What looked destined to be a one-sided Los Angeles Rams victory took a 180-degree turn and developed into a thriller that ultimately went the other way. The Denver Broncos rallied in the second half of the Week 3 edition of “Sunday Night Football” to erase a two-score deficit and notch a 30-26 triumph over the NFC West behemoths, improving to 2-1 in the process and dropping the so-called super team to 1-2.

The Rams dominated the first half and showed no ill effects of being without the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a superstar wide receiver. The absences of Myles Garrett and Puka Nacua were a relative afterthought while Los Angeles constructed a 16-0 lead. They out-gained the Broncos 256 to 72 before the break, and they were in total control.

But then the Broncos flipped the game on its head. On the other side of the halftime break, Bo Nix connected with Pat Bryant II and Nate Adkins for back-to-back touchdowns and converted the two-point conversion on both of them to level the score before the third quarter had even expired. Denver’s defense also stepped up, as it held the Rams to a meager 19 yards in the frame. 

And things were just getting started. No sequence exemplified the back-and-forth nature of this game quite like the one that unfolded in the fourth quarter. 

First, Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Matthew Stafford and returned the ball 67 yards for a pick-six to give Denver its first lead of the game. Not at all rattled, however, Stafford responded on the ensuing possession with a massive 48-yard touchdown strike to Konata Mumpfield, who finished the night with 4 catches for 93 yards and a score while filling in for Nacua. 

The Broncos came right back, though, with a touchdown drive of their own, ending with Nix leaping over the line and into the end zone for the game-winning score with 47 seconds. That sneak capped an eventful drive that featured a shaky pass interference call (more on that in a second), another penalty near the goal line and an overturned touchdown run that was ruled just short of the end zone prior to Nix’s leap over the top.

But a game so topsy-turvy and entertaining deserved to end with last-second drama, and it did just that after the Rams quickly marched into the red zone despite having only 47 seconds and one timeout remaining once they got the ball following Nix’s touchdown. They had one final look at the end zone on the last play from 19 yards out, but as time expired, Hufanga hauled in his second interception of the night to finalize Denver’s come-from-behind win.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the Broncos’ victory. Below are our takeaways plus highlights and in-game analysis.

Controversial call

We have to start here, because if not for a pass interference call that was highly questionable, the game-winning touchdown by Bo Nix never would have happened. The Broncos had third-and-6 from the Rams’ 11-yard line. Nix was quickly pressured in the backfield and lofted a pass that looked at first like a throwaway but was actually intended for Pat Bryant, and it was intercepted by Josh Wallace. 

However, Wallace was called for pass interference on the play. The replay, though, showed a pretty good acting job by Bryant, who seemingly pulled Wallace into his own body and flailed, drawing the interference call and negating what would have been a game-ending pick. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said on the broadcast that the play should not have been flagged for interference.

Alas, McAulay does not make the calls on the field. Bill Vinovich’s crew did. And they called interference on Wallace, setting up first-and-goal. A few plays later, Nix leaped over the line for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak to give the Broncos the lead for good.

The comeback kids

The Broncos came back from deficits of 16-0, 19-16 and 26-23 to secure the win. According to the CBS Sports research department, they now lead the NFL in comeback wins (13) and second-half comeback wins (10) since the start of last season. 

This is their second-largest comeback win in that span behind a 19-0 fourth-quarter comeback against the Giants last season. They have come back from a second-half deficit in each of their two wins this season, having also done so last week against the Jaguars.

Meanwhile, according to ESPN, this was Nix’s 11th fourth-quarter comeback including the playoffs, the third-most by any quarterback in his first three seasons since 1950. Only John Elway (12) and Derek Carr (12) had more. And of course, Nix still has 14 games to go in his third season to tie or break the record.

Hufanga’s big night

Talanoa Hufanga was the hero for the Broncos, with two interceptions. His first pick of the evening actually gave the Broncos their first lead of the night, as it was a pick six of Matthew Stafford that he took 67 yards to the house.

And his second interception came on the final play of the game, as he stepped in front of a pass intended for Davante Adams in the end zone and sealed the comeback win for Denver. He also did a great job to hang onto the ball as he got clocked by Kyren Williams after the pick.

Hufanga also had five tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and three passes defended. He was huge all game long.

Injuries hurt Rams

The Rams lost tight end Terrance Ferguson to an ankle injury and cornerback Jaylen Watson to a shoulder injury in the first half. 

The Ferguson injury didn’t affect them too much as they had five tight ends active for the game and Tyler Higbee had a nice night with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown, but Watson’s absence forced Emmanuel Forbes and Wallace to play more snaps than usual, and they were victimized multiple times. 

Bryant’s touchdown came when Forbes and Wallace ran into each other on a crossing route, for example, while Jaylen Waddle‘s two-point conversion came on a throw over Wallace’s head. And again, Wallace was flagged for the controversial pass interference on the Broncos’ game-winning drive.