Broncos outlast Commanders 27-26 in overtime to remain atop AFC standings

Nik Bonitto of Denver bats down Marcus Mariota's pass to stop the two-point conversion attempt that would have won Washington the game.

What a game, and the 27-26 win is Denver's ninth straight. Meanwhile, Washington has seven straight losses.

Needing a touchdown on fourth-and-goal to keep the game alive, Washington called for a pass by Mariota from the 3-yard line, and he found Terry McLaurin for a touchdown.

It's Denver 27, Washington 26, and the Commanders are going for a two-point conversion.

Oh, my! What a drive this has been. This game was over after Denver intercepted Marcus Mariota, but the pick was wiped out by a pass interference penalty. Then Washington scored a touchdown on third down on a 30-yard touchdown from Mariota to Terry McLaurin, except the play was wiped out on a holding penalty.

Finally, Mariota connected with Deebo Samuel for a long completion down to the 2-yard line.

RJ Harvey scores, and now Washington must score a touchdown of its own on this drive to keep this game going.

And we are headed to extra time! In his first game with Washington, kicker Jake Moody nails a 32-yard field goal to force a 20-all tie as time runs out of regulation. That was an 18-play drive that traveled 71 yards and lasted three minutes. Denver's eight-game win streak is on the line.

Denver started 6-for-11 on third down but has since converted just one of its last four tries, including a punt on its last drive. That inability to move the ball downfield is more than a little surprising given how poor Washington's defense has been this season and how good Denver has been in fourth quarters. And it's how Washington now has a chance to take the lead, with the ball back down 20-17 with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Alex Singleton punches the ball out of Zach Ertz's hands to stop what would have been a huge gain for Washington. Singleton is one of the most remarkable stories in the NFL. Earlier this month the linebacker underwent surgery to remove a mass after it was discovered he had testicular cancer. He's already back on the field.

Now Denver punts! It was initially ruled a perfect execution, downed at Washington's 1-yard line. A review quickly determined that Denver's gunner had half his foot on the end-zone line, and those few inches were all it took to make a 20-yard difference after the play was ruled a touchback.

Washington had a chance to take the lead, but its fourth-quarter drive instead ends with a punt. Denver has 54 plays to Washington's 53, and Denver has gained only 29 more yards. It's been an even game on a night when most would have expected a blowout.

Washington has 112 rushing yards, making it Denver's first opponent since Oct. 26, in Week 8, to cross the 100-yard threshold.

Leading 20-17, Denver punts for the first time since the opening quarter after a three-and-out possession. Here is Washington's chance to pull ahead in what could become a stunning upset.

Washington turned its interception of Bo Nix into a field goal with 12:37 to play in the fourth quarter, and Denver's lead is down to 20-17. That was a 38-yard field goal from new Commanders kicker Jake Moody.

Washington has life, again, after Bo Nix throws an interception directly to Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner. There wasn't a Broncos receiver in sight, and now Washington has the ball already in field-goal range while trailing 20-14.

We finally have a defensive stop in the second half.

The Commanders went 15 yards in five plays before punting, the first punt of the third quarter after the teams traded touchdown drives. A Laremy Tunsil false start on what was a third-and-3 could come back to haunt Washington.

The Broncos lead 20-14.

After Washington opened the second half with a touchdown drive, the Broncos answer with one of their own, and RJ Harvey's one-yard touchdown dive puts the Broncos ahead, 20-14, with 3:59 to play in the third quarter. Denver converted three three-down opportunities on the nearly six-minute drive.

While reaching up with his right hand and securing a touchdown, Treylon Burks just produced a stunning grab that should rank as one of the most difficult of the entire season.

Burks ran a fade route and Marcus Mariota threw the ball high, to where only Burks could grab it with an outstretched hand.

It's Washington 14, Denver 13 with 9:58 to play in the third quarter.

The score doesn't reflect it, but the Commanders have moved the ball comfortably against Denver's defense, and that continues to begin this second half. Washington opened the quarter with successive gains of 6, 18, 12 and 19 yards.

At halftime, with Denver leading 13-7, Commanders fans could be heard booing coach Dan Quinn's decision not to take a shot to run a final play to see whether it might put them in position for a field goal.

This is Denver's first lead at halftime since Week 8.

Washington will receive the kickoff to open the third quarter.

Bo Nix has 146 yards passing and a touchdown, while Marcus Mariota is 9-for-13 with 72 yards and an interception. Washington has shown fight and has gone 4-for-5 on third downs.

With no timeouts, Bo Nix leads a two-minute drill before the end of the first half that ends in an incredible touchdown pass, during which he barely kept his knee off the ground before getting his throw off to Courtland Sutton.

It's Denver 13, Washington 7, with 23 seconds to go before halftime.

Nik Bonitto leads Denver in sacks and has excelled in general this season, but his being whistled for a penalty helped put the Commanders in position for their go-ahead touchdown.

Instead of facing second-and-15 after a failed run, the Commanders had first-and-goal from the 8-yard line after Bonitto grabbed Washington's Tyler Biadasz, who was on the ground. It was deemed unnecessary roughness, although "Sunday Night Football" rules analyst Terry McAuley felt it was not worth a flag from the officials.

What a rebound from Washington after the Mariota interception.

The Commanders marched 71 yards in 10 plays, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Washington caught a big assist from Broncos defensive end Nik Bonitto, who committed a costly personal foul penalty a play before the score.

The Commanders lead 7-6.

Denver allows only 88.5 rushing yards per game, third-fewest in the NFL, but has already given up 69 to Washington in less than a half.

Denver's lead is now 6-0 with six minutes left in the second quarter after another Wil Lutz field goal. The Broncos are up to 121 total yards from scrimmage.

For such a standout defense, the Broncos have forced only 10 turnovers this season, counting the interception of Marcus Mariota tonight. Their nine takeaways entering this week ranked fourth-fewest in the league.

Oh, no!

Marcus Mariota was dancing in the backfield and made a very ill-advised throw under pressure. He was promptly intercepted by Dre Greenlaw, ruining a drive that had made it inside the red zone.

The Broncos have the ball on their own 34.

A defensive first quarter, as the teams combined for only one scoring drive.

The Commanders are driving deep into Denver territory and are on the edge of the red zone after converting a third-and-12 on the ground.

Unable to replicate their opening drive, which resulted in points, the Broncos punt after a three-and-out. Their lead remains 3-0 with 2:57 to play in the first quarter. Bo Nix has started 4-of-9 passing.

The Commanders picked up three first downs during a 10-play drive but punted after Marcus Mariota threw incomplete on third-and-8. Mariota has started the game 5-of-6 for 24 yards.

This is the first look of the night at a Denver defense that has allowed the third-fewest points per game (17.3) while sacking quarterbacks a league-high 49 times. To that already excellent unit, the Broncos will add cornerback Patrick Surtain II, last season's Defensive Player of the Year. Surtain had missed the last three games with a pectoral injury but is back in the lineup tonight.

Mariota has appeared in seven games this season, completing 65.7% of his passes for 1,065 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. His passer rating is 90.3

In five starts in place of Jayden Daniels, Mariota is only 1-4.

The Commanders’ star receiver has appeared in only four games this season, and tonight is his first since Oct. 27. McLaurin just made a short catch on third down for a first down, only his 14th reception of the season.

Denver, chasing its first AFC No. 1 seed since 2015, takes a 3-0 lead after Wil Lutz's field goal on the opening possession. He's now 18-for-20 this season on field goals.

And "Sunday Night Football" is underway! The Broncos will start with the ball from their own 26-yard line.

The Broncos have a league-best 49 sacks this season and are on pace for 75 this season, which would break the single-season league record of 72 set by the 1984 Bears (when the NFL schedule was a game shorter).

The Commanders' top challenge is containing Nik Bonitto, who has 9.5 sacks. He's one of three Broncos with at least six sacks; they're the only team that can boast that.

Second-year Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has scored 12 total touchdowns in the first, second and third quarters combined this season. But in fourth quarters, Nix has scored nine touchdowns — only Josh Allen of Buffalo entered Week 13 with more fourth-quarter scores this season.

In seven of Denver’s nine wins this season (including each of its last three), it has held opponents to 19 points or fewer. Only Houston (eight) has held more opponents to 19 points or fewer this season (GB, LAR and BAL are tied at seven).

Denver’s defense is led by an elite pass rush, with the Broncos posting a league-high 49 sacks this season. Last season, Denver led the league with 63 sacks.

After ranking 13th in total defense and 18th in scoring defense last season, the Commanders have taken a huge step backward this season. They enter Week 13 ranked 31st in total defense and 28th in scoring defense, with only the Cincinnati Bengals having allowed more yards per game than Washington this season.

Washington has allowed 25+ points in seven of its eight losses this season. However, it held the Dolphins to just 16 points in its last game.

Besides QB Jayden Daniels, RB Austin Ekeler suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 2. WRs Terry McLaurin (quad) and Deebo Samuel (heel) have both missed games, while WRs Noah Brown (groin) and Luke McCaffrey (collarbone) are on IR.

McLaurin, who posted 1,000+ receiving yards in each of the last five seasons (2020-24) has played in just four games this season because of a quad injury. He missed four games (Weeks 4-7) before he returned in Week 8, when he aggravated the injury (he has not played since). He returned to practice this week and is set to return on "SNF."

Washington QB Jayden Daniels dislocated his left, non-throwing elbow in the Week 9 loss to Seattle on “SNF.” Daniels, who did not have any ligament damage and did not need surgery, was not placed on IR and returned to practice this week, although he will not play against the Broncos tonight.

Head coach Dan Quinn said the team did not discuss shutting down Daniels for the season.

Daniels was injured with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of that Week 9 loss, with the Commanders trailing 38-7. Afterward, Quinn said he regretted still having had Daniels out on the field at that time.

“I’ve been thinking about it nonstop, too, and, man, I missed it. That is 100% on me,” he said.

Marcus Mariota has gone 1-4 in five starts this season in place of Daniels. In those five starts, he has averaged 200.4 passing yards with eight total touchdowns (seven passing, one rushing) and five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble lost).

Nine of Denver’s 11 games this season have been decided by one score, with the Broncos going 7-2 in those nine games (they went 1-6 in one-score games last season). Six of their last seven wins (including the last three) have been by four points or fewer, with Denver mounting five fourth-quarter comebacks (tied for the most in NFL with Chicago entering Week 13).

The Broncos are in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, entering Week 13 a half-game behind the Patriots (10-2). Denver and New England do not play each other this season.

Denver has not been the No. 1 seed in the conference since the 2015 season. That season, they went 12-4 and went on to win Super Bowl 50 (New England was the No. 2 seed that season, with the Broncos beating the Patriots in the AFC championship game before they went on to beat the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl).

The Commanders have lost more games during their current losing streak (six) than they did all last season (when they went 12-5).

Washington is tied with the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans for the longest active losing streak in the NFL. The Commanders, who won two playoff games last season (their first playoff wins since the 2005 season) and went on to reach the NFC championship game, look set to miss the playoffs this year.

Kansas City has won nine straight AFC West division titles (2016-24). Entering Week 13, the Broncos are leading the division, sitting two games above the Los Angeles Chargers and three games above the Chiefs. Denver has not won the AFC West since the 2015 season, when it went on to win Super Bowl 50.

Denver’s nine-season drought without a division title is the second longest in franchise history. It went longer without a division title from 1960-76, which were the franchise’s first 17 seasons in existence.

Trysta Krick and Jay Croucher explain why the over appears to be the smart bet when the Broncos and the Commanders face off on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 13.

Both teams had byes in Week 12. In Week 11, both had games decided on a walk-off field goal. In Week 11, the Broncos beat the Chiefs (22-19) on a field goal as time expired. The Commanders lost against the Miami Dolphins in overtime (16-13) in Madrid.

The Broncos are off to their best start since 2015, when they also started 9-2 (they finished 12-4) and went on to win Super Bowl 50 with Peyton Manning at QB.

Entering Week 13, the only team in the NFL with a better record than Denver is New England. The Broncos' eight-game winning streak is the second-longest active winning streak in the league behind the Patriots' nine straight.

Denver has not won nine straight games since 2012-13 (it closed the 2012 season on an 11-game winning streak and started 6-0 in 2013).