The teams traded punts to begin the second half, and wide receiver Trindon Holliday returned Tampa Bay’s punt 21 yards to the Denver 48-yard line.
From the shotgun formation on the first play, Peyton Manning faked a handoff to running back Knowshon Moreno and hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for a 13-yard gain, moving Denver to the 39-yard line in Tampa Bay territory.
On the next play, Manning threw another first-down pass, this time to tight end Jacob Tamme for 15 yards. It was Tamme’s fourth catch of the game.
After an incompletion intended for Tamme, Manning went for the end zone looking for Thomas. On a perfectly placed ball, cornerback Leonard Johnson held Thomas to keep him from making the catch. As a result, Denver took over on the 8-yard line, where the penalty occurred.
On first-and-goal, Manning went back to Thomas in the end zone. This time, they connected for a touchdown to regain the lead.
The extra point gave Denver a 14-10 lead with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter.
The score marked Thomas’ third straight game with a touchdown catch, his seventh of the year.
Manning, who passed Dan Marino in the first half for second-most completions in NFL history, set a new Broncos record for single-season touchdown passes with 28. The old record of 27 was shared by Jake Plummer and John Elway.
Click here for the audio highlight of the touchdown and click here to see it.