PHILADELPHIA — Sean Payton doesn’t have an aversion to risk. He’s the head coach who opened the second half of a Super Bowl with an onside kick.

So perhaps it shouldn’t surprise anyone when Payton went for 2 after his Denver Broncos scored their second fourth-quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

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The conversion attempt silenced Lincoln Financial Field. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix rolled right and located his former Oregon teammate, wide receiver Troy Franklin, to give Denver a one-point lead, 18-17, with 7:36 remaining.

In a blink, the Broncos erased a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit and then held on for a 21-17 win over the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles, who came in undefeated and winners of 20 of their last 21 games.

Nix stole the spotlight from Jalen Hurts, who, despite entering the day bottom 10 in the league in air yards per attempt, threw the ball all over the yard for most of the afternoon.

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In the first half, Hurts dropped a 52-yard pass in the bucket for wide receiver DeVonta Smith, connecting for Philadelphia’s longest pass play of the season and setting up a quick touchdown toss to tight end Dallas Goedert. That gave the Eagles a 10-3 lead at the half.

In the second half, Hurts picked on Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton with a 47-yard touchdown pass to running back Saquon Barkley, who blew by the 31-year-old in the second level with a double move on a wheel route that gave the 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year a clear path for six and his most explosive play of 2025.

Denver safety Talanoa Hufanga nearly flipped the game on its head late in the third quarter when he batted up a Hurts pass. Hufanga dropped the deflection, which could have turned into a pick 6.

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The Broncos eventually made it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter. Nix, who settled in in the second half, orchestrated a methodical 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive, which notably featured a third-and-2 conversion — thanks to a 6-yard pass to Courtland Sutton — and ended with a 2-yard J.K. Dobbins scoring run.

Trailing 17-10, Denver’s defense built on the momentum, delivering for coordinator Vance Joseph, who called a well-timed simulated pressure that saw cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian fly in for a third-down sack.

Philadelphia went three-and-out, Denver took over and then authored a potentially season-altering drive.

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Nix converted a third-and-15 with a 34-yard pass to Sutton. The next play, he found tight end Evan Engram for an 11-yard touchdown.

Cue the aforementioned 2-point conversion.

Penalties hurt the Eagles late. An illegal shift flag on Barkley negated a 30-yard, fourth-and-4 pass to Smith on Philadelphia’s subsequent drive.

After punting, Philadelphia watched Nix and the Broncos chew clock and push the ball downfield, thanks in part to two questionable calls — the first an intentional grounding call on Nix that was eventually picked up, and then a late hit penalty on Eagles linebacker Zack Baun on a tackle that would have brought up fourth-and-2.

The Broncos wound up kicking a 36-yard field goal with 1:11 remaining.

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The Eagles didn’t get a flag on a potential pass interference penalty during their final drive, either.

Needing a touchdown because of the 2-point conversion, Hurts’ final shot to the end zone fell incomplete. And Denver’s ferocious comeback was complete.