DENVER — Pat Surtain II admitted he had misplaced hope.

The Denver Broncos hadn’t scored till the fourth quarter Sunday, trailed the New York Giants by 18 factors with simply over 10 minutes left after which by two with 37 seconds to go. However they in some way sprinted into the locker room at Empower Subject at Mile Excessive with an exhilarating 33-32 win that left Surtain and his teammates amazed.

“We fought to the top,” Surtain mentioned. “On this league, irrespective of how a lot you’re down, there’s all the time a will, and there’s all the time a manner.”

Earlier than Sunday, groups had misplaced 1,602 consecutive video games when trailing by a minimum of 18 factors with six minutes to play. Denver, although, modified that with 33 factors within the fourth quarter, its most in 1 / 4 in franchise historical past and tied for the second most in 1 / 4 in NFL historical past.

“I don’t even understand how we scored 33 factors in 1 / 4, that’s type of insane,” Broncos quarterback Bo Nix mentioned. “It’s simply no matter we needed to get achieved, we did it … By any means needed.”

It marked the biggest fourth-quarter comeback for a crew that had not scored within the first three quarters in NFL historical past. And Nix grew to become the primary participant in NFL historical past to hurry for 2 touchdowns and throw for 2 in a closing quarter.

The Broncos had made a big mess of issues on either side of the ball that resulted in a 19-0 deficit on the finish of the third quarter. Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart had been largely unhindered by the Broncos’ often swarming protection, throwing for 210 yards and two touchdowns to that time. And the Broncos’ offense was pressured to punt six instances in its first 9 possessions.

“We needed to discover a strategy to clear up our mess,” Broncos coach Sean Payton mentioned.

Issues began to show for Denver when Nix hit Troy Franklin for a 2-yard landing cross, then transformed the 2-point conversion to make it 19-8 with 14:08 to play.

“I used to be fascinated by how I used to be going to reply questions if we obtained shut out,” Nix mentioned. “… As soon as we scored and obtained the 2-point conversion, it was like we knew easy methods to play once more.”

However the Giants answered. Tight finish Theo Johnson took Dart’s deflected cross 41 yards for a 26-8 lead with 10:14 to play.

The Broncos answered with a 13-play, 74-yard landing drive, then added a 2-point conversion to make it 26-16. After which, virtually to a participant, the Broncos mentioned linebacker Justin Strnad got here up with the play that made the unbelievable attainable.

Going through a third-and-5 at their 35, Dart tried to sneak a cross over Strnad’s head, however he intercepted it and returned it to the Giants’ 19. The Broncos scored 4 performs later to chop the result in 26-23.

After which issues obtained actually wild.

The Broncos pressured a three-and-out, and Nix rapidly completed a six-play, 68-yard drive with an 18-yard TD run that gave them a 30-26 lead with 1:51 to play.

However eight performs into the subsequent Giants possession, a cross interference penalty on Denver’s Riley Moss ultimately zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on an enraged Payton — who went to the center of the sphere to precise his displeasure with the officers — put the ball on the Broncos’ 1. The Giants then scored on a Dart sneak for a 32-30 lead with 37 seconds to play.

On Denver’s closing possession, Nix hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a 29-yard achieve after which Courtland Sutton for a 22-yard achieve, establishing Will Lutz’s 39-yard winner on the sport’s final play.

“I’ve by no means been down by that a lot and have the ability to come again,” Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto mentioned. “It was loopy. I’m nonetheless geeked.”

Giants captain Dexter Lawrence mentioned the loss damage much more than New York’s defeat to Dallas in Week, when the Giants took the lead with 25 seconds remaining in regulation however misplaced in extra time.

“Can’t quit 33 factors within the fourth quarter,” Lawrence mentioned.

A degree of rivalry for the Giants gave the impression to be their defensive method within the closing minute. Brian Burns, whose two sacks upped his league-leading whole to 9, got here off the sphere yelling in frustration about speeding solely three males and dropping eight into protection on the 29-yard throw to Mims on Denver’s closing possession.

“Drop eight!” Burns mentioned amongst a collection of expletives as he walked by the bowels of the stadium towards the locker room.

When requested about it afterward, Burns pursed his lips, turned his head away and declined to reply. Lawrence had an unusually lengthy pause when confronted with the identical query.

“Depart that to the coaches,” he mentioned.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.