DENVER (AP) — Jaxson Dart took a knee near midfield and placed his left hand over his mouth as he watched the Denver Broncos complete an epic comeback.
With that, the rookie quarterback witnessed what appeared to be a surefire — and impressive — win transform into a haunting loss. The Broncos stormed back from a 19-0 deficit heading into the fourth quarter to stun the New York Giants 33-32 on a 39-yard field goal from Wil Lutz with no time remaining
Sunday.
There was no masking Dart's emotions after game.
“It sucks,” Dart said. “I hate losing. It’s just a bad feeling.”
Especially this way.
It was all but in the win column for the Giants (2-5). They were up 26-8 with under 6 minutes remaining. Then, it all fell apart as the Broncos (5-2) completed a comeback for the ages.
Before Sunday's meltdown, NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final 6 minutes of a game, according to the CBS broadcast.
“I never felt like we’re going to lose the game,” Dart said.
So close to ending their road woes, too. Instead, they dropped their ninth straight away from the Meadowlands. The Giants haven't won on the road since Oct. 6, 2024, in Seattle.
“It’s tough to even think because my mind is just on us not finishing the game," tight end Daniel Bellinger said. "That’s just where my mind is at right now. We've just got to find ways to win.”
The momentum swung when, up 26-16, Dart got his feet stuck in the turf and threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Justin Strnad, who returned it to the New York 19. A short pass from Bo Nix to RJ Harvey later and all of a sudden it was 26-23 with 3:51 remaining.
“I can’t do that," Dart said of his miscue. "We were in full control of the game. In our situation, you can’t do that.”
The drama was only heating up. So was the crowd noise, which went from boos to roars.
The Broncos took a 30-26 lead on an 18-yard TD run by Nix with 1:51 left.
But Dart and the Giants responded with a scoring drive punctuated by the QB's 1-yard plunge with 37 seconds left. The drive was aided by three defensive penalties, including one on Broncos coach Sean Payton for running on the field near the goal line after a pass interference call on Riley Moss.
Kicker Jude McAtamney missed the extra point — his second miss of the game — to make it 32-30 and set the stage for the Broncos' comeback. Nix completed two long passes to set up Lutz for the winner.
“Yeah, tough loss,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. "Put their heart and soul into it. Not a lot of talking that needs to be done when you lose a game like that. Everybody gave everything they had.
"It’s tough to lose any game. But certainly, this was a tough one.”
After pitching a shutout, the Giants defense fell apart in the fourth quarter. They allowed 227 of Denver's 407 yards in the fourth quarter and all 33 points. It's the most points the Broncos have ever scored in a quarter.
“They made some plays,” Daboll said. “Give them credit."
McAtamney owned up to missing a pair of extra points. The Giants also failed on a 2-point attempt.
“I missed vital points at vital times today,” McAtamney said. “I’m not going to shy away from that.”
Dart shouldered the blame, too, for his late interception.
“It’s just a loss that shouldn’t have happened by us,” Dart said.
The plan was now simple: Turn the page as quick as possible. The Giants play at Philadelphia next Sunday. They beat the Eagles at home Oct. 9.
“You can’t let one loss lead to another,” said Dart, who threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns. "You have to fix the things that you messed up on and we’ve got to finish games. We have to be able to finish the game.
“We have good leaders on this team. We have good players. We have to find ways to finish the game and bounce back.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
