Broncos' comeback vs Giants was historic but flawed in a way that concerns Sean Payton

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DENVER (AP) — If Sunday night felt like a party to the Denver Broncos, on Monday they dealt with the hangover of their 33-32 win over the New York Giants that featured one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history.

“We gave up five or six third-and-10 or fourth-and-long conversions,” coach Sean Payton said as he prepared for what was sure to be a fire-and-brimstone speech to his players during their day-after film review. "Offensively, we really didn't amount to anything until we got into the end of the game, fourth quarter. Mental errors, mistakes, snaps, wrong reads, you name it."

And yet, somehow the Broncos overcame a 26-8 deficit Sunday with less than six minutes remaining to extend their wild winning streak to four games.

Teams that trailed by at least 18 points in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter have won two of 3,679 NFL games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

The only other time it happened was on Oct. 10, 2003, when Peyton Manning led the Indianapolis Colts back from a 35-14 deficit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road with three touchdowns in the final 3:37 of regulation to force overtime, then won it on a short Mike Vanderjagt field goal 38-35.

Manning was on hand to witness the Broncos' historic comeback — along with other members of Denver's Super Bowl 50-winning team — for the halftime posthumous induction of former wide receiver Demaryius Thomas into the team's Ring of Fame.

Thomas' pillar at the Broncos' Ring of Fame plaza outside Empower Field was placed next to Manning's as was his name on the fifth-level facade of the stadium, something Manning said “means a lot" to him.

"We were close and he was so close to my family, as well. It means a great deal."

Most assuredly, so did witnessing the historic comeback that left the Broncos (5-2) all alone atop the AFC West for the first time since Week 4 of the 2016 season.

Denver's fourth-quarter offense. The Broncos have outscored their opponents 61-13 in the final quarter during their four-game winning streak, shutting out the Bengals, Eagles and Jets before outscoring the Giants 30-13 with the second-most prolific quarter in league history, behind only Detroit's 34-point quarter in a 37-27 win over Chicago on Sept. 30, 2007.

Denver's dawdling offense through three quarters. In their last three games and excluding an end-of-half possession, the Broncos' drives prior to the fourth quarter look like this: 17 punts, two field goals, one touchdown, a fumble, a safety and a turnover on downs after stalling at the opponent's 1-yard line.

QB Bo Nix has three fourth-quarter comebacks this season. With two TD keepers and TD throws to Troy Franklin and R.J. Harvey, Nix became the first quarterback in NFL history with multiple rushing and passing touchdowns in a fourth quarter. He also extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown throw to 15. Only Lamar Jackson (28) and Patrick Mahomes (17) have longer active streaks. Nix's six fourth-quarter comebacks since the start of his rookie season last year are tied for the NFL lead with Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield.

Denver's defense, which has been stellar all season, had a major hiccup Sunday. They stumbled on a half-dozen third- or fourth-and-long situations:

—3rd-and-11 at Denver 13: Jaxson Dart 13-yard touchdown pass to Cam Skattebo.

—3rd-and-10 at New York 2: Defensive pass interference on Ja'Quan McMillian

—3rd-and-12 at New York 38: Dart 13-yard pass to Wan'Dale Robinson plus face mask by cornerback Riley Moss for another 15 yards.

—3rd-and-17 at Denver 41: Dart 41-yard touchdown to Theo Johnson.

—4th-and-19 at New York 26: Dart 19-yard pass to Robinson plus roughing the passer on John Franklin-Myers for another 15 yards.

—3rd-and-10 at Denver 40: pass interference on Moss on incompletion to Beaux Collins at the 2. Payton also was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for running onto the field to argue the call, but that only cost Denver a yard. Still, when Dart scored on the next play with 37 seconds left, it could have been the dagger.

The Broncos came out of the game healthy.

300 Club: Sunday marked Payton's 300th game as head coach, including playoffs. He's the 20th coach in NFL history to reach that milestone. Other active head coaches in that club are: Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh.

Seventh-round sensation: With 1 1/2 sacks against the Giants, OLB Jonathon Cooper now has 29 1/2 career sacks. That marks the most by any seventh-round draft choice in their first 71 career games since the league switched to a seven-round draft format in 1994.

The Broncos host the high-powered Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) who are coming off a 44-22 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

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