DENVER – The Packers had as rough a second half as anyone could imagine in Denver on Sunday, losing an 9-point lead and several key players to injury in a 34-26 loss at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Packers had already lost RT Zach Tom to a knee injury in the first half, and then WR Christian Watson exited with a chest injury when a deep ball for him early in the second half was intercepted by CB Pat Surtain II. That turnover came with the Packers leading, 23-14, and nothing went right the rest of the way.
Later in the second half, DL Micah Parsons left with a knee injury, and so did S Evan Williams. The injuries to Watson and Parsons looked potentially the most significant as they left the field.
With the loss, the Packers fell to 9-4-1 and into second place in the NFC North. The Broncos improved to 12-2 and grabbed sole possession of the top spot in the AFC.
Broncos QB Bo Nix was in command all game, bringing the Broncos back with four TD passes and a 134.8 passer rating. He was 23-of-34 for 303 yards and no interceptions.
WR Courtland Sutton had seven catches for 113 yards and a TD, WR Troy Franklin had six grabs for 85 yards and a score, and WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey caught three passes for 42 yards and a TD. RB RJ Harvey had 19 carries for 64 yards and a TD.
For the Packers, QB Jordan Love was 24-of-40 for 276 yards with one TD, two INTs and a 68.3 rating. WR Jayden Reed caught five passes for 55 yards, WR Matthew Golden caught three for 55 and TE Luke Musgrave caught four for 52.
RB Josh Jacobs had 12 carries for 73 yards and a TD, and he caught two passes for 19 yards and a score. Love added 29 yards rushing on three tries.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead Broncos 3-0 after first quarter
Green Bay won the coin toss and elected to defer. Starting at their 31, the Broncos converted the initial first down with a 2-yard Bo Nix sneak on third-and-1.
With Denver facing another third-and-1 after crossing midfield, defensive lineman Micah Parsons forced a R.J. Harvey fumble that Edgerrin Cooper recovered at the Green Bay 48.
Christian Watson caught a 5-yard out from Jordan Love on first down. Josh Jacobs gained four yards on second down but was stopped for no gain on third-and-1. Jordan Love ran a bootleg left to convert on fourth down.
A false start penalty backed Green Bay up but Jayden Reed caught a 13-yard out on second down. Talanoa Hufanga ran through Josh Whyle's block on a Jacobs third-and-1 run that lost two yards. Whyle went directly to locker room after the play and was ruled out for the game with a concussion.
Brandon McManus made a 53-yard field goal to put the Packers up 3-0 with 7 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter.
Green Bay forced a three-and-out on the Broncos' next possession after Edgerrin Cooper backed Nate Adkins into Tyler Badie on a third-and-5 screen play that gained one yard.
Kingsley Enagbare was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Jeremy Crawshaw's 43-yard punt, backing the Packers up to their 3-yard line.
Love found a wide-open Luke Musgrave for 26 yards on second-and-8 before then connecting with Romeo Doubs for another 26-yard gain to push the ball to the Denver 43.
Chris Brooks gained seven yards on a draw before John FitzPatrick caught a 6-yard pass on a free play. Matthew Golden caught an 18-yard pass to move the ball to the Denver 12.
Packers lead Broncos 16-14 at halftime
Watson caught a 5-yard pass to open the second quarter. Love completed his first eight passes for 100 yards before missing Doubs on third-and-6 from the Denver 8.
Green Bay settled for a McManus 26-yard field goal to extend its lead to 6-0 with 14:11 left in the first half. The 10-play, 9-yard drive lasted 5:45.
Micah Parsons drew a holding penalty against Garrett Bolles on first down, but Denver received a first down on the next play after Javon Bullard was flagged for unnecessary roughness during the tackle of Troy Franklin.
The Broncos converted three third downs on a 10-play scoring drive, culminating in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Michael Bandy on third-and-3 to pull ahead 7-6 with 8:19 left in the first half.
Musgrave gained seven yards on a quick pass on first down. Reed went uncovered on a third-and-3 out and picked up 29 yards down the left sideline to the Denver 39.
Green Bay used its first timeout after Jacobs gained eight yards on an inside run. The Packers fed Jacobs again after the timeout and he ran 11 yards to the Denver 20.
The Packers picked up another red-zone penalty on an illegal shirt on first-and-goal at the 9. Musgrave dropped a pass in flat on the next play and Green Bay used its second timeout.
Rasheed Walker was flagged for holding on second-and-goal, but Denver opted to decline it after Love threw the ball away. On third-and-goal, Jacobs caught a 14-yard touchdown pass – the second of his career – to put the Packers back up 13-7 with 4:29 left in the half.
Right tackle Zach Tom was injured on the play. Denver bolted back down the field, though, with Nix hitting Courtland Sutton for 42 yards to the Green Bay 22.
An 8-yard pass to Franklin set up first-and-goal at the Green Bay 8. Coming out of the two-minute warning, Nix hit Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a 5-yard touchdown to put Denver ahead 14-13 with 1:56 left in the first half.
Darian Kinnard stepped in for an injured Tom at right tackle. Green Bay started at its own 14 but quickly moved down field after a 19-yard slant to Watson and a 16-yard pass to Musgrave. John Franklin-Myers was flagged for roughing the passer on the latter, moving Green Bay to the Denver 33.
Romeo Doubs caught a 10-yard slant on third-and-6 while Broncos sent an all-out blitz. Green Bay used its final timeout with 17 seconds left. Chris Brooks caught a quick pass for six yards and went out of bounds with 10 seconds left.
McManus made a 35-yard field goal to put the Packers back up 16-14.
Broncos lead Packers 27-23 after three quarters
Kinnard was still lined up at right tackle at the start of the third quarter. After a 6-yard pass to John FitzPatrick, Matthew Golden drew a 25-yard defensive pass interference penalty against Riley Moss on third-and-4.
Jacobs broke a 40-yard touchdown run on the next play to push the Packers' lead to 23-14 with 13:59 left in the third quarter.
It was Jacobs' longest run as a member of the Packers and his longest touchdown run since a 63-yard rushing TD against Kansas City in Week 12 of the 2023 season with Las Vegas.
Green Bay forced a three-and-out after Rashan Gary stopped Harvey after a 1-yard gain on second down and Parsons forced a Nix incompletion on third down. The Broncos got the ball back one play later after Patrick Surtain intercepted a deep ball intended for Watson, who was injured on the play.
Denver took over at its 29. On second-and-7, Nix scrambled and hit Humphrey for 22 yards to the Green Bay 45. He extended another play before hitting Franklin for 18 yards on the next play.
A 9-yard pass to Mims converted a second-and-7 and moved Denver into the Packers' red zone. The Broncos cut the lead to 23-21 with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Sutton with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
Jacobs lost three yards on first down and Walker jumped on second-and-13. Jacobs got five yards back on an out and Love scrambled for 24 yards on third-and-13 to move across midfield.
Musgrave couldn't bring down a first down pass, Jacobs was stopped for no yards on second down and Love was sacked on third-and-10 to force first Green Bay punt of the day.
Cooper tackled Harvey for a 3-yard loss on first down and Parsons chased down Nix to force an incompletion. Evan Engram gained 12 yards on third-and-13 and Nix successfully sneaked on fourth-and-1 from the Broncos' 39.
Xavier McKinney broke up a deep ball for Mims on the next play, but Denver moved across midfield with a 16-yard pass to Franklin.
Parsons injured his knee with 44 seconds left in the third quarter and immediately went to the locker room. The third quarter ended with Nix completing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Franklin to pull ahead 28-23.
Broncos rally for 34-26 win, Packers fall to 9-4-1
The Packers announced Watson (chest) is out for the game, Parsons (knee) is questionable and safety Evan Williams (knee) is questionable.
Jacobs gained 14 yards on back-to-back carries to open the fourth quarter. On third-and-4, Love connected with Matthew Golden for 27 yards to the Denver 18.
The drive stalled there with the Packers settling for a 37-yard McManus field goal to cut Denver's lead to 27-26 with 10:55 remaining.
Denver drove down to the Green Bay 42 and chose to go for it on fourth-and-2. Nix aired out a 26-yard pass to Sutton to convert and move the ball to the Packers' 15. Harvey eventually scored on a 4-yard toss to extend Denver's lead to 34-26 with 7:27 remaining.
The Packers announced Parsons was ruled out. On second-and-8, Love missed Dontayvion Wicks over the middle and Moss intercepted the deflected pass at the Denver 48. The Broncos turned the ball over on downs after Cooper broke up a fourth-and-2 pass for Mims.
Green Bay took over at its 45. Golden caught an out for 11 yards on third-and-9, but the Packers turned the ball back over on downs with 2:28 remaining after Love was sacked twice.
Green Bay's defense earned another fourth-down stop to give the Packers the ball at their 38 with 1:07 remaining, but Love didn't complete a pass and Green Bay gave the ball back to Denver with 44 seconds left.
