DENVER — Brian Daboll’s Giants dominated the Denver Broncos for three quarters and then collapsed in an all-time choke job in a wild 33-32 loss at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday afternoon.
Jaxson Dart scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 37 seconds remaining to go ahead, 32-30. But kicker Jude McAtamney’s second missed extra point left the door open for Denver.
And the Broncos promptly drove 56 yards for a 39-yard Will Lutz game-winning field goal as time expired. Denver scored all 33 of its points in the fourth quarter.
Coincidentally or not, the deluge started when starting corner Paulson Adebo left the game and was replaced by Deonte Banks.
The Giants suffered their eighth-biggest blown lead in team history and the largest since they coughed up a 21-point lead in 2014.
Daboll screamed at defensive coordinator Shane Bowen on the sideline as Courtland Sutton secured a 22-yard reception to set up the game-winning kick, and Daboll continued his spirited dialogue with Bowen as the coaches stormed off the field to the losing locker room.
The Giants led, 13-0, at halftime, 19-0 with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter and 26-8 with 10:14 to play in the game. Dart threw three touchdown passes. Then he seemingly drove the Giants downfield for the winning score late in the fourth.
The drive included a 4th and 19 conversion to Wan’Dale Robinson and a 38-yard pass interference penalty on Broncos corner Riley Moss on a throw intended for Beaux Collins.
But Dart’s interception to Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad with 4:47 remaining and the Giants up, 26-16, also aided Denver’s stunning comeback.
NFL teams had won 1602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final six minutes of a game
The Giants (2-5) fly home to prepare for a second game against the rival Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) in a three-week span. This one will be in South Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field next Sunday.
Daboll’s team just beat the Eagles, 34-17, at MetLife Stadium in Week 6. But now their prospects are bleak in last place in the NFC East behind the Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) and the Washington Commanders (3-4).
They would have a chance to compete in any game if their defense plays the way it did through the first three quarters Sunday against Denver.
Safety Dane Belton made a huge hit on Sutton for a fourth-down stop and a goal-line stand with 3:35 remaining in the second quarter to keep the Giants ahead, 13-0, heading into halftime.
The Broncos’ offense was a mess, but Brian Burns’ second sack of the game sent the Broncos trudging off the field at halftime, showered by boos. The Giants’ defense had only allowed 101 yards and six Broncos first downs in the half.
The Giants earned their 19-0 lead on a 44-yard Dart touchdown pass to Johnson on a coverage bust with 6:54 to play in the first quarter. Then Dart hit Cam Skattebo with a 13-yard screen pass for a touchdown with 8:46 remaining in the half.
And Tyrone Tracy Jr. piled on with a 31-yard rushing touchdown on another Broncos defensive miscue for a 19-0 lead with 2:41 to play in the third.
The Giants should have led, 21-0, after those three scores. But kicker Jude McAtamney missed the extra point on Skattebo’s touchdown, and Dart’s two-point try to Robinson was tackled short of the goal line after Tracy’s score.
They got two Brian Burns sacks on defense. And they also scored when Robinson dropped a Dart pass on 3rd and 17, but the ball popped right into Theo Johnson’s hands. And the tight end raced to the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown and a 26-8 lead with 10:14 to play.
But the Giants under Daboll always find a lose if it still exists. Just look at Week 2 in Dallas. As impossible as a defeat seemed for most of Sunday, Payton’s team was ready to play in the fourth quarter.
And the Giants were not.
