in the spring, not long after signing a three-year, $31.5 million free agent contract.

“We’ve got a great defense already. Guys are flying around making plays. And for me, I just want to be a part of that, just want to have fun out there with them and show them what I can do,” he said.

Although he was on a strict pitch count two weeks ago, Greenlaw is angling for much more playing time against the Texans.

The more the Broncos can get out of Greenlaw, the better, especially as they deal with the absence of Surtain, whom Joseph has called the fulcrum of the defense around which he builds his entire scheme.

“Obviously, you’re never as good as you could be without your best player,” Joseph said. “But I’m confident in our group. It’s a hand-picked roster and every year you talk about next man up. So, here’s a chance for a young player to come play and make a name for himself.”

Not that Abrams-Draine will have to bear the burden by himself.

That will fall on the rest of the secondary, including starting cornerback Riley Moss, rookie Jahdae Barron and the front-seven, including Greenlaw.

“We have a good plan to kind of pull Pat’s weight with multiple guys. It won’t just be one guy. It will be all of us, our D-line providing pass rush and our young DBs just playing it right and playing to the system,” Joseph said.

Joseph is thrilled to get Greenlaw back on the field to help share that load after such a tantalizing appetizer against the Giants.

“Mentally, he’s been awesome. He’s been locked in. He’s been studying. Even when he wasn’t practicing, he was taking every walk-through rep. So, mentally he’s fine,” Joseph said. “Physically, obviously, he needs more reps to kind of get his football air. He was a little tired in his first game. But it’s good having him back.”

And Greenlaw said he’s eager to add to an already elite defense that leads the league in sacks (36), third-down percentage (39.9) and red-zone percentage (40.0) and is top-5 in net yards and points allowed per game.

“For me it’s not about me coming in and trying to be more or do more,” Greenlaw said. “It’s just about me going out there, being myself, because that’s why they brought me here.”

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DENVER (AP) — Bo Nix threw for four touchdowns, rookie R.J. Harvey scored three times and the Denver Broncos routed the Dallas Cowboys 44-24 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive victory.

J.K. Dobbins ran for 111 yards on 15 carries and the Broncos (6-2) also got big performances from rookies Pat Bryant and Jahdae Barron as they extended the NFL’s longest home winning streak to nine games.

Bryant scored his first touchdown and Barron picked off Dak Prescott for his first career interception.

Despite two TD runs from former Denver running back Javonte Williams, the Cowboys (3-4-1) lost for the eighth straight time to the Broncos, whom they haven’t beaten since the heyday of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in 1995.

The Broncos, who lost star cornerback Pat Surtain II to a shoulder injury just before halftime, won the toss and chose to receive, a decision that backfired when Nix threw right at cornerback Trikweze Bridges, whose interception set up Brandon Aubrey’s short field goal.

Excluding a kneel-down at halftime, the Broncos scored on seven of their next eight possessions.

Nix led Denver on four TD drives for a 27-10 halftime lead, and his second TD toss to Troy Franklin made it 37-17. His 5-yarder to Harvey made it 44-17.

Harvey took a pitch from Nix and went 40 yards for Denver’s first touchdown. Then, Nix found Franklin for a 25-yard score that gave Denver a 14-3 lead.

After Williams knifed in from a yard out to pull Dallas to 14-10, Harvey took a direct snap and scored from a yard out. Nix followed that with a 24-yard, over-the-shoulder strike to Bryant for a 27-10 halftime advantage.

It looked as though Aubrey was going to get a shot at a long field goal, maybe even a record-breaker before Prescott was picked off by Barron with 12 seconds left in the first half.

Williams’ second 1-yard TD run pulled Dallas within 27-17 in the third quarter.

Nix was 19 of 29 for 247 yards with the four TDs and one interception. Prescott was 19 of 31 for 188 yards and was intercepted twice.

Including their 33-point fourth quarter last week to stun the Giants, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 77-37 over their last five quarters.

Injuries:

Cowboys: S Alijah Clark left with injured ribs in the second half.

Broncos: Surtain, the reigning defensive player of the year, suffered a lower right leg injury in the first quarter but returned. He injured his left shoulder on a tackle just before halftime and was ruled out in the third quarter. … TE Nate Adkins (knee) left in the fourth quarter.

Up next

Cowboys: Host Arizona on Monday, Nov. 3.

Broncos: At Houston next Sunday.

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DENVER — The Denver Broncos pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.

Denver scored all 33 of its points in the fourth quarter to surmount what was a 13-0 deficit at halftime, 19-0 to start the fourth quarter and 26-8 with just over five minutes to play. Here are some of the wackiest stats from the unbelievable win:

Denver’s 0.2% chance to win

The Broncos had just a 0.7% chance to win the game down 18 with 6:38 left and facing a fourth-down plan, according to NextGen Stats. ESPN Analytics said their chances were even slimmer a play earlier, giving Denver 0.2% odds to win when facing a 3rd-and-12 with 7:12 left.

1,602-game streak snapped

Teams across the league had combined for 1,602 consecutive wins when leading by 18 or more points in the final six minutes of regulation, according to NFL analyst Ari Meirov. Denver snapped the streak Sunday.

Zero to hero

The Broncos’ 33 points were the most scored in the fourth quarter by any team that had been shutout for the first 45 minutes, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Homage to DT

The late Broncos great and Super Bowl champion Demaryius Thomas was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame Sunday, and was honored with tributes before the game and at halftime.

Thomas was 33 years old when he died of medical complications in 2021.

The Broncos, of course, needed 33 points in the fourth quarter to overcome the Giants.

Bo-nafide superstar

According to ESPN and the Elias Sports Bureau, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix became the first player ever to log two or more passing touchdowns and two or more rushing scores in a single quarter.

Nix put the Broncos on the board with a 2-yard passing touchdown to Troy Franklin in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. He drew Denver to within 10 with a 7-yard rushing touchdown with 5:13 left, then found running back RJ Harvey for a 2-yard passing touchdown 82 game seconds later. Nix’s 18-yard touchdown run gave the Broncos the lead with 1:51 to play.

DENVER (AP) — Wil Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Denver Broncos to a thrilling 33-32 win Sunday over the stunned New York Giants, who took a shutout into the 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.

The Broncos (5-2) trailed 26-8 with just over 5 minutes remaining but scored on a 7-yard Bo Nix scamper, R.J. Harvey’s 2-yard catch, 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, Nix and the offense raced to the line of scrimmage at the Giants 21 and 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.

The Giants (2-5) appeared to dodge the defeat when Dart threw incomplete to Beaux Collins near the goal line in the final minute and cornerback Riley Moss was whistled for pass interference. Broncos coach Sean 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.

The Broncos had taken a 30-26 lead on Nix’s 18-yard keeper with 1:51 remaining.

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.

The Giants, who grabbed a 26-8 lead on a deflected touchdown catch with 10:22 remaining, left several points on the field on two missed extra points and a failed 2-point conversion.

Dart threw a trio of touchdown passes, one of them to Cam Skattebo, as the Giants built their big lead.

Harvey’s 2-yard TD catch came on a deflected pass, and Nix’s 2-point pass to Sutton made it 19-8, 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 and raced into the end zone.

Trailing 26-8, the Broncos scored twice sandwiched around Justin Strnad’s interception that set up his offense at the New York 19. First, Nix scored on a 7-yard keeper, then threw a 2-point pass to Franklin to make it 26-16 with 5:13 remaining. Then he hit Harvey from 2 yards out to make it 26-23.

The Broncos’ comeback came on a day the franchise honored the late Demaryius Thomas by inducting him into the team’s ring of fame.

By the halftime ceremony, the Giants had taken a 13-0 lead highlighted by Dart’s 44-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Benninger in the first quarter and his 13-yard strike to Scattebo in the second quarter for the rookie running back’s first career TD grab.

New York made it 19-0 on Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s 31-yard scamper late in the third quarter, but the 2-point conversion failed.

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 with an unspecified injury.

Up next

Giants: visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Broncos: host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver’s defense helped the Broncos deliver the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season and prevented them from handing the New York Jets their first win.

The jubilation that followed Denver’s comeback against the defending champions last week made for an enjoyable flight across the Atlantic to face the winless New York Jets in London, where they eked out a 13-11 win Sunday thanks to a defense that sacked mobile QB Justin Fields nine times.

Coming back to Colorado at 4-2 with a share of the AFC West lead made for an enjoyable return flight, too.

“It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing,” coach Sean Payton said.

One has to go back to Oct. 19, 1969, to find a time the Broncos had more sacks. They had 10 that day against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Broncos limited the Jets to 2 of 15 on third downs, their league-leading fourth game this season in which they allowed two or fewer third-down conversions.

And the Jets finished with minus-10 yards passing.

“That’s pretty funny,” said league sacks leader Nik Bonitto, who was in on two takedowns of Fields.

The Broncos needed that kind of performance from their best unit because the offense sputtered once again, with Bo Nix throwing for 174 yards and J.K. Dobbins leading a scuffling ground game with 40 yards on 14 carries.

Asked about a defense having his back — one that collected nine sacks and surrendered just nine completions — Nix said: “It’s almost, you know, impossible what they did. It was impressive. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things where I don’t get to watch a whole lot of it. I wish I could. They’d be a fun defense to watch, probably an awful defense to play against. I know that kind of from practice. But they turned it on.”

Payton called it “a gritty performance by our defense,” and he was quick to add, “We’ll look at the film and there will be a number of things in the kicking game and offensively we want to clean up.”

In their victories over Philadelphia and New York on their extended road trip, the Broncos punted a whopping 14 times in 23 drives excluding kneel-downs. They had a seven-series stretch Sunday that produced six punts and a safety.

Winning ugly is still winning, though.

What’s working

Denver’s defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three of the Broncos’ six games. OLB Jonathon Cooper’s two sacks gave him 28 for his career. That’s the most by any seventh-round draft choice in their first 70 NFL games since the league switched to a seven-round draft format in 1994.

What needs help

The offense is stuck in neutral way too often and special teams keeps allowing big play after big play like the 72-yard kickoff return in the first half.

Stock up

TE Evan Engram. After a slow start, Engram is working his way into Nix’s comfort zone. He has been targeted 19 times over the last three games with 13 receptions. Of his team-best five receptions Sunday, four resulted in a first down.

Stock down

LG Matt Peart was whistled for three infractions in his first start in place of Ben Powers, who will miss a couple of months with a torn chest muscle. After a false start, Peart’s holding call negated a 13-yard catch by Courtland Sutton, and another flag wiped out a 24-yard catch-and-run by Troy Franklin to the New York 19 on third-and-5, resulting in a punt.

“We’ll go back and look at the tape, but it wasn’t — listen, it wasn’t just him,” Payton said. “We had a number of errors that there will be a lot of us that want to clean some stuff up.”

Injuries

LB Garret Wallow was ruled out early in the fourth quarter with an unspecified injury.

Key stats

Justin Fields completed 9 of 17 passes for 45 yards. He lost 55 yards on the nine sacks, for a minus-10 net passing yards. That’s the fewest yards the Broncos have allowed in their franchise history and second fewest in the NFL since 1990.

Wil Lutz’s 57-yard field goal in the first quarter was his longest since joining the Broncos in 2023. Lutz has the two longest field goals in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium history, also making a 60-yard field goal in 2022 with the Saints.

Next steps

The Broncos face the well-rested New York Giants (2-4), who defeated the Eagles on Thursday night before getting the weekend off while the Broncos were overseas.

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DENVER — The Broncos leaned heavily on their defense Sunday, pulling off a gritty win over the Jets to improve to 4-2 on the season, and it’s undoubtedly the Talk of the Town.

“All’s well that ends well,” said Lionel Bienvenu. “If defense wins championships, then this team will be in the mix at the end of the season.”

Denver’s defense dominated with nine sacks and 11 quarterback hits, while the offense sputtered through penalties and inconsistent play.

“The defense really couldn’t have done any more today; they were phenomenal,” said Bradey King. “The offense had flashes, but then disappeared for quarters at a time.”

Tight end Evan Ingram led all receivers with five catches for 42 yards and was a rare offensive bright spot.

Head coach Sean Payton acknowledged the win wasn’t pretty, saying, “It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing.”

Next up: the Broncos return home to face a red-hot Giants team led by rookies Ken Scadabo and Jaxson Dart. It’s a quick turnaround, with no bye after the London trip, but Denver has a chance to build serious momentum.

“The Giants have been fun, which you don’t usually say about them,” Bienvenu said. “It’s going to be a game to watch.”

Catch the full conversation every Sunday on Talk of the Town.

The Denver Broncos have left the thrill of a stunning victory far behind.

After all, their 21-17 win over the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles was last week — and a continent away.

“Yes, we definitely have to get back honed in, get back focused and move on to the next game,” Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said as the team prepared to face the New York Jets on Sunday in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“You can’t live on this game and be like, ‘Wow, we beat the Eagles,’ and then just carry that into the week,” Cooper added. “No, it’s time to flush that one. Process it, review it, learn from it and then on to the next one.”

That would be the struggling Jets (0-5), who are still looking for their first win under Aaron Glenn. He’s the first coach in franchise history to begin his tenure with five losses. A loss to the Broncos (3-2) on Sunday would give them their third 0-6 start and first since they opened 0-13 under Adam Gase in 2020.

“Listen, we say it’s a long season, but we know how these weeks continue to compile and we have to make sure we get out of this hole that we’re in,” Glenn said. “And we all understand that.”

• Denver7’s Micah Smith and Nick Rothschild are in London this week, and we’re chronicling their adventures in the story below. They’ll be meeting up with Broncos Country and exploring the city ahead of Sunday morning’s game.

Denver Broncos

Broncos blog: Broncos host flag football camp for London-area school kids

The Jets are the only NFL team without a win. They were steamrolled by the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, falling 37-22 in a game that was never close. Glenn has preached patience, but frustrated fans are just about out of that — especially with the team appearing likely to extend the league’s longest active playoff drought to 15 seasons. No team has made the postseason after starting 0-5.

Still, Denver quarterback Bo Nix was miffed at the mere suggestion the Broncos could overlook the Jets.

“I think in the league, quite honestly, it’s a little disrespectful to consider anybody a trap team,” Nix said. “I think any game you can walk in and slip up and lose, that’s just the league. … They were a couple of walk-off plays away from having two or three wins. I definitely think that is something you’ve got to be careful with.

“This is not a team to just toss around like they’re winless, but I think we will be ready to go.”

Consecutive DPOYs?

Take it from the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year: Denver outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has what it takes to win the award this season.

“He’s my favorite, I’m not going to lie,” Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II said of his teammate, who leads the league with seven sacks. “Shoot, even last year he was up for it. I think this year he’s setting himself apart. I know we’ve got a lot more games down the road, but as long as he stays consistent, stays healthy, for sure … I think his game has leveled up.”

Familiar foes

Glenn spent the final season of his 15-year playing career in New Orleans, where Sean Payton was his head coach in 2008. He returned to the Saints eight years later, serving as Payton’s defensive backs coach for five seasons.

The two will square off Sunday for the first time as opposing head coaches.

“I owe a lot of my coaching development to Sean,” Glenn said. “I think he’s a hell of a coach. … He’s one of the guys that I love everything about who he is and what he’s about and I’m looking forward to competing against him.”

Payton recalled speaking to Glenn for about 20 minutes the night before the former cornerback took the job with Jets in January. The two haven’t chatted since, but might have a few moments to catch up before the game.

“He’s a tremendous coach,” Payton said. “He was a huge asset to us in New Orleans. I’ve said this before, as a head coach you love to see guys get these opportunities. … Aaron’s getting things built there.”

Roll or rut?

After starting last week with seven punts in eight possessions, the Broncos scored on all three of their fourth-quarter drives with the 18 unanswered points producing the win at Philadelphia.

So, is Denver’s offense on a roll or in a rut?

“Our defense just continued to make a stop,” Nix said. “We just kind of had some hope, had some life there at the end of the game, and we just kept chipping away, found things that worked, and eventually put some touchdown drives together.

“It’s tough to win games like that.”

Tough takeaways

The Jets’ defense is making dubious history this season.

They’re the first NFL team to have no takeaways through the first five games since 1933, when turnovers were first tracked, according to ESPN Research. The only team since 1960 to go six straight at any point without a takeaway was the 2018 San Francisco 49ers, according to Sportradar.

“It has to be a conscious thing,” linebacker Jamien Sherwood said. “It can’t just be going in there and making the tackle. You have to go in there with the mindset that I’m going to make the tackle and punch the ball out. When the ball goes up in the air, I’m going to go up and get it. I’m going to be the one to bring the ball down.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed to this report.

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ENFIELD, England (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton asked the team bus driver in London how long it would take to get to Leicester.

Too long, it turns out, because Payton is too busy preparing his team to face the New York Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But the memories are close for Payton, who played quarterback for the Leicester Panthers in 1988. The Panthers had played in what amounted to a semi-pro league in the British American Football Association. The sport had begun to gain popularity after public broadcaster Channel 4 started airing NFL highlights in the early 1980s.

Payton reminisced Wednesday about his experience in the central English city. Teams could have four Americans, and the rest were locals.

“They had all sorts of jobs,” he said of his British teammates, “from bouncers to construction. Some were young, some were older. It was fun.”

• Denver7’s Micah Smith and Nick Rothschild are in London this week, and we’re chronicling their adventures in the story below. They’ll be meeting up with Broncos Country and exploring the city ahead of Sunday morning’s game.

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Broncos blog: Denver7 touches down in London Town for the Broncos-Jets game!

Payton had a sense that he was headed into coaching at the time.

“The four of us lived in a house, we’d go work out in the mornings, play some golf, put practice plans together,” he said. “We were pretty good.”

Payton previously coached New Orleans to victories in London — 37-32 over San Diego in 2008, and 20-0 over the Miami Dolphins in 2017, both at Wembley Stadium — and each time he said he’s been able to catch up with old friends from his Leicester days.

On Friday, the Broncos plan to host U17 players from the Leicester Panthers at practice.

“I was 23 years old,” he recalled, “right out of college and basically playing for pizza, because you enjoyed it. It was a good six months, it was nice.”

He’s previously described his Leicester experience as similar to the John Grisham novel “Playing for Pizza.”

His mother had asked: “All your friends are getting married and they have health insurance, what are you doing?”

After leaving England, Payton officially began his coaching career when he took a job as an assistant coach at San Diego State.

‘Hoping to get a London game’

The Broncos came to England after their big 21-17 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. After Sunday’s game, it’s back to Denver to host the New York Giants on Oct. 19. Their bye is in Week 12.

“We’ll be smart as to how we practice next week,” Payton said.

Getting away as a group can provide bonding experiences, he said.

“In New Orleans, we got displaced several times because of hurricanes, and I always felt it helped our team,” Payton said. “We were hoping to get a London game, because this type of experience with your team I think is really positive.”

The Broncos stayed on the East Coast last season for games at Tampa Bay and the Jets — both victories.

Trap game? Bo says no

The 0-5 Jets are the only winless team in the NFL, but don’t call it a trap game.

“Any game you can walk in and slip up and lose, that’s just the league,” second-year quarterback Bo Nix said. “They’ve been close on some games. There a couple of walk-off plays away from having two, three wins.”

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bo Nix threw an 11-yard touchdown pass and J.K. Dobbins rushed for a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter as the Denver Broncos wiped out a 14-point deficit to hand the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season, 21-17 on Sunday.

The Broncos batted down Jalen Hurts’ last-gasp pass on the final play of the game to send the Super Bowl champions to just their second loss in their last 22 games.

The Broncos (3-2) caught a huge break in their rally when the Eagles had a late fourth-down conversion called back on an illegal shift penalty whistled against running back Saquon Barkley. The Eagles (4-1) were forced to punt and Hurts could not lead one more comeback.

His final heave on second-and-10 from the 29 was knocked down as time expired to send the jubilant Broncos into the locker room with an improbable win. Nix waved his arms in celebration toward dozens of Broncos fans in orange that stood near the visitors tunnel.

Nix threw for 242 yards — a week after he threw for a career-high 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Bengals — and Denver’s formula of run-first offense and a dominant defense came to life in the fourth quarter.

The Broncos totaled just 199 yards and trailed 17-3 at the end of the third before Nix got the offense rolling. Dobbins, who followed his 101 yards rushing against Cincinnati with 79 yards on Sunday, punched in a 2-yard TD run in the fourth to make it 17-10.

The Broncos got the ball back and Nix hit Courtland Sutton for 34 yards on the decisive drive. Nix connected over the middle with Evan Engram for the 11-yard TD.

Broncos coach Sean Payton gambled for the 2-point conversion and they got it when Nix hit Tony Franklin for an 18-17 lead with 7:36 left in the game.

The play stunned and silenced the Philly crowd — a familiar gut punch to the fan base after the Phillies wasted a three-run lead a night earlier in a playoff loss to the Dodgers.

Yet, these are the Eagles and they weren’t going to just easily surrender their 10-game winning streak.

At fourth-and-4 from the Eagles 49, Hurts hit DeVonta Smith on a long reception for what should have been a first down, only for the flag on Barkley to wipe it off the board. Smith had eight catches and 114 yards receiving.

That was it for the Eagles. Will Lutz tacked on a 36-yard field goal with 1:11 left for a 21-17 lead.

Hurts threw for 280 yards. He had a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert and a 47-yard TD pass to Barkley in the third quarter for the 17-10 lead.

Injuries

Broncos: RB Tyler Badie left with a shoulder injury late in the fourth.

Eagles: G Landon Dickerson suffered an ankle injury and TE Grant Calcaterra suffered an oblique injury.

Up next

Broncos: Are on the road Sunday against the Jets.

Eagles: Have a short trip on a short week Thursday night at the Giants.

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