Pats beat Broncos 26–23 with a Chad Ryland field goal with two seconds left on Sunday Night Football.
New England kicker Chad Ryland and quarterback Bailey Zappe played the role of spoilers for the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
This latest upset left the Broncos with just a 6% chance of ending their eight-year playoff drought, according to the NFL’s calculations.
The Broncos desperately needed a win to stay in the AFC playoff race. The team found itself in good position prior to Week 15, but a dreadful loss to the Detroit Lions dropped Denver down to 7-7.
The skid continued after Zappe led a drive in the final minute to set up Ryland’s 56-yard field goal with two seconds left to give New England a stunning 26-23 victory.
The Patriots (4-11) scored a pair of touchdowns in a six-second span of the third quarter, before fending off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8) to record just their fourth victory of the season.
Ryland’s kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out having tied the game with a pair of long touchdown drives and 2-point conversions on its previous two possessions.
Ryland came in as the worst full-time starting kicker in the league in field-goal percentage at 65 per cent (13 of 20), with the rookie missing from 47 yards late in the first half as well as an extra point in the third quarter.
Bill Belichick improved to 11-10 against the Broncos during his 24-year tenure in New England, denying Denver the status as the only opponent with a winning record against him during his time with the Patriots.
After falling behind 23-7, the Broncos tied it when Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to tight end Lucas Krull and wideout Brandon Johnson and converted two-point passes to Johnson and Javonte Williams.
The Broncos had a shot at completing the comeback when they got the ball at their 39 with 1:42 remaining but they went three-and-out, giving the ball back to New England with just under a minute remaining.
Bailey Zappe had a feeling this would be the New England Patriots’ night when he coughed up the football at his 5-yard line on his very first snap and his defense bailed him out by keeping the Denver Broncos out of the end zone.
“It kind of nullifies everything that happened,” Zappe said after helping the Patriots deliver a near-fatal blow to the Broncos’ playoff hopes with a 26-23 victory Sunday night.
“You don’t want to turn the ball over, but if they don’t get any points, that’s a win, of course,” Zappe said. “To have a defense like we do, I mean it’s phenomenal. It’s just awesome to see those guys play. They’re one of the best — if not the best — defenses in the entire league.”
Chad Ryand’s career-long 56-yard field goal with two seconds left was the difference for the Patriots (4-11), who scored a pair of touchdowns in a six-second span of the third quarter, then fended off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8).
Ryland’s kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out. Denver had tied it up with a pair of long TD drives and 2-point conversions on its previous two possessions.
Ryland came in as the worst full-time starting kicker in the league in field-goal percentage at 65% (13 of 20), and the rookie missed from 47 yards late in the first half on Sunday night. He also missed an extra point in the third quarter.
The Broncos were 7 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, making the Patriots the fourth underdog to win at Empower Field at Mile High in coach Sean Payton’s first season.
Bill Belichick improved to 11-10 against the Broncos during his 24-year tenure in New England, denying Denver the status as the only opponent with a winning record against him during his time with the Patriots.
After falling behind 23-7, the Broncos tied it when Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to rookie tight end Lucas Krull and wideout Brandon Johnson and converted 2-point passes to Johnson and Javonte Williams.