The Super Bowl That Almost Was: Broncos and Rams Finally Meet — and Denver Finishes the Job

Yes, it was only Week 3.

Yes, the calendar still says September.

But Broncos-Rams didn't feel like just another early-season football game.

Eight months ago, these two teams were each one victory away from meeting in Super Bowl LX.

Denver lost the AFC Championship.

Los Angeles lost the NFC Championship.

Instead of meeting for the Lombardi Trophy in February, they finally met Sunday night in Denver.

And if this was our belated version of the Super Bowl that almost was, it certainly delivered.

Broncos 30. Rams 26.

And Denver had to come all the way back from the dead to get it.

A First Half Denver Would Rather Forget

For 30 minutes, this looked like it might become a very long night for Broncos Country.

The Rams controlled virtually everything.

Los Angeles built a 16–0 halftime lead, piled up 17 first downs to Denver's five and held the Broncos to just 67 net yards in the first half.

Matthew Stafford looked comfortable. The Rams moved the football. Denver's offense couldn't get started.

The Broncos were shut out in the first half.

Then halftime happened.

And apparently somebody flipped a switch.

Denver scored 30 points in the second half.

Bo Nix threw touchdown passes to Pat Bryant and Nate Adkins, and Sean Payton aggressively went for two after both scores.

Denver converted both.

Suddenly:

Rams 16. Broncos 16.

Game on.

Then the Game Went Completely Crazy

The fourth quarter was everything you want from Sunday Night Football.

Los Angeles moved back ahead 19–16.

Then Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga made the play that changed the stadium.

With 4:49 remaining, Hufanga jumped Matthew Stafford's pass intended for Kyren Williams and took it 66 yards to the house.

Pick six.

Denver suddenly led 23–19.

Mile High was going insane.

But Matthew Stafford has been around far too long to panic.

Four plays later, Stafford launched a 48-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield.

Just like that:

Rams 26. Broncos 23.

Denver had one more chance.

And this time Bo Nix delivered.

Nix drove the Broncos 65 yards in 10 plays, including huge completions of 39 yards and 21 yards, getting Denver down to inches from the goal line.

With 47 seconds remaining, Nix went over the pile.

Touchdown.

Broncos 30. Rams 26.

But Stafford wasn't finished either.

He drove Los Angeles all the way to Denver's 14-yard line with seconds remaining. A false start moved the Rams backward, leaving Stafford one final shot at the end zone.

And who ended it?

Hufanga.

Again.

His second interception of the fourth quarter came in the end zone as time expired.

Ballgame.

Denver had erased a 16-point halftime deficit and beaten one of the teams that came within four points of reaching last year's Super Bowl.

Which Brings Us Back to January

Here's what makes this matchup so interesting.

The Broncos and Rams weren't simply good football teams last season.

They were literally the last two teams eliminated before the Super Bowl.

On January 25, Denver hosted New England in the AFC Championship Game.

But the Broncos weren't the same team that had gotten them there.

Bo Nix had fractured his ankle in Denver's dramatic divisional-round win over Buffalo and was finished for the postseason.

Jarrett Stidham had to start the AFC Championship.

And the effect was enormous.

Before the Nix injury, early betting markets had Denver approximately a 1- to 1.5-point favorite over New England.

After Nix was ruled out, New England became roughly a 4.5-point favorite.

Think about that swing.

Roughly six points because one player disappeared from the lineup.

And then Denver — playing without its starting quarterback — lost:

Patriots 10. Broncos 7.

Three points.

That's what makes Broncos fans wonder.

What happens if Bo Nix plays that game?

Nobody can honestly say Denver definitely wins. Football doesn't work that way.

But we can say something factual:

A healthy Denver team was viewed very differently before the Nix injury.

The betting market actually considered the Broncos a slight favorite.

Then Denver lost the championship by only three points with its backup quarterback.

It's one of the great "what ifs" of the 2025 Broncos season.

The Rams Had Their Own Heartbreak

A few hours after Denver's season ended, Los Angeles walked into Seattle for the NFC Championship Game.

This one wasn't defined by losing its starting quarterback.

The Rams were actually relatively healthy. Veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein was out, and Byron Young entered the game questionable with a knee injury but played.

Seattle was only a slight favorite — roughly 1.5 to 2.5 points, depending on when you checked the line.

And the game was every bit that close.

Matthew Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns.

Los Angeles produced an incredible 479 total yards, compared with Seattle's 396.

But yards don't decide championships.

Seattle was better in the red zone, committed no turnovers and made the critical plays when the game demanded them.

Final:

Seahawks 31. Rams 27.

Four points separated Los Angeles from the Super Bowl.

Broncos-Rams: The Super Bowl We Never Got

Now think about how close we were.

Denver lost the AFC Championship 10–7.

Los Angeles lost the NFC Championship 31–27.

A combined seven points separated these two teams from playing each other in Super Bowl LX.

Seven.

If one or two plays go differently on Championship Sunday, maybe we're remembering Broncos-Rams as a Super Bowl instead of watching them meet eight months later in Week 3.

And Sunday night's game gave us a glimpse of how entertaining that matchup might have been.

Stafford threw for more than 400 yards.

Nix didn't put up monster passing numbers — 17-of-34 for 186 yards — but when the game reached its biggest moments, he accounted for three touchdowns: two passing and the game-winning rushing score.

And Denver's defense produced the game's defining player.

Talanoa Hufanga:

Two interceptions. One pick-six. One game-ending interception.

That's a pretty good night.

Maybe the Biggest Difference Is What Denver Did When Things Went Wrong

This might be the most encouraging part for Broncos fans.

Denver didn't play a perfect football game.

Not even close.

They were awful offensively for most of the first half.

They fell behind 16–0.

Nix threw an interception in the fourth quarter.

They lost the lead after Hufanga's pick-six.

And somehow they kept answering.

Denver has now come from behind in consecutive games, and Sunday's comeback marked the first time in franchise history the Broncos overcame double-digit second-half deficits in consecutive weeks.

That's not necessarily a formula you want to depend on every Sunday.

But learning how to win games when everything doesn't go according to plan?

That's what good football teams eventually have to learn.

Eight Months Late, We Finally Got the Matchup

It wasn't played in Santa Clara.

There was no Lombardi Trophy waiting on the sideline.

And nobody is hanging a banner because of something that happened in Week 3.

But for one Sunday night in Denver, we finally got to see the matchup that came tantalizingly close to happening last February.

The AFC Championship runner-up.

The NFC Championship runner-up.

Two teams that spent an offseason wondering what might have happened if one or two moments had gone differently.

This time they were on the same field.

And after trailing 16–0, surrendering the lead again with less than five minutes remaining and watching Matthew Stafford drive toward the end zone one final time...

Denver finished the job.

Broncos 30.

Rams 26.

Maybe it wasn't the Super Bowl.

But for a September night at Mile High, it sure felt a little bigger than Week 3.