Renck: Euphoria clouds memories. Recency bias tilts scales. But let’s be honest, never has there been a Broncos game like this one. What happened Sunday is a reminder of where adjectives fail, numbers succeed. Denver’s 33 fourth-quarter points were the most ever by a team held scoreless through three quarters, per ESPN, and the second most in any circumstance. A cooling-off period helps in debates like this, but we cannot help ourselves. Where does this comeback rank in Denver sports history?
Keeler: Broncos-Giants was so drunk, it couldn’t even get up to stagger home. You’ll tell your grandkids. You’ll call up YouTube. They still won’t believe you. “Nineteen to zip,” you’ll mutter. “All hope was lost.” We were in the press box, tapping out raging epitaphs for Bo Nix and Sean Payton for more than two hours, only for the pair to grab the moment by the scruff of its neck and flip the narrative on its head. In the heat of the moment, it has to be No. 1. But I want to give Sunday some breathing room, a little time and space, before I start fitting it for the crown.
Renck: The numbers do not compare, but context strengthens the argument. Remember, the Rockies’ 2007 play-in game? Of course you do. Lost in the discussion about whether Matt Holliday touched home plate were the circumstances that led to the moment. The Rockies trailed 8-6 entering the 13th inning and faced future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman. They walked off the Padres in the greatest baseball game ever played in Denver. Ramon Ortiz — who? — picked up the win in relief. Jamey Carroll, not a star, delivered the deciding sacrifice line drive. Because of what it meant, this game cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Keeler: We’ve seen plenty of Miracles at a Mile High, haven’t we? Rocktober 2007 is burned into my psyche. Until this past Sunday, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see a finish as crazy as CU-Michigan in 1994, when Bill McCartney’s Buffs scored 13 unanswered over the last 3:52 in Ann Arbor, capped off by Kordell Stewart’s walk-off heave. Heck, I remember when the CSU Rams under Jim McElwain put up 18 straight points over three minutes in the fourth quarter on a Mike Leach Washington State team, sealing a nutty 48-45 win in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl.
Renck: There are a couple of Broncos games that deserve mention, if not respect. John Elway hinted of his future in Canton when he rallied the Broncos from a 19-point deficit against the Colts in his rookie season. But it wasn’t exactly Picasso. He completed 9 of 20 passes for 151 yards in the fourth quarter of a 21-19 victory. Tim Tebow once stared down a 15-0 gap in Miami with 7:34 remaining and sprinkled pixie dust in an 18-15 win. But neither quarterback matched Nix, who became the first player ever with two passing and two rushing touchdowns in a quarter. Nix went 15 for 23 for 162 yards and rushed for 46 on three carries. There is no reason to pore through the Nuggets highlights or Avs boxscores, this game stands alone as the best comeback ever.
Keeler: Elway would like a word with you on that last one, my friend. And did you know that Sunday wasn’t even the Broncos’ “biggest” comeback under Sean Payton? Denver, led by Front Range folk hero Russell Wilson, wiped away a 21-point deficit at Chicago in 2023. And did you know that of the eight largest comebacks in Broncos history, regular season and playoffs, Payton has already had a hand in two of them? As rallies go, I’ve still got a sentimental spot for “The Drive II” against Houston in the 1991-92 playoffs, in which Denver erased a 21-6 second-quarter deficit, a postseason tussle with higher stakes and a Hall-of-Fame QB1 on the other side in Warren Moon. “Best” comeback? Ask me when the orange and blue put a bow on 2025-26. Most bonkers? Without a doubt. Top of the looney leaderboard.
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