Fortunate flags: How the Broncos extended their win streak to 9 with a little help from officials

capital of colorado — The capital of colorado Broncos won another come together single, and this time they had some major help from the officials.

The Broncos stretched their winning streak to nine games with a 27-26 overtime thriller at Washington on Sunday night, but they were adied by three calls and one non-call that went their way in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Commanders overcame a pair of penalties on back-to-back snaps that raised both eyebrows and hackles on their final drive of regulation, which ended in a 32-yard field goal by Jake Moody as time expired.

Trailing 20-17 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota appeared to scramble for 7 yards on second-and-9 from his 37.

Expedited review showed Mariota was indeed down by contact 19 yards earlier but it was because edge rusher Dondrea Tillman had tripped him, which should have been a 15-yard flag on Denver.

“That's tripping,” NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said on the broadcast. “Should have been a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot.”

But replay can't interject a penalty that wasn't called on the field. So, Washington instead faced third-and-21 from its 25-yard line and had to punt after Alex Singleton broke up Mariota’s deep pass to tight end Zach Ertz that would have given the Commanders a first down.

The Commanders got the ball back at their 15 with 3 minutes left after Denver went three-and-out, and more officiating drama ensued.

On second-and-10 from the Washington 26, Commanders star receiver Terry McLaurin was interfered with by the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Surtain II, who wrapped his right arm around McLaurin's neck before the ball arrived. But no flag was thrown and no mention of it was made on the broadcast.

That wouldn't be the case moments later.

The Commanders reached the Broncos 49 after the 2-minute warning when McLaurin was whistled for a phantom false start that stumped NBC's broadcast crew.

“Is he not set for a second?” play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico asked as the replay was shown. “No, he is. Wow! I don't know about that.”

“That's not a foul,” color commentator Cris Collinsworth added. “It's really not.”

Tirico suggested that maybe referee Land Clark announced the foul on the wrong player.

"No, it’s right in front of the official who blew it dead,” Collinsworth said. “You could see him running in. And yes, there was a moment where he got set, but I don’t think at this point in the game that’s a foul.”

So, the Commanders faced first-and-15 from their 46.

Mariota airmailed a pass over the head of McLaurin and was flagged for intentional grounding. The 10-yard penalty moved the ball back to the Washington 36, and the 10-second clock runoff had the Commanders facing second-and-25 with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

McAulay, a former longtime NFL official, couldn't believe the call.

“So, this is absolutely not grounding, guys,” McAulay said. "He throws it over the head of No. 17, who is outside the numbers. By rule, that is not intentional grounding.”

Unruffled, Mariota hit Ertz for 8 yards on fourth-and-6 from the Denver 45, then connected with Deebo Samuel for gains of 10 and 7 yards to help set up Moody's tying kick as the clock hit zeros.

Washington won the overtime coin toss but Commanders coach Dan Quinn may have blundered by electing to kick off rather than receive.

That choice is now customary in the new overtime format where both teams get a possession even if the first team scores a touchdown.

But Denver's defense was gassed, having just spent 18 plays on the field at the end of regulation and getting no help from the Broncos offense, which punted on its final three drives of regulation.

While the Broncos defenders caught their breath on the sideline, Bo Nix hit tight end Evan Engram for a 41-yard gain to the Washington 11 that set up RJ Harvey's short touchdown run.

After Wil Lutz's extra point made it 27-20, Mariota responded with a touchdown drive of his own. But on the 2-point conversion attempt to win it, Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto was left unblocked and batted down Mariota's pass to wide-open running back Jeremy McNichols to secure Denver's ninth straight victory, all of which have required comebacks.

“I mean, we’ve been battle tested all year,” Bonitto said. "There’s no situation that we’re new to. It was just a matter of just finding another way to win the game, and we did that.”

The Broncos, who have won their last four games by 10 points total, insist luck has nothing to do with their winning streak, their longest in 13 years. But they sure got a few fortunate flags Sunday night as they made it nine wins in a row.

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