The Denver Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Rams 30-26 on Sunday night. In what many deemed the game that could have been the Super Bowl last year and still could be this year, the Broncos came away with one of their biggest regular-season wins in some time.
But it very easily could have gone the other way.
The Broncos needed a controversial pass interference call (that would have been an interception leading to the end of the game) in order to keep their late game-winning drive alive. That drive featured some questionable decisions, which we're going to look at here.
Broncos' game-winning drive vs. Rams
This drive was littered with mistakes. Yes, looking at things in hindsight is always easy to do, but it's likely that thousands of Broncos fans were screaming these things along with me
as they happened. So we're going to look at this drive play by play.
The Broncos took over at their own 35-yard line with 3:38 to play. On first down, Bo Nix faced some pressure and tried to throw underneath to J.K. Dobbins, only to have the ball batted right back at him by a Rams defensive lineman.
On second down, Nix scrambled for five yards, which would have set up 3rd-and-5, but Garett Bolles was flagged for holding, knocking Denver back to 2nd-and-20. This led to one of the biggest plays of the game. On the next play, Nix found Pat Bryant without a defender anywhere in sight, leading to a gain of 39 yards down to the Rams' 36-yard line, already in range for a game-tying field goal. Keep in mind, the Rams have all three of their timeouts.
On the next play, Nix hits Troy Franklin for 21 yards down to the Rams' 15-yard line. That leads to the two-minute warning. This is where the real chess match starts.
On first down, Dobbins gains two yards on a carry. The Broncos do a good job winding the clock down, but on second down, they elect to throw the ball. The pass is complete to RJ Harvey, who does a good job staying in bounds, forcing the Rams to use their first timeout. However, he only gains two yards on the play, setting up 3rd-and-6.
On the next play, Nix faces quick pressure and, while retreating, throws the ball towards the sidelines. The pass is somehow intercepted by Rams defensive back Josh Wallace (which would have been his second of the quarter). Replays showed that it was a catch, but the Rams are called for pass interference, which was a controversial call:
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay did not believe Rams CB Josh Wallace should have been flagged for pass interference, in what may have otherwise been an interception.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2026
The Broncos went on to score what would serve as the game-winning TD. pic.twitter.com/A0YDJ8ZmZl
Now, the Broncos have the Rams right where they want them. They have 1st-and-goal from the Rams' 7-yard line with 1:09 to play. Ideally, you want to score a touchdown with almost no time on the clock or kick a field goal as time expires to send it to overtime.
On first down, Dobbins carries for two yards down to the 5-yard line. The Rams call their second timeout. Up next is the worst play call of the night as Davis Webb calls for a pass. Nix throws incomplete to Courtland Sutton, which not only stops the clock and allows the Rams to preserve their final timeout, but it also brings up third down. Horrendous call.
On third down, Nix throws an incomplete pass to Evan Engram, but again, the Rams are flagged for a penalty. This time it's illegal use of hands against Quinton Lake. The Broncos get a fresh set of downs. It should be hard to screw things up at this point.
But on 1st-and-goal from the Rams' 2-yard line, Nix again throws the ball and it's again incomplete. Why is this team throwing the ball in this situation? The goal should have been to force the Rams to use their final timeout. Three plays later, the Broncos finally punch it into the end zone with Nix diving over the top on 3rd-and-goal. Had he not crossed the line, the Broncos would have been faced with going for it on 4th-and-goal or kicking a field goal to try to send the game to overtime.
However, the Rams still had that one timeout, which was key. They left Matthew Stafford with that timeout and 47 seconds to work with. It was a tense situation, because it was clearly possible for the Rams to still win this game. And, it almost happened.
TALANOA HUFANGA CALLS GAME WITH AN END ZONE PICK. BRONCOS WIN!
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 28, 2026
📺 Sunday Night Football: Rams at Broncos on NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/JI7dlM7e63
It should never have been that close. Had Webb played better situational football with his play-calling duties, the Rams would have had no more than 15-20 seconds to work with. Hopefully, he'll keep that in his back pocket and make better calls the next time so the Broncos don't have to sweat it out until the game's final play.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Questionable decision-making in crucial situation nearly cost Broncos a win
