Sutton’s great grab gives Broncos the win
DENVER — Courtland Sutton’s leaping 15-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 remaining powered the Denver Broncos to a 21-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, ending the NFL’s longest winning streak at five games.
The Broncos (5-5) now own the league’s longest winning streak at four.
Sutton outleapt cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, who had his eyes on an interception of Russell Wilson’s high throw. Danielle Hunter’s tackle of Javonte Williams on the 2-point try kept the Vikings within a point and needing a field goal to win it.
The Broncos’ defense — which produced three more takeaways, giving Denver a dozen over its last three games — didn’t allow the Vikings to get out of their own side of the field.
Denver forced Joshua Dobbs into an intentional grounding that brought up fourth-and-25 before Dobbs threw one final incompletion with from the Vikings 21 with 16 seconds left.
Dobbs threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for another but lost with the Vikings for the first time since they acquired him in an emergency trade with Arizona.
Wilson went 27 of 35 for 259 yards without an interception for Denver.
The Broncos started their go-ahead drive from their 25 with 3:17 remaining after Greg Joseph’s field goal made it 20-15. That kick capped a 7-minute, 20-second drive by the Vikings that featured a fake punt from their own 30.
Ty Chandler took the snap on fourth-and-5 and scurried 31 yards into Denver territory. He added a 19-yard catch-and-run before the drive stalled at the Broncos 12 and Joseph converted from 30 yards.
Wilson drove the Broncos 75 yards in 10 plays and 2:14, hitting Sutton for the wide receiver’s eighth TD of the season. The Vikings had led since Dobbs’ 3-yard TD toss to tight end Josh Oliver in the second quarter made it 7-3.
Dobbs’ 10-yard scramble into the end zone made it 17-9 in the third quarter.
After Josey Jewell recovered a fumble by Alexander Mattison, the Broncos again settled for a Wil Lutz field goal to make it 17-12 with 12:40 remaining.
Ja’Quan McMillian’s interception of Dobbs set up the Broncos’ offense just inside the Vikings’ 10-yard line, but Denver went backward a yard and settled for Lutz’s 28-yard field goal to get within 17-15 after Jerry Jeudy bobbled Wilson’s pass in the end zone.