Brandon Stokley relives 2012 24-point comeback over Chargers on 'Monday Night Football'

Miles

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Mar 18, 2019
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The Broncos struck quickly after halftime, as Manning directed an 85-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. He found Demaryius Thomas for a 29-yard touchdown, and the Broncos cut the lead to 24-7 with 10:56 to play in the third quarter. On the ensuing Chargers drive, Philip Rivers led San Diego all the way to the Broncos' 33-yard line. And that's where momentum shifted. Former Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil strip-sacked Rivers and defensive back Tony Carter scooped up the loose ball. Carter returned the fumble for a 65-yard touchdown, and the Broncos were suddenly within 10 points.


"I think after the fumble recovery by Tony Carter and the touchdown there, all of a sudden you look and you're like, 'We're only down 10. And we've still got a lot of football left. We're right back in this thing,'" Stokley said. "And then the pressure shifts. Momentum shifts to us, and then the pressure shifts to them. All of sudden, they start tightening up a little bit, like, 'Oh my goodness.' … Trust me, opposing teams realize who the other team's quarterback is. 'This team with Peyton Manning is only 10 down now?' They start feeling that pressure. Obviously coming out there, that touchdown pass to D.T. was huge to get us going and then the fumble touchdown by Tony Carter just shifted everything to us and started putting the pressure on them."


The Chargers didn't score a single point in the second half. Following Carter's touchdown, the Chargers' drives resulted in a punt, three interceptions — including one for a touchdown by Chris Harris Jr. — and a fumble. The Broncos took the lead for good on a 21-yard touchdown to Stokley with just over nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.


"I put my Super Bowl touchdown at one and then the [game-winning] Bengals catch at two, and [this catch] might be at three," Stokley said. "I just remember the play clock was winding down. Peyton was trying to change the play and the protection and get everything situated. We had the perfect look for the play he wanted to go to, and I just remember looking at the play clock and it was at 1, and I was like, 'Hike the ball, please hike the ball. We've got the perfect play call for their defense here.' We just got the snap off, and he just made a great throw. I just went up there and the ball stuck to my hands somehow someway.


"Certainly, a memorable catch for me. … It was a celebration of all celebrations. I was so excited. To be able to make that catch on a prime-time stage, and to be able to take the lead there, it was awesome. I remember my teammates, [Joel] Dreessen, Orlando [Franklin] and everybody just celebrating in that end zone. And Broncos Country always shows out for that game. We always had a lot of fans that went to San Diego. It was rocking and rolling. That was a special moment for me."


The Broncos secured a 35-24 win to improve to 3-3 on the season and headed into their bye week with momentum. Denver did not lose again in the regular season as they posted a 13-3 mark in the regular season.


"When you look at that football game, being down 24-0, what happened in the second half there, that kind of propelled us forward the rest of the season," Stokley said. "We weren't lacking confidence, but it just helped. It helped everything out to let us know that we are a good football team and when we are firing on all cylinders and doing the right things, both offensively and defensively, we're going to be really difficult to beat."
 
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