rookie out of syracuse, riley dixon, will send the punt to ted ginn. >> cris: not good. it is a short kick. >> cris: not good. >> al: a flag down now at the 40 yard line. so, that is not what the broncos had in mind. the flag is down back near the line of scrimmage. it was fourth down and 17.

>> cris: i am sure they are figuring out if there was a hold or a foul it was before the kick. >> al: the crowd restless. this is a long conference. >> referee: there is no foul for holding by a member of the kicking team on the play as the ball was kicked. carolina's ball first and ten. time-out. >> al: huh? we will be back.

get your fall fix with huge deals right now at lowe's. like 5 bags of premium mulch for only $10. plus get 20% off all sta-green products. make your home happy this fall with the season's biggest savings at lowe's. i used to ask if youe's. but i switched to sprint. their network reliability is now within 1% of verizon. and, get this, with sprint's new unlimited plan, you have the freedom to do virtually whatever you want. is there no worrying about gigabytes, shmigabytes, overages, bill phobia? that's the dream right there. well, then mama is gonna text, ping, post, tweet, snap... those dogs that learned to dance on their hind legs... can you hear that? don't let a 1% difference limit your freedom.

unlimited mobile optimized data. four lines $160 a month. live your life unlimited. for people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay.com. >> al: traveling circus flying out of here to arizona, "sunday night football", patriots and the cardinals. from glendale, arizona. mike tirico will be hosting football night in america, 7:00 eastern time. patriots/cards on sunday night. >> cris: got them. >> al: they are going to call it on -- >> cris: i think it is on kelvin benjamin, on the wide receiver. >> al: initial indication.

>> referee: false start, offense. number 67. five-yard penalty. first down. >> al: ryan kalil, the center. >> cris: benjamin definitely flinched on the play. we have new rules. that little tap of the head. clearly benjamin on the outside definitely flinched. chris harris saw it. >> al: that makes it first and 15. pressure. down he goes at the 31 yard line. todd davis having a big night. there is ware. i putting his finger in the air. it was first and 15. back at the 30 yard line for a four-yard sack. it will be second down and 19. >> cris: you are go to see the blockers cut in.

as they do all of the defenders blitz. called the green dog. the green blitz. whatever. so the more people that you leave in to block, the more pressure wade philips is going to add on. >> al: second and 20. newton. to the outside. can he get around ware? he does but he gets bumped out by roby. good news for carolina is that it stops the clock. they only have the one time-out left plus the two-minute warning and it is third and a mile. third and 15 coming next. >> cris: you can see how much tougher it is for von miller because cam newton is not getting the same type of depth, the 10 or 11 yards of depth. boy, cam took another shot to the helmet from roby. >> al: third and 15. he has to get to the 50 to

convert. pressure again and sacked at the 29. miller. sooner or later. that man in the super bowl was a singular weapon of mass destruction. fourth and 22 as we come to the two-minute warning. >> al: 21-20, denver. you may wonder how we pack all that great taste

into just 96 calories. well, that's a mystery you don't need to solve. you just get to enjoy. spelled different because it's brewed different. ♪ it's peyton on sunday ♪ mornings. ♪ e-man! what up, peyt. you know i have directv nfl sunday ticket. i get every game, every sunday. all in hd. yeah. i know that. so you wanna come over? i'll make nachos! i can't right now man. i'm playing. oh yeah. alright. i'll pencil you in for tuesday. (vo) get nfl sunday ticket included at no extra charge.

only on directv. >> al: we will have a postgame report coming your way. michele on the field. a look ahead to sunday's patriots/cardinals game. they are compelled to go for it. they only have one time-out. >> cris: they have all of the big guys coming down here. all of the big guys, 6'4", 6'5" going up in the air. see if you can outjump somebody. >> al: got to get to the 50. four-man rush. newton fires and it is incomplete but there is a flag at the 44 yard line. >> cris: oh, boy.

he had it in his hands for a second. >> al: benjamin was there. talib and stewart with the coverage. on a fourth and 21. >> referee: illegal use of hands, hands to the face, defense. >> cris: wow! >> referee: number 25, that is a five-yard penalty and an automatic first down. >> al: chris harris on a fourth and 21. a five-yard penalty but it carries with it the automatic first. >> cris: right here. hands to the face. that is what they called. >> al: that is what they called. >> cris: right there. can't deny it. wow! >> al: so the panthers get new life. first down at the 34 yard line. 1:54 and one time-out for

carolina. chugging his way for a gain of about four is mike tolbert up to the 39 yard line. now you are looking to get in to field goal position in a mile high altitude and graham gano, leaving it up to him. maybe you win the game. >> cris: that time he had the kick from the 20 kicked it out of the end zone. anything is possible here. >> al: second down and five. newton. able to get it away but hit as he throws and the pass is incomplete. shaquille barrett made contact as he released it and it is third down and five. >> cris: barrett, here is a young man that really had an impact. trai turner tries to help and neither one of them can get there in time. you just need to get somewhere where you have a chance.

you get one completion to kelvin benjamin in the middle of the field, you are basically in field goal range. >> al: third and five, the play clock is down to three. two. he has to take his last time-out. whoa! they were so slow getting out of the huddle thinking what are they doing. that is their last time-out. >> cris: it is hard to believe how poorly they have been with these time-outs tonight. >> al: well, they had to take one when they won the challenge but rivera had to wait to see what the guys upstairs were saying. they won the challenge on what would have been a first and goal or a fourth and goal. then they just squandered this one. >> michele: hey, i spoke with graham gano before the game and he said the altitude helps kicks immensely. a 60-yarder in denver feels like 50 in most places despite the

fact that andy lee is his fifth holder since the super bowl, they have found a rhythm. >> al: as a punter tonight, andy lee, a 76-yard kick. we know what 5,280 feet means. >> cris: matt prater had one from 64 yards here and that is the record. big target in the middle of the field. first downs. they are getting close to range. >> al: third down and five. the pressure put on. the pass caught over the middle by greg olsen. making another catch there. tackled by ward. for olsen tonight, that is seven grabs. the clock ticking down to 1:00. >> cris: boy, that is some move by a tight end to get away from t.j. ward. >> al: from the 47. they rush five. to the outside and it is incomplete. >> cris: wow.

chris harris. >> al: very close. very close. >> cris: he wasn't even in coverage on that guy. dives backwards and almost -- man. that would have been two of the greatest interceptions ever. the one that he had earlier. >> al: and made up for the hands to the face which could be the key play of the game right now. second down and ten. >> cris: a run is not out of the question. you are so close to field goal range in this building. >> al: pressure put on. newton tries to escape and tries to dump it away. >> cris: did not get it back to the line of scrimmage. >> al: the flag is thrown. barrett put the heat on. newton writhing on the ground. the flag was thrown. so, cam now -- the question is

can he even continue at this point. here comes stewart. >> cris: blow to the head too. >> al: right. yep. helmet-to-helmet. >> cris: he has to get it back to the line of scrimmage, that pass. i don't think that it did. you are going to have a personal foul. and then whatever they decide on whether or not it is intentional grounding. even though he is outside the pocket. >> al: it could be offsetting. derek anderson was warming up before. >> cris: that is close. >> referee: there are fouls by both teams on the play. the first foul is a personal

foul, roughing the passer. defense number 26. prior to the contact the quarterback did release the football although he was outside of the pocket the football did not get back to the original line of scrimmage. therefore it is intentional grounding. those fouls will offset and we will replay second down. >> cris: oh, man. >> al: huge break for denver. if they don't call that one they would be in field goal range. >> cris: ron can't believe his quarterback took a shot like that and i think that he knew all along. >> al: here is the grounding here. just trying to escape. >> cris: there is the tackle box. all you have to do now is to get it back to the line of scrimmage. >> al: five yards shy of it. but he is able to stay in. the ball at the 47. second down and ten. >> cris: ordinarily you think that cam newton might take off and run with it.

you just wonder how he is doing physically and what he is able to do at this point. >> al: broncos bring pressure again. hangs in the pocket. deep and incomplete. intended for olsen. coverage there by t.j. ward. >> cris: there is a lot of man coverage going on. that time t.j. ward won that battle. with man coverage, al, we said this before. man coverage lends itself to quarterback draws and things like that. i would not be surprised if they end up with a spy this time to make sure that does not happen. >> al: 29 seconds, third down

and ten. four-wide here. newton flings it over the middle. that is caught inside the 40. that is benjamin. 20 seconds counting down. he wants to come up to spike the ball. right now you are looking at a 56-yard field goal. now do you want to run one more play before you bring that unit in? the one thing you have to do is not complete a pass in the middle of the field. >> cris: at the least if you are going to kick the field goal i think you are go to run down the clock and throw it out of bounds so that there is no time left. you don't want to turn it back over to gary kubiak's offense. >> al: well, at this point i don't think you are worried about it. if you can make the field goal, make them go 75 yards. >> cris: you never know though. >> al: i think the key thing for these guys is not to run a play where the clock keeps running. second down and ten. to the outside they go to play

it safe in terms of the clock. ginn makes the catch. >> cris: wow! what a gutsy throw and catch. >> al: nine seconds. now you bring in the field goal group. >> cris: you gain a few yards out of it. >> al: now you turn it into about a 50-yarder. >> referee: the previous play -- the previous play will be reviewed. >> al: right. you are inside 2:00. no challenges being reviewed. it will be a 50-yard field goal or a 56-yarder when we come back. ♪ that's why there's nationwide, ♪ ♪ helping to grow and protect your many sides. ♪

♪ nationwide is on your side. what are you doing? sara, i love you, and... [phone rings] ah, it's my brother. keep going... sara, will you marry... [phone rings again] what do you want, todd???? [crowd cheering] keep it going!!!! if you sit on your phone, you butt-dial people. it's what you do. todd! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. i know we just met like, two months ago... yes!

[crowd cheering] [crowd cheering over phone] >> referee: the ruling on the field is confirmed. possession, two feet down. >> al: that is a six-yard gain. ted ginn makes the catch and stays inbounds. those six yards means it is a 50-yard field goal attempt for gano. gano is a very good kicker. but the one down side would be blocked kicks. he had four field goals and an extra point blocked last year. he has a new holder in andy lee. from 50. gano to win the game. there will be two seconds left at the end here. and the broncos who have two time-outs at their disposal. >> referee: denver has used their second time-out of the

half. >> cris: they do not want to use their last one. say he makes the field goal. hail mary. you want at least a chance to have a chance to call a time-out. >> al: i think they did. >> cris: i am building a little drama. >> al: we kept the audience all night. we're okay. >> cris: well, graham gano was 30 of 36 last year and his long was 52. 2 for 4 over 50 yards. boy, there is nothing they would like better to beat this bunch and fly back to carolina 1-0. >> al: that makes the red eye a little more palatable. andy lee is the holder. and gano from 50.

>> cris: if they were to bobble the snap, you could get another chance. >> al: and the kick is no good! snap was a little high. lee able to get it down. probably just enough mistiming. >> cris: the first one that he kicked went off of the upright and in. but it was the right upright. you just wonder, when you overadjust a bit with the driver. hooked this one. you have to say, that was a heck of a time-out. i don't think gary kubiak has done anything wrong tonight. >> al: and the denver broncos with a quarterback who has never thrown a pass on opening night take the nfc champion carolina

panthers and overcome a ten-point deficit and win the game 21-20. >> cris: you can talk about a lot of guys, but that young man right there, trevor siemian, he came in and did it. >> al: one more look. the snap was a little high. lee gets it down. wide to the left. there is thomas davis. talib. >> cris: what a ballgame. >> al: gary couldn't even look. well, how is that for the start of the season? >> cris: how are you feeling now? >> al: postgame report after these messages. >> cris: wow!

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. which means we can fix things differently. thanks for calling fios, this is ryan. you can't tell me this cord isn't in,

i know it's in, it's in but it's not working. i'm sending you a link to the my fios app that's going to let me see what you're seeing. really? yes...mr. mcenroe. see that cord? just plug it into the connector on the right. so you can clearly see what's in and what's out? oh, absolutely. i like that. get fios with virtual tech support for $69.99 a month.

>> announcer: here now, bob costas. >> graham gano misses from 50 on virtually the game's last play. the only play that mattered. denver holds on to win it 21-20. we will quickly get to the game balls and those players will have their faces along side the

nbc "sunday night football" bus. those players are trevor siemian, who was 18 for 26 for 178 and a touchdown. c.j. anderson, carried it 20 times for 92 yards and a td and also caught four passes and demarcus ware had 1 1/2 sacks and the nine-time pro bowler joins c.j. anderson and trevor siemian on the sidelines with michele. >> michele: trevor, first i have to ask you as we saw the field goal kick go up, what were you thinking? >> unbelievable. you never know what is going to happen in this business. i learned that last year. great one. good to be a part of it. >> michele: you were described as poised, calm and collected and you faced a lot of adversity in the game. what do you think got you through that? >> teammates. we have a great huddle. we have a lot of guys to lean on. c.j. led the way all day and the guys up front did a heck of a job. >> michele: i know peyton manning called you last night. what did he say?

>> shooting the breeze, not too much. peyton is a good friend of mine. >> michele: congratulations, you are 1-0. >> appreciate it. >> michele: let's turn to c.j., two touchdowns tonight, one receiving and one rushing against a really good defense. why were you so productive? >> i never try to do anything outside the system. i try to do everything that i can in the system and make my plays. i did that tonight. >> michele: a lot of people got to know trevor siemian tonight. what did you guys learn about your young quarterback? >> he is as poised and calm as he always was. if you told us we were go to turn it over three times against a good defense and come out with a win nobody would have believed it. >> michele: congratulations. >> thank you. >> michele: let's turn to demarcus ware, no off-season, no preseason action. you come in here on a limited sack count and come in with two sacks. why were you the way that you were tonight?

>> i just give it to the trainers and everybody that helped me get myself ready and having a good off-season. i know i did not get a lot of balls. my teammates there in the ota or minicamp or training camp but it paid off. >> in the first half cam newton looked like the mvp he is. in the second half you were really able to bring the pressure. >> we went back in the locker room saying we are making too many mistakes. 12 men on the field. not tackling well. saying let's get out composure and play ball like we always do. >> michele: congratulations on the win. >> thank you so much. >> michele: bob, back to you. >> thanks so much. joined now by tony and rodney. dan headed back east to host "the dan patrick show" tomorrow morning on nbcsn. we only have enough time to talk about one thing and one person and that is trevor siemian. >> gary kubiak and the whole denver organization has to be excited about this. they are glad they won the game.

but the things they thought about trevor siemian, he was poised and accurate and athletic. they saw that in the game. the game is not too big for him. you saw how excited c.j. anderson was. now they know what they have got. >> the thing that really impressed me was his athletic ability. getting outside the pocket, remaining calm under pressure and delivering the ball. >> even though it is only one game, your mind has been changed about trevor siemian, at least to some extent. >> well, bob, it is not just one game. this is kind of a playoff atmosphere, kind of similar to the super bowl. it is just a notch under that. this is a big time game with a lot of pressure. he has never even thrown a nfl football pass. >> the moment wasn't too big for him. >> no, it wasn't. okay. the broncos open it 1-0 with a one-point win over the panthers. al and cris back with their final thoughts after this.