PHILADELPHIA — As the ball soared off punter Jeremy Crawshaw's foot following a third-quarter three-and-out, the Broncos' chances of knocking off the defending champions seemed slim.
Denver trailed 17-3 with 3:43 to play in the third quarter, and the Broncos were struggling to maintain drives.
At that point in the game, the Broncos had absorbed punches.
A sack that pushed Denver out of field-goal range with a chance to take a first-half lead.
A 52-yard pass from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith on third-and-17 that set up a go-ahead touchdown.
A 47-yard Saquon Barkley reception for a touchdown that pushed the Eagles' lead to 14 points.
By the time Crawshaw punted the ball away — the team's sixth consecutive possession that ended in a punt — the Broncos had just a 4.6 percent chance of winning the game.
And then they swung back — and took it to the defending champs.
"The thing we did was when you play someone like that, you're going to get punched and it's not going to be easy," Head Coach Sean Payton said after a 21-17 win. "But we kept fighting, and that's what I was most encouraged about, just the fight, the grit. And then you felt that this is a funny thing that momentum shifted — and when that happened, it's pretty powerful."
After managing six total first downs and 107 yards on six possessions following their initial field goal, the Broncos' offense roared to life. Denver marched 62 yards in 10 plays — totaling six first downs — before a J.K. Dobbins touchdown cut the lead to one score.
After holding the Eagles to a quick three-and-out, Denver converted a third-and-15 of its own via a terrific third-down pass from Bo Nix to Courtland Sutton that gained 34 yards.
"Yeah, it was a big play," Nix said. "Just a good play that we like, and honestly our thought was just to get to fourth-and-manageable, probably, and give ourselves a chance to go for it. When you complete it with Courtland, good things happen."
Nix threw a touchdown to Engram on the next snap, and the Broncos took the lead on the ensuing two-point conversion play with a pass to Troy Franklin.
"We came here to win a game," Payton said.
The Eagles would convert a fourth-down pass on a 30-yarder to Smith on the ensuing possession, but a flag wiped out the big gain. Denver then chewed clock with a pair of third-down possessions — one via an unnecessary roughness penalty — before pushing the lead to four points.
Nix, including the final drive, was an impressive 9-of-10 for 127 yards, a touchdown and a 152.1 rating in the final quarter.
"Man, you can feel his leadership when it matters, and then you can feel the confidence with his teammates when it matters," Payton said of Nix. "So, he played exceptional in the second half."
And as the defense closed out the game by knocking a Hail Mary attempt away, the Broncos earned a signature win. They nearly landed one last year in Kansas City. They fought in the postseason in Buffalo.
But they finished the deal in Philadelphia on Sunday.
"It's a great win," Nix said. "It proves that we can go on the road and beat these tough teams, and we can be a tough team to play."
The Broncos arrived in Philadelphia with an opportunity — and they affirmed their own expectations about what they would be able to accomplish.
"The whole week, everybody was just coming up asking questions, 'Is this a measuring-stick game?'" outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said. "I never felt like it was that. I feel like we knew what type of team we were. We're a good team. We have aspirations. We knew we weren't trying to come in here just to be close and lose a game. We wanted to come in here and win."
In a near-flawless fourth quarter, the Broncos quieted Lincoln Financial Field and fought back to earn a victory.
