The Denver Broncos narrowly escaped defeat against the New York Giants in Week 7. So much so that Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II “lost hope.” Not in his team, but rather in their fate amid what he considered poor officiating.
Surtain was not alone.
Former NFL players Nick Ferguson and Richard Sherman both chimed in on one play, in particular, with the latter drawing Surtain’s attention.
Pat Surtain II Sends Blunt Message Over Refs in Broncos-Giants
GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton reacts against the New York Giants.
Sherman, a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks and an analyst for Amazon Prime, ripped a critical pass interference call, not on Surtain, but on Broncos cornerback Riley Moss.
“That DPI on Riley Moss is one of the worst calls I have seen!” Sherman posted on X on October 19. “The under thrown ball and Moss turns around and plays the ball. You cannot call that in that situation!”
“They were abysmal!!” Surtain posted. “But got the dub regardless …”
Ferguson said the call, which came on a third-and-10 in the fourth quarter on a play from the Broncos’ 40-yard line that ended with the Giants lining up one yard from the end zone, “terrible”.
The Giants cashed in on the subsequent play, but only after Broncos head coach Sean Payton made his way onto the field to protest the call, which drew another penalty for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Payton called it “silly” for him to act as he did, but felt adamantly that the penalty was wrong.
“I’m calling BULL**** on this call right here,” Ferguson, who played for the Broncos from 2003 through 2007, posted. “This is an AWFUL call. This is when we should BUZZ from New York.”
The Broncos needed a historic rally, scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter, the most in NFL history by a team that was shutout through three frames. They trailed by 18 points and capped their comeback with a game-winning field goal.
Broncos CB Pat Surtain ‘Lost Hope’ vs Giants
GettyPat Surtain II #2 of the Denver Broncos looks on before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Asked for his thoughts as the Broncos won the game, completing their historic comeback, Surtain said it was “relief.”
Surtain said he found himself hopeless in the moment.
“I lost hope. I aint gonna lie,” Surtain told reporters on October 19. “It was one of them games, man, where we felt like we ain’t execute. You go in the film room, there’s a lot of corrections. But one thing we didn’t lose was composure, and we fought to the end. You never know in this league. No, matter how much you’re down, it’s always a will, and there’s always a way, so.”
Surtain also lauded the team for never surrendering the game, even as they faced seemingly insurmountable odds. The Broncos had a 0.7% chance of victory with less than seven minutes to go in the contest, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
“Man, it feels good,” Surtain said. “It feels real good. I think it shows, you know, how poised we are, how confident we are, and our ability to fight towards the end. The Giants, they had a great gameplan. They played a great game, but, we never let that waiver confidence. We stayed consistently going, chipping away. And next thing you know, we made a couple plays down the stretch, and we made this comeback happen.”
Surtain and the Broncos’ defense will face a stiffer test in Week 8, hosting the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL’s second-leading passer entering “Monday Night Football,” Dak Prescott in Denver.
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