ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Peyton Manning's high level of precision on Sunday powered the Broncos to a thrilling 51-48 win over the Cowboys – and the future Hall-of-Famer was never sharper than down the stretch, when he helped rally the Broncos with a game-tying nine-play, 73-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.
Manning's clutch play against the Cowboys has been nominated for the GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week, as the quarterback passed for 414 yards and four touchdowns – and ran for one score – in addition to guiding drives that led to the game-tying and game-winning scores.
"It was a great team victory," Head Coach John Fox said after the game. "It was the first one where we were really behind. I thought this was probably our best character victory as far as coming from behind.
With his team trailing 48-41 with 7:19 remaining in the game, Manning calmly marched the Broncos back down the field by completing five passes – including a key 16-yard throw to wide receiver Wes Welker from the Cowboys' 17-yard line – setting up Knowshon Moreno's game-tying 1-yard touchdown with 2:39 to play.
The Broncos faced only one third down – the play when Moreno scored – during the entire drive.
After linebacker Danny Trevathan's diving interception of Tony Romo on the ensuing Dallas possession, Manning had key completions of 13 and 8 yards to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas that helped set up Matt Prater's game-winning 28-yard kick as time expired.
"Unbelievable. It's an honor and a privilege to play alongside of that guy," Trevathan said of Manning after the game. "I'd hate to be on the opposite side."
In addition to his late-game heroics, Manning also helped rally the Broncos from an early 14-0 deficit by throwing three first half touchdown passes and running for a fourth – overcoming ad
"We talked about last night being able to handle being in a storm," Manning said. "We were kind of in a storm early, 14-0 on the road. That place was rocking. I thought we did a good job kind of digging ourselves out."
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