Entering the fourth quarter down 19-0 and having a net 112 yards of offense on the day, the Denver Broncos looked dead in the water. The New York Giants had won this game handedly. All that was left was another 15 minutes of gameplay and then, the Broncos would have to move on and get ready for Week 8.
That is, until the Broncos completed one of the most epic comebacks in the history of the NFL, scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Broncos somehow won this game, and afterwards, head coach Sean Payton acknowledged the victory, but quickly got very honest about where the team's focus and feelings will be this week.
"We're going to enjoy today. But tomorrow isn't going to be as pleasant. And it can't be. Or we're just fooling ourselves," he told the Denver media.
Sean Payton knows the Broncos can't be close to satisfied after near-impossible comeback vs. Giants
If you do the simple math, the Broncos totaled 295 yards of offense in that fourth quarter while putting up 33 points. They might have totaled 407 yards on the game, but entering that final period with only 112, this offense was flat-out sputtering.
Folks who didn't watch the game might just look at the box score and think that Bo Nix had a stellar outing. And, while he was flat-out incredible in the fourth quarter, Nix and the rest of the offense looked inept for three other quarters.
There were plenty of Broncos fans who had been fed up with what they'd seen over the first 45 real minutes of game action. Come that final 15, though, a bit of magic happened.
Payton knows that if they waltz into practice this week, feeling proud and mighty after a game like this, that they would be completely kidding themselves. The performance was anything but acceptable, and it even had Broncos fans leaving their own stadium early in that final quarter.
I repeat: Broncos fans were leaving the game early.
What a tough look for those folks who didn't get to watch the impossible unfold right before their eyes.
Back to Payton's comments, though. This week should be a difficult week of practice. It shouldn't feel like a week of practice that came after a win. If anything, it should feel a whole lot more harsh due to how poor this team played for the vast majority of the game.
Next week, the Broncos face a Dallas Cowboys team that just put up 44 points in Week 7. This had better be a stellar week of preparation.
Enjoy the win for the night. But, come practice this week, forget all the good vibes and get to work.