If you went to bed at the end of the third quarter Monday’s Denver Broncos-Los Angeles Chargers matchup, we don’t blame you. (Especially you East Coasters.) The Broncos led by 17 points and appeared to be cruising to a Week 1 victory.
But things got wacky after midnight.
The Chargers came roaring back at Sports Authority Field on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” scoring 14 points in a span of under two minutes in the fourth quarter. After quarterback Philip Rivers found wide receiver Travis Benjamin on a beauty of a 38-yard touchdown pass, Los Angeles trailed by just three points with seven minutes remaining.
The Chargers had a chance to send the game to overtime in the waning seconds, too. Rivers led his club down to the Broncos’ 26-yard line, where rookie kicker Younghoe Koo could knock down a 44-yard field goal to tie the score as the clock hit zero.
Koo did just that — except Denver called a timeout right before Koo’s made kick to “ice” the 23-year-old. On the ensuing attempt, Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris played the role of hero, getting a hand on Koo’s kick to record the block and allow Denver to escape with a 24-21 win.
Here’s the full sequence of the crazy final 5 seconds.
The loss was another heartbreaker for the Chargers, who always seem to be competitive but come up short when it matters most.
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Thumbnail photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
