A late field goal gave the New England Patriots a win against the Denver Broncos. They may have to bury their playoff dreams

When Chad Ryland converted the field goal from 56 yards out with two seconds left, the New England Patriots’ 27-23 victory was perfect. For the Denver Broncos, the field goal drama on Christmas Eve was a messy present, as their playoff dreams were brutally shattered.

Well, not completely. But with a 7:8 record two games before the end of the regular season, the Broncos’ chances are only in the low single-digit percentage range.

And that is bitter. The team led by quarterback Russell Wilson did not perform well against the Patriots for a long time, but showed comeback qualities.

They were already trailing 7:23 in the final quarter, but fought their way back into the game with two touchdowns and two two-point conversions. On a drive with 1:42 minutes to go, Wilson and Co. then failed to turn the game around completely at 23:23

Then Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe led his team on a final drive of 43 yards to the decisive field goal.

Zappe finished with 256 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots can at least “embellish” their record to 4:11 with this success. Wilson threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns.