Week 16

Eagles 30, Broncos 27

Things have gone from 6-0 to uh-oh for the Denver Broncos. Denver’s second straight defeat in the final minute, this time on a 28-yard field goal by the Eagles' David Akers with four seconds remaining, sent the Broncos to a 30-27 loss Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The defeat, coupled with Pittsburgh’s victory over Baltimore, Houston’s win at Miami and the New York Jets’ gift of a win at Indianapolis leaves the AFC wildcard race in a quagmire with five teams, including Denver, tied at 8-7 entering the final week of the season. Now, instead of controlling its own destiny, Denver needs help to get into the AFC playoffs. Here are three observations from Sunday’s game:

BRONCOS SHOW HEART:

Trailing 17-0 after Jason Avant’s fortunate 15-yard TD reception early in the third quarter, Denver rallied with a pair of Kyle Orton TD passes to Jabar Gaffney and Knowshon Moreno and a 46-yard Matt Prater field goal. But Akers’ late kick sent Denver to a third straight December loss and that 6-0 start to the season has all been forgotten now. Denver has come close as of late, but close hasn’t cut it in losses to Indianapolis, Oakland and, now, Philadelphia. Instead of sitting in the driver’s seat for its first postseason berth since the 2005 season, Denver is now on the outside looking in.

GAFFNEY KEEPS HIS HEAD ON:

Already playing without Eddie Royal and then losing rookie Kenny McKinley on special teams and Brandon Stokley to a frustrating ejection early in the game, Gaffney had to come up big to take the pressure off star wideout Brandon Marshall. He did that. Gaffney had seven grabs for 69 yards and two touchdowns. His presence in the passing game helped Orton to get into a groove in the second half and gave Denver a chance to rally.

WHERE’S THE PASS DEFENSE?

Sure, speedster DeSean Jackson was held in check, but rookie wideout Jeremy Maclin had six catches for 92 yards and tight end Brent Celek had four catches, all in the first half, for 121 yards and a wide-open TD that left the Broncos secondary looking all out of sync. Things were better in the second half, but Maclin’s tip-toe grab late in the game set up Akers for the game-winning field goal. And, because of that, Denver doesn’t control its own destiny any longer.

-- MICHAEL HICKS