Broncos stun Giants 33-32 with last-second field goal in historic comeback

DENVER (AP) — Once the bungling, bumbling Denver Broncos finally got going, they couldn't be stopped.

Shut out for three quarters, the Broncos rallied with 33 points in the fourth in one of the most stunning turnarounds in NFL history.

Wil Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Denver to a thrilling 33-32 win Sunday over the stunned New York Giants, who watched the Broncos score on their last five drives.

“I lost hope, I ain’t gonna lie. I lost hope," star cornerback Patrick Surtain said.

“It was one of them games where we felt like we didn’t execute. Going to film room, there’s a lot of corrections. But one thing we didn’t lose was composure,” Surtain added. "We fought to the end. In this league, no matter how much you're down, there’s always a will, and there’s always a way."

At least now there is.

The Broncos' 33 fourth-quarter points were the most in NFL history by any team that was shut out for the first three quarters and quarterback Bo Nix became the first player ever to run for two scores and throw for two touchdowns in a fourth quarter.

The Broncos’ improbable comeback snapped a streak in which NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final 6 minutes of a game.

“I don't even know how we scored 33 points in a quarter,” Nix admitted. “That's kind of insane.”

“You win a game like that, it's the best thing ever.”

The Giants were in disbelief after losing leads of 19-0 and 26-8.

“This is going to haunt us for a long time,” said Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger.

“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.”

When the Broncos (5-2) trailed 26-8 with 6:38 remaining in the game and were facing fourth-and-3, their win probability was less than 1%, according to Next Gen Stats.

The Broncos, though, scored on a 7-yard Nix scamper, R.J. Harvey's 2-yard catch after Justin Strnad's interception, an 18-yard keeper by Nix and Lutz's game-winner after Jaxson Dart seemingly broke the Broncos' hearts with a 1-yard TD with 37 seconds left that gave New York a 32-30 lead.

Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point of the afternoon, however, and after Tyler Badie returned the kickoff 19 yards to the 23, Nix found Marvin Mims for 29 yards and Courtland Sutton for 22.

With no timeouts remaining, the Broncos raced to the line of scrimmage at the Giants 21 and Nix spiked the ball with 2 seconds left.

The snap was high but Lutz nailed the field goal to secure Denver's fourth consecutive win overall and NFL-best eighth straight at home.

“I was proud we fought to get back in it,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “It's like we had to find a way to clean up our mess.”

The Broncos took a 30-26 lead on Nix's 18-yard scamper with 1:51 left. But the Giants (2-5) appeared to dodge the defeat when Denver cornerback Riley Moss was whistled for pass interference on an incompletion to Beaux Collins near the goal line. Payton ran out onto the field to argue the call and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. That put the ball at the 1 and Dart took it from there.

“That was silly,” Payton said of his penalty. “I just wanted them to hear me. Can’t do that.”

The Broncos were actually in danger of getting shut out at home for the first time in their 66-year history when they were blanked for three quarters. Denver’s managed 111 yards on its first eight possessions and got 295 yards on its final five drives.

The Broncos' 33-point quarter was the second-highest in NFL history, behind only a 34-point performance by Detroit in a 37-27 win over Chicago on Sept. 30, 2007.

R.J. Harvey's 2-yard TD catch that got Denver on the scoreboard, came on a deflected pass, but on the ensuing drive, on third-and-17 from the Denver 41, the Giants got their own ricocheted touchdown when tight end Theo Johnson hauled in Dart's pass after it went off wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson's hands.

The Broncos' historic comeback came on a day the franchise honored the late Demaryius Thomas, who died at age 33, by inducting him into the team's ring of fame on day they also celebrated the 10th anniversary of their Super Bowl 50 team.

By the halftime ceremony, the Giants had taken a 13-0 lead on Dart’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Bellinger and his 13-yard strike to Cam Scattebo for the rookie running back's first career TD grab.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw made his debut for Denver after spending the first six weeks of the season sidelined by a quadriceps injury. He had six tackles.

Giants: S Jevon Holland left with a knee injury in the first half and didn't return. ... CB Paulson Adebo went out with an unspecified injury in the third quarter.

Broncos: RT Mike McGlinchey got hurt with 4:42 remaining and walked off the field but returned, saying, “I certainly wasn’t going to miss out on the fun. I was a part of three and a-half quarters of (bad) football, so I might as well get in for the good ones.”

Giants: Visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Broncos: host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger, left, and quarterback Jaxson Dart walk off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz (3) is congratulated by teammates after kicking the game winning field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger, left, celebrates with quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) after connecting on a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) runs against Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian (29) before scoring on the play during the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) passes against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) is sacked by New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) during the first half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz (3) celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Denver, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Sunday it rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as President Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with a new looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran showed no signs of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries.

The airman’s extraction followed a U.S. search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot.” Trump said he was injured but in stable condition.

“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote on social media.

A second crew member was rescued earlier.

The fighter jet was the first American aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, striking Iran on Feb. 28. The war has since killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

Trump said last week that the U.S. had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.” Two days later, Iran shot down two U.S. military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.

As Iran continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, Trump, in a weekend social media post, threatened to unleash “all Hell” if it isn’t opened by Monday. He has issued such threats before and extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war on agreeable terms.

The other jet to go down was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.

On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of American aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising into the air. The broadcaster said Iran had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

In Kuwait, an Iranian drone attack caused significant damage to two power plants and put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity. No injuries were reported from the attack, the ministry said.

In Bahrain, the national oil company said that a drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities, which was extinguished. It said the damage was still being assessed and no injuries had been reported.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to multiple fires at the Borouge petrochemicals plant that they said were caused by intercepted debris. Production at the plant in Ruwais, near the UAE’s western border with Saudi Arabia, was halted.

The strike came a day after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue that it had used to fund the war.

Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face devastating consequences, writing Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”

The waterway is a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.

“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.

But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.

The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.

“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

This report has been corrected to show that Borealis is an Austrian company and not Australian.

Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)