DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos overcame a short week, an early alarm, a slow start and a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the reigning champions for their biggest win since Super Bowl 50 nearly a decade ago.
Their 21-17 stunner at Philadelphia marked just the second time in 114 road games that the Broncos trailed by 14 or more points entering the fourth quarter and ended up winning the game.
The only other time that happened was in Week 4 in 2023, when Denver overcame a 28-14 deficit to beat Chicago 31-28 and give coach Sean Payton his first win with Broncos.
Now, he's got his signature win with Denver, as does second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
The Broncos trailed the Eagles 17-3 heading into the fourth quarter Sunday after punting on seven of their eight drives. The outlier was a 12-play, 32-yard field-goal drive in the first quarter.
Denver's defense, however, shut down the Eagles over their final five drives and gave Nix & Co. the opening for a comeback. Nix led a pair of touchdown drives, the second of which ended with a 2-point conversion when Troy Franklin jab stepped with his left foot and was open for Nix's pass to give Denver an 18-17 lead and silence the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
“I wasn’t surprised" by Payton's 2-point call, Nix said. "Next thing I knew he was just giving the hash, gave me the call, and we had one play to go get the job done. Troy ran a great route. We’ve been practicing that for a couple of weeks, and he got in the end zone. I mean just trust in his players and we got the job done.”
The Eagles never recovered, losing at home for the first time in more than a year.
“After the 2-point (try), we just got some great momentum and we just played with that for the rest of the game,” said Nix, who added a clock-chewing, 11-play drive that covered 50 yards and ended with Wil Lutz's second field goal.
Then, it was up to Vance Joseph's defenders to close things out, which they did when cornerback Patrick Surtain II knocked away Jalen Hurts' desperation heave into the end zone from the Denver 29 as time expired.
The comeback made for an enjoyable trip across the Atlantic as the Broncos took a red-eye flight to London, where they'll face the winless Jets (0-5) on Sunday.
“It’s awesome. It’s a great win. It proves that we can go on the road and beat these tough teams and we can be a tough team to play," Nix said. "So that’s good for our confidence. It’s good for going on this trip. A lot of teams struggle before they go to London, but we focused on this trip, we focused on this game and we went out and got it done. It was good for us.”
What’s working
Rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw got a good workout through three quarters, punting seven times and pinning the Eagles inside their 15-yard line five times. He helped the Broncos win field position on an afternoon when it proved crucial.
What needs help
Safety J.L. Skinner had one pass interference penalty on Philadelphia's final drive and easily could have been whistled for another on an incompletion near the goal line with 9 seconds left.
Stock up
Bo Nix the closer. In the fourth quarter he was 9 for 10 for 126 yards and a touchdown. He led three scoring drives as Denver scored 18 unanswered points.
Stock down
Bo Nix the starter. Through three quarters, he was 15 for 29 for 116 yards and no touchdowns as Denver punted seven times and gained a net 145 yards.
Injuries
Left guard Ben Powers flew to Denver instead of London after the game so he can get tests on his injured biceps. Also staying behind was QB2 Jarrett Stidham, whose wife is expecting the couple's third child. Stidham is expected to rejoin the team later in the week.
Key stats
Nik Bonitto registered 2 1/2 sacks, giving him an NFL-best seven through five games. The Broncos finished with six sacks, giving them a league-high 21 a year after they collected a franchise-record 65 quarterback takedowns.
Next steps
The Broncos can bring home a 4-2 record by taking care of business in London.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
