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.
Nobody is ripping Wilson now. He might not be back to the form he had when he was making the Pro Bowl just about every season with the Seattle Seahawks, but he's having a remarkable revival with Sean Payton coaching him. Wilson led a clutch drive against the Minnesota Vikings and hit Courtland Sutton for a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass with a little more than a minute to go. The Broncos got a stop after that and won 21-20, their fourth win in a row. They have beat quality teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Vikings in that streak. They're back to .500 at 5-5, and back in the playoff race.
And Wilson is back. He was having a good season before Sunday night, especially when compared to a lot of the quarterbacks around the league who are struggling. Then Sunday night's two-minute drive was exactly what the Broncos thought they were getting with Wilson.
When the Broncos have the ball, they'll be leaning on Javonte Williams and the ground game to control the clock. Sean Payton and company will also look to hit some big plays through the air with Russell Wilson finding players like Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. Wilson will undoubtedly be under heavy pressure from Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose group has been playing fantastic football during this winning streak.
After returning to practice Wednesday, Jackson said he couldn't guarantee he'd avoid hits bordering on excessive going forward because, as an instinctive player, "I'm going to always be in those situations."
Lutz added two more field goals, including a 52-yarder as the first half expired to pull the Broncos within 10-9 at the break.
After Lutz's first field goal, from 31 yards, Dobbs drove the Vikings 65 yards in 10 plays, hitting tight end Josh Oliver with a 3-yard touchdown pass after slipping out of a potential a sack near the sideline by Jonathon Cooper.
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