New England Patriots 26-23 Denver Broncos: Chad Ryland's last-second field goal damages Broncos playoff hopes
The Denver Broncos fall to 7-8 on the year and slip down the playoff picture after suffering a 26-23 defeat to the New England Patriots; watch an NFL Christmas Day triple-header beginning with the Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs from 6pm live on Sky Sports
Monday 25 December 2023 22:17, UK
Chad Ryland kicked a career-long 56-yard field goal with two seconds left as the New England Patriots delivered a near-fatal blow to the Denver Broncos' playoff hopes with a 26-23 stunner on Sunday night.
The Patriots (4-11) scored a pair of touchdowns in a six-second span of the third quarter, before fending off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8) to record just their fourth victory of the season.
Ryland's kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out having tied the game with a pair of long touchdown drives and 2-point conversions on its previous two possessions.
Ryland came in as the worst full-time starting kicker in the league in field-goal percentage at 65 per cent (13 of 20), with the rookie missing from 47 yards late in the first half as well as an extra point in the third quarter.
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Bill Belichick improved to 11-10 against the Broncos during his 24-year tenure in New England, denying Denver the status as the only opponent with a winning record against him during his time with the Patriots.
After falling behind 23-7, the Broncos tied it when Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to tight end Lucas Krull and wideout Brandon Johnson and converted two-point passes to Johnson and Javonte Williams.
The Broncos had a shot at completing the comeback when they got the ball at their 39 with 1:42 remaining but they went three-and-out, giving the ball back to New England with just under a minute remaining.
Stats leaders:
New England Patriots
- Passing: Bailey Zappe, 25/33, 256 yards, 2 TDs
- Rushing: Ezekiel Elliott, 12 carries, 27 yards
- Receiving: Demario Douglas, 5 catches, 74 yards
Denver Broncos
- Passing: Russell Wilson, 25/37, 238 yards, 2 TDs
- Rushing: Jaleel McLaughlin, 6 carries, 37 yards
- Javonte Williams, 11 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Marvin Mims Jr., 3 catches, 63 yards
Bailey Zappe gave New England its first lead with a 15-yard touchdown toss to Ezekiel Elliott, but Ryland's missed PAT left the Patriots up 9-7.
Zappe escaped pressure and found Mike Gesicki with an 11-yard touchdown throw to make it 16-7, before Cody Davis scooped up Marvin Mims Jr's fumble on the ensuing kickoff to bundle it over the goalline from the one.
The Broncos' already-pedestrian offense suffered a huge loss when wide receiver Courtland Sutton went out in the first half with a concussion, with all Denver managing through three quarters being Williams' three-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.
Sean Payton's side hold faint hopes of becoming just the fourth team since the merger to make the playoffs after losing five of their first six games, but they'll need plenty of help to get there now.
Denver's defense has carried the team all season, leading the Broncos back from a 1-5 start and into playoff contention, but Payton's offense hasn't done its part, something that was never in clearer focus than in the game's opening sequence.
On the game's first snap, D.J. Jones strip-sacked Zappe and recovered the loose ball himself at the New England five-yard line.
The Broncos came away empty-handed, however, when Williams ran three times into the teeth of the league's best run defense, including on fourth-and-goal from the two when Christian Barmore stopped him a yard shy of the goal line.
Denver started their next drive at the Patriots 46 but went three-and-out and they began their third drive at the New England 25 after Mims' 52-yard punt return.
This time, they finally exploited their good field position with Williams running it in for a 7-0 lead.
Scoring summary
What did they say?
Patriots quarterback Zappe: "I'm on cloud nine, if that's even a thing. We know the playoffs aren't in the future so right now, we are playing for one another. We understood that, Hey, we have Christmas coming around - wouldn't be nice to enjoy Christmas with a win?' So that was our motivation."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick: "I thought our whole team showed a lot of mental toughness - all week, all year, tonight. Got off to a rough start, but those guys really battled back, hung in there. Everybody's really, really resilient."
Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson: "I'm feeling this loss right now. We thought we should have won this game. I think the best thing we can do is get up tomorrow and be with our families, and this and that, and then get back to work. We have two games to go, and those games mean a lot just for who we are and our fight, and our testament of who we are and how we're going to battle back."
What next?
The Patriots are on the road against the playoff-chasing Buffalo Bills (9-6) next Sunday, while the Broncos are at home to the Los Angeles Chargers (5-10) in the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
The Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) and Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) kick off a Christmas Day triple-header from 6pm, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4) against the New York Giants (5-9) and the Baltimore Ravens (11-3) against the San Francisco 49ers (11-3) in a potential Super Bowl preview from 1.15am in the early hours of Boxing Day.
Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening's entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.
Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as every Christmas Day fixture.
Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.
