CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Safety Devon Key's first career interception may not have looked the way he envisioned it would.

But with the Broncos trailing by a point late in the third quarter — and at risk of falling even further behind — it was exactly what the team needed.

With a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the Panthers appeared poised to extend their 14-13 lead. But quarterback Bryce Young's first-down pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone, and the Broncos stopped Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard short of the goal line on second down.

As it turned out, though, the Broncos would not need another stop. The referee announced that Denver had challenged the first-down incompletion, and the play was under review. And according to Head Coach Sean Payton, the decision to challenge was one that came down to the final second.

"That was the first that I could ever recall like that … where it was that close," Payton said of challenging the call.

According to Payton, Broncos Director of Game Management Evan Rothstein alerted him from upstairs that Key had actually intercepted the incomplete pass in the end zone, and the timeliness of the notification allowed Payton to throw the challenge flag just before the ball was snapped on the ensuing play.

"Replay can get involved to make sure that the head coach throws his challenge flag prior to the next snap," NFL VP of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth told a pool reporter. "We were actually able to use angles to show that the flag was out prior to the ball being snapped, and so we permitted the challenge."

The review confirmed that Key had indeed caught the ball — which bounced off of Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble's hand — before it hit the ground in the end zone.

"I gave Evan a game ball," Payton said following the win. "That was a hard one for any of us to see. … That's obviously a big play."

Rather than surrendering any points at a critical moment in the game, the Broncos regained possession at the 20-yard line following the touchback.

"I felt confident in it," Key said of the play. "I just turned around and saw the ball in the air and tried to get my hands on it."

Tackle Mike McGlinchey, who said he surmised from the sideline that the pass had been intercepted, credited Rothstein with making a decision that "changed the influence" of the Broncos' win.

"Evan is an unbelievable football mind," McGlinchey said. "… He's so valuable to our football team and he's carved out an unbelievable role for himself just by sticking with it and grinding through years and years in this league. He deserves all the praise because he's as vital to what we're doing as anybody."

While the official word came from Rothstein, Key also credited cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian with alerting Defensive CoordinatorVance Jospeh on the sideline about the interception. McMillian said following Sunday's win that the interception "changed the whole game," and cornerback Pat Surtain II shared a similar message.

"Key got his play in a crucial moment in the end zone," Surtain said. "That was a heads-up play by him."

For Denver's offense, the play could not have come at a better moment. Quarterback Bo Nix described it as a "great momentum shifter for us," and Nix then led a 14-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in Jonah Coleman's 9-yard go-ahead score.

The Broncos would later add another touchdown and come up with a defensive stop — capped by a Nik Bonitto strip-sack — on the final drive to seal the 26-21 win.

"It was really important, and that was an amazing play," Payton said.

Key's game-changing play serves as just the latest example of the strength of Denver's defensive depth that has been on display over the last several weeks. The Broncos were without both of their starting safeties — Talanoa Hufanga and Brandon Jones — in Week 9, and cornerback Riley Moss left Sunday's game with an injury. Cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine — who has filled in over the last several weeks and recorded a fourth-quarter interception against the Seahawks — also missed Week 9 with injury.

And yet, several players — including Key — have stepped up when it matters most.

"The depth that we have in the room … it doesn't matter [who's in there], there's no drop-off," McMillian said. "Guys step in and we trust guys to come in and perform like everybody else. It just shows the depth and the work that we put in, us learning from each other. And we're able to make the plays when it's our time."

Payton said "when you're drafting and evaluating all these guys … you know at some point guys are going to have to play and step up," and Bonitto credited the coaching staff with putting players in position to be at their best when their number is called.

"They're getting guys ready to play every week," Bonitto said of the staff. "… Everybody that's on the 53[-man roster] is capable of playing,and we're seeing that time and time again with guys stepping in and making plays and holding it down for us."

And for Key, who Payton said received a game ball for what he described as a "huge play," making the most of an opportunity meant walking away with his first NFL interception.

"I wish I could've gotten some return yards," Key joked following the game. "I just want to thank God for putting me in the position I'm in to make my first interception."