Broncos "Leaps" into the #2 seed with Ravens beating.

Lets start by summing up the day in one sentence.  RB Knowshon Moreno is running straight ahead towards eight time pro-bowler and all-pro safety Ed Reed, and as he lowers his head for the tackle, Moreno leaves his feet and hops over Reed to keep the play going, leaving everyone in shock that Reed just got "punk'd!" 

The Broncos have struggled in recent history against the Baltimore Ravens, including going 0-5 in Baltimore.  The injury riddled Ravens still are considered a threat, and this having a "must-win", having the chance to lock up the division, was ready to get up for this game.

The Broncos and Ravens we locked into a defensive battle in the first quarter.  Through the first right combined drives, there was six punts, and turnover and field goal scored by the Broncos.  Again, the biggest issue Denver has is getting off to a fast start, particularly against the good teams they have played all season long.

The Broncos on their last drive of the first quarter were able to put together an eleven play, 78 yard drive lead by running back Knowshon Moreno.  Moreno, who is filling in admirably for the injury Willis McGahee, ran the ball for 71 yards on 17 carries in the first half, 118 yards for the game on 22 carries and a touchdown, helped give the Broncos build a lead.  After having been in the doghouse with Head Coach John Fox earlier this season, Moreno's play has taken notice amongst his peers says wide receiver Demaryius Thomas 

"I’ve been watching Knowshon since college. I played against him. I know what the man can do. It’s crazy what he’s done since he’s been back. I’m happy for him, and I just hope he keeps doing it."

The defenses, as mentioned came to play.  The Denver defense didn't give up a first down to Baltimore until eight minutes remaining in the first half and their first third down conversion until just over three minutes remaining in the first half.  They also keep the ball out of the Ravens hands with almost a 2-1 T.O.P. ratio.  Despite all this, the Raven were mounted a drive to help close out the first half.  The Ravens had won the toss to begin the game and deferred to have the ball to begin the second half, Baltimore began to build momentum.

The drive consisted of three plays going for 10+ yards, including a 43 yard strike from QB Joe Flacco to WR Jacoby Jones to help set the Ravens up with first and goal from the four.  Flacco, starring down his receiver to his left side, throws the ball, CB Chris Harris jumps the route and returns the INT the other way, and 98 yards later, the Broncos are close out the first half up 17-0 and steal all the momentum from the Ravens.  Fox knew that his game would be decided through momentum, and the Harris INT was the "swing" of momentum they needed.

"Yeah, this game is about momentum and making plays and those are the kind of plays that change games. We knew that turnovers were going to be important in this game. We ended up +2. It’s something that Baltimore’s done a tremendous job of taking the ball away and not giving it up. They’re +12 on the season. We were -2 going into this game so we knew that was going to be a real big factor in the game."

The Broncos being a team predicated on halftime adjustments and playing much better in the second half, did just that.  First drive for the Ravens resulted in a three-and-out.  Manning took to the field and lead five play, 83 yard drive that was capped off with Manning ( 17-of-28, 204, TD) hit WR Eric Decker in stride for a 53 catch and run good for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, the defense continued to play at an elite level.  Granted the Ravens had a major change on the offense with the firing of Cam Cameron and the promotion of Jim Caldwell to Offensive Coordinator.  The Raven offense found no rhythm against the Broncos defense.  Only on third down conversion in the first half and a first down didn't come until late in the second.  The Ravens could not get on the scoreboard until their first drive of the second half, resulting in a field goal.  The Ravens offense, looking for a jolt of life, did not find it on this day.  Having gone 1-of-12 on third down conversions and only 12 first downs throughout the entire game.  They could not keep any drive alive until the fourth quarter.  This game was seen as a test for the Broncos, and for them to come out and flex their muscles left a last impression in their minds that they are ready to play with the big boys.  Elvis Dumvervil told the Denver Post that they have what it takes to beat anyone.

The Ravens, lead by QB Joe Flacco (20-of-40, 254, 2TD's, INT) and RB Ray Rice (12 carries, 38 yards) took pounding after pounding.  The Denver defense hit the Raven offense with three sacks, five tackle for losses, three pass deflections, nine QB hits and the INT return for a touchdown.  In all, 23 players recorded a tackle in this game.  The Ravens didn't score their first touchdown until the game was out of hand, at the beginning of the fourth when Denver was leading 31-3.  Denver would give up a couple TD's late and go on to win 31-17.

Denver received help as well with San Francisco holding off a late comeback by the New England Patriots.  N.E. holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos after beating them earlier in the season.  But Denver now sits 11-3 while N.E. sits at 10-4.  Currently, Denver is sitting in the #2 spot in the playoffs, should they win out as they wrap the season up now at home against the Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs, they will be looking at a first round bye in the playoffs.

Broncos get it done in Oakland, sights on #2 seed...

The Denver Broncos continued their strangle hold over the rest of the division this past week as they traveled to the "Black Hole" to take on the Oakland Raiders.  Coming off a big and convincing victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Broncos had a quick turn around as they played their game on a Thursday night.

Records go out the window when these two teams play, particularly under the lights in primetime.  This matchup was no different.  The Broncos jumped out quick, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive as QB Peyton Manning connected with TE Joel Dresseen.  The Broncos following two drives resulted in field goals that put the Broncos up 13-0 going late into the second quarter.

As mentioned, when these two teams, records go out the window, and Oakland certainly showed it.  The result of the stalled drives was pressure put on Manning by the Raiders.  They managed to camp in the back field with the Broncos for much of the night.  The Raider defense played decent at times in the game, coming up with three sacks, three pass deflections and four QB hits.

What was key in the Raider defense was getting pressure on Manning, forcing him to try and take a stab at the endzone.  CB Phillip Adams was able to get his hands on a pass the was underthrown, touchback, Raiders ball at the twenty.  The Raiders took time of the clock, building momentum as the Raiders kept the Bronco defense for better than six minutes.  In that drive, Oakland went nine plays in "No Huddle" on a 14 play drive.  QB Carson Palmer went 9 for 11, 80 yards that was capped off with a six yard pass to RB Darren McFadden for the touchdown to help close out the first half down 13-7. 

Oakland came out in the second half giving the Broncos a little bit of a scare as on the first play of the third quarter, McFadden gets to the outside and runs up the sideline for 36 yards.  The Bronco defense buckled down and forced the Raiders to punt.  Manning (26-of-36, 310, TD, INT) helped moved the ball with a couple passes completed for better than 20 yards.  RB Knowshon Moreno (32 carries, 119 yards, TD) helped move the chains that eventually lead to a field goal. 

On a week in, week out basis, the Denver defense makes a play that helps blow a game wide open.  This week wasn't any different.  On 3rd and 6 from the Raider 12, LB and DPOY candidate Von Miller blew passed RT Clint Barmes to get to Palmer for the strip/sack, Bronco recovery.  Two plays later, Moreno bulls his way in to take a 23-7 lead. 

The defense gave up a touch late in the fourth quarter, but the game as out of hand as the Broncos go on to win 26-13 and improve 5-0 in the division and 10-3 overall.  The Broncos had their struggles in the game.  The running, despite having put up 140 yards on the ground, it took 39 attempts (3.6 yards per carry average) to get there.  This team is dealing with some injuries as G Chris Kuper is out for the second time of the season, and RB Willis McGahee gone until the AFC Championship at the least.  On this night, after taking a lead, it was enough to help run time off the clock to help preserve the win says Head Coach John Fox.

“I think you do what it takes to win. This is a timed game and we were trying to run some time off the clock. I think that will help us moving forward, you develop a little bit of a mindset. I think it was good for our offensive line. The blocking elements as well as the running backs to be able to do that to close out a game.”

The Broncos have some extended time off to prepare for the east coast trip to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.  Right now, the Broncos await to see what happens with the game between the Texans and Patriots.  Should Denver be able to go to Baltimore an exercise the demons with the Ravens.  Denver is winless (0-5) in Baltimore.  Last time these two matched up, Denver lost to Baltimore 31-17.  RB Ray Rice ran the ball 27 times for 133 yards and 2 TD's and as a team, 233 yards.  Should New England lose tonight, Denver will be the current two seed.  A New England win, Denver will be the three seed, a game up on Baltimore and a win against Baltimore would almost cement the Broncos in the three seed and a wildcard game at home.  A loss to Baltimore and Denver will be looking up at three teams as they would sit in the fourth spot. 

Three weeks of football left to be played, playoffs are coming into clarity, but positioning is very fluid right now and anything can happen.

Broncos struggle, win ugly in Kansas City

No matter who the opponent, every good team, once in a year, runs into a team far less superior to a good team comes out of the wood works and gives a team a run for their money.  Denver may have ran into that this past weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Denver Broncos were ten and a half point favorites against the then 1-9 Chiefs.  This game wouldn't indicated such numbers as the Chiefs came ready to play against the Broncos.

The Broncos were 14-36 all-time against the Chiefs on the road.  No matter what the circumstances, this is a rivalry that promises to be a fight to the end.  The Broncos struggled in the first quarter against the lowly Chiefs.  To make matters worse, with no RB Willis McGahee, the Chiefs were gearing up to play against the pass, and little did Denver try to punish Kansas City for doing so.  Through the first quarter, the Broncos ran the two times, and struggled to get 32 total yards in the first quarter.

The recipe for defeating the Broncos, keeping the Broncos fast-track offense off the field.  The Chiefs were on the field for 11:05 seconds in the first quarter, running the ball, letting the clock whine down, hitting the Broncos with 60 yards on the ground of their 92 total yards through the first fifteen.

On the flip side, the Broncos offense looked out of sync.  The Broncos first three drives culminated 47 total yards and resulted in a missed field goal, punt and interception thrown by QB Peyton Manning.  Manning tried to overthrow WR Eric Decker on the pass but, due to double coverage, Decker was thrown off his route and was not there where the pass was intended to be.  Credit the Chiefs defensive line for giving the Broncos fits as well, getting to Manning for two sacks and six QB hits.  The defense as a whole also got six tackles for losses and six pass deflections as well.

Broncos CB Champ Bailey knew that this wasn't going to be a easy game 

"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place, you might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them.  But they've got good players now.  You can't come in here4 and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for in."

The Broncos didn't get on the board until late in the first half, on their last drive of the first half, the Broncos put together a 11 play, 94 yard drive that was capped off with a Manning touchdown pass to TE Jacob Tamme with 18 seconds left on the clock.

The second half faired a little better for the Broncos.  The first two drives, the Broncos were able to move the ball, racking up 108 yards of offense, including another touchdown pass by Manning (22 of 37, 285 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT) to Demaryius Thomas thirty yards down field for the score.  Only four of Denver's ten drives resulted in points.  How did they win this game?  Defense!

The Broncos defense, virtually without LB Von Miller (2 tackles, sack and QB hit) played up to the meaning of "opportunistic football".  How so?  Penalties that occur at the right time.  Instance, 3rd and 1, Chiefs are in field goal range.  Von Miller was able to cause rookie LT Donald Stephenson to jump and be called for a false start.  Broncos then put the Chiefs in a passing situation, tackle QB Brady Quinn and put them out of field goal range.  They kept their good fortune lately of solid 3rd down defense going.  On this Sunday afternoon, they left the Chiefs convert 3-of-12 third downs (25% conversion rate).  The passing defense was superb, limiting Quinn to 13-of-25, 126 yards and a interception.  The Chiefs offense was only able to get 13 total first downs.  The defense did their part to keep this game close in game where the offense was not on their game.  This a total defensive effort to give the offense the opportunity to win.

"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "You might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them. But they've got good players now. You can't come in here and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for it."

Read more: Broncos escape Kansas City with a win behind Peyton Manning's veteran eye - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_22063604/broncos-kansas-city-win-peyton-manning#ixzz2DLoYsBmn
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"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "You might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them. But they've got good players now. You can't come in here and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for it."

Read more: Broncos escape Kansas City with a win behind Peyton Manning's veteran eye - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_22063604/broncos-kansas-city-win-peyton-manning#ixzz2DLoYsBmn
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "You might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them. But they've got good players now. You can't come in here and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for it."

Read more: Broncos escape Kansas City with a win behind Peyton Manning's veteran eye - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_22063604/broncos-kansas-city-win-peyton-manning#ixzz2DLoYsBmn
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "You might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them. But they've got good players now. You can't come in here and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for it."

Read more: Broncos escape Kansas City with a win behind Peyton Manning's veteran eye - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_22063604/broncos-kansas-city-win-peyton-manning#ixzz2DLoYsBmn
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Broncos continue to capitalize on weak schedule

The second half season success continues for the Broncos as they cruise passed the San Diego Chargers for their fifth game in a row.  A game that had meant much for the Chargers came up short and are gearing up for next season barring a miracle.

The Broncos continue to impress during their five game win streak as the shows no problem of slowing down, scoring in the 30's for a fifth week in a row.  The defense, lead by OLB Von Miller continues to shutdown offenses, giving up an average of 13.6 points per game.  One part of their game they struggled with in the early going of the season was third downs.  But the Broncos seem to be even figuring out their weakness and are correcting them.  The Broncos had a stretch of 26 third down's that were not converted by the opposing offense until the later stages of the third quarter where the Chargers converted on their 13th attempt.

But on Sunday, the game wasn't all good and dandy for the Broncos to begin with.  Each team went three and out on their first drives.  The Broncos, on their second drive, called out the blitz, yet the Chargers were prepared.  The Broncos looked to get a bubble screen to WR Mattew Willis, when the Chargers deflected the pass and put the ball up for grabs.  Safety Eric Weddle made a play on the ball and took the interception 23 yards the other way for the first score of the game. 

But not long after, the Broncos offense warmed up and started to move the ball on the Charger defense.  In just over two and a half minutes, Denver marched 43 yards on 6 plays with QB Peyton Manning connecting with WR Demaryius Thomas for a 13 yard touchdown reception.

The defense got involved in on the attack as well, and stand out LB Wesley Woodyard continues to make plays for the Broncos.  Folowing the kickoff, on the first play for the Chargers, Woodyard dropped back into coverage, Rivers not able to see Woodyard, gets picked off and Woodyard himself goes back the other for a interception.  He takes it 17 yards to the Chargers 8 yard line, setting the Broncos up for a field goal.

The all around performance continued for the Broncos as the special teams came alive for a third week in a row.  Nate Irving goes through the line untouched, blocking the punt.  On the next play, Manning connects with WR Brandon Stokley for 31 yards and the Broncos increase their lead to 17-7

The defense showed no mercy against the Chargers.  10 drives, 74 total yards, every drive resulted in punts with the exception of two drives that end in turnovers.  The defense was led by none other that Miller, who continues to state his case.  7 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles.

“It’s a long list. He’s a very talented guy. Last year, I thought he made a big splash as a rookie. He probably played seven or eight games with one hand and I think he’s just gotten better."  John Fox speaking about Miller after the game on DenverBroncos.com 

The Chargers would gain momentum on the Broncos first drive of the second half.  A missed block by rookie RB Ronnie Hillman lead to a free defensive player to get after Manning, resulting in a safety.

Following another Manning touchdown pass, who was 25-of-42 for 270 yards, 3 TD's and INT, the Chargers finally found the bread and butter to contain the Broncos.  Slow the game down.

On the next Charger drive, 10 of the 12 plays were passes where Rivers completed 7 of those passes to keep the Broncos off the field for 6:25 of the third quarter.  Also resulting in a touchdown grab by WR Danario Alexander, 24-16 Denver.  But we got a ball game.

Denver was forced into two field goals to extend their lead to 30-16 Denver.

The Chargers were able to score late in the fourth with just under two minutes to go to move the score to 30-23, attempting a onside kick, in which Broncos TE Virgil Green was able to recover and seal the deal for the Broncos. 

The Broncos don't come out of this game unscathed though.  Multiple reports have come out saying that RB Willis McGahee is out 6-8 weeks due to a torn MCL.  Expect to either see Knowshon Moreno activated or Jeremiah Johnson promoted to the 53 man roster.

For the Broncos, here on out, play only two teams with winning records.  With a three game lead and Kansas City up next, Fox isn't looking ahead to division title yet.

“We’re going to Kansas City next week, and this is our first time playing them. I’ve played in Arrowhead (Stadium) a number of times—never as part of a (AFC West) division game, but I’ve played in a playoff game there and against some good Kansas City teams in Arrowhead, and it’s a tough place to play. I just throw these records out the window in the division. I don’t know what their record is, but the film that I’ve seen and the TV games that I’ve seen, the defense has some good players, and I don’t know what’s going on with their offense, or whatever, but I know it’s a challenge. That’s all I’m worried about: trying to improve, trying to get a win, and, certainly, you want to be playing your best football down the home stretch here, in November and December.”

The Broncos continue their stellar second half of the season and move closer towards consecutive division titles.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/11/19/week-11/index.html#ixzz2CgsFESTO

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/11/19/week-11/index.html#ixzz2CgsFESTO

The Broncos have won five games in a row. Scored in the 30s five games in a row. Won the five games by an average of 13.6 a game.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/11/19/week-11/index.html#ixzz2CgsFESTO

The Broncos have won five games in a row. Scored in the 30s five games in a row. Won the five games by an average of 13.6 a game.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/11/19/week-11/index.html#ixzz2CgsFESTO

Broncos look to all but seal the Chargers fate this weekend

The game that turn the season around for two teams.  Coming into week six, the Broncos were looking to stay afloat sitting at 2-3 while the Chargers looked like the team of the past moving ahead at 3-2.  The first half of that game was dominated by the Chargers.  But remember that saying "it's not how you start, but how you finish".  Well, the Broncos finished this game, going on to score 35 straight points to win 35-24 on the spectacular efforts of the offense and defense. 

Since the start of the second half, the Broncos offense has been lights out.  The offense has put up 136 points since the second half of the Charger game, or 34 points per game.  QB Peyton Manning has thrown for 1206 yards, 10 TD's to 3 interceptions with a QB Rating over 100 in each outing.  The defense continues to improve, allowing 51 points in the last four contests total.  They haven't allowed a team to get onver the century mark on the ground and the secondary keeps getting better with the youth movement in Tony Carter and Chris Harris.  The Broncos are now on a four game winning streak and currently sit at 6-3 and lead the AFC West.

The Chargers mean while are spinning their wheels and are going no where.  Since the second half of the Broncos game, they have scored 61 points, including six points in a loss to the Cleveland Browns and scoring 30+ one time since.  Phillip Rivers posted a 54.1 QBR against the Broncos and a 65.1 QBR against Browns, but was above 100 the last two.  He's also thrown for 5 TD's and 7 interceptions.  The offensive line struggles to keep River jersey clean.  He's been put down on the turf eight times in the last 3.5 games.

Two teams that were going opposite directions saw a half that has completely done a 180 on their seasons.  It's not too late for something to change though.  For the Broncos, its simple.  If they win, they are 3-0 in the division and swept the team in second place.  They will have a four game lead with six games left to be played. 

On the flip side of the coin, if the Chargers win this game, they move to 5-5 and Denver falls to 6-4.  This would mean that San Diego would be one game out of first place and one game out of the sixth and final playoff spot.  They would have several tiebreakers going for them.  They would be 4-1 in the division, 5-2 in the conference and can give themselves momentum to make a late season push as the Chargers always seem to do.

Keys to this game for the Chargers will be simple, play mistake free football and run the rock.  The last matchup against the Broncos, the Broncos were able to score 14 points in crucial moments to get the win against the Chargers in the first matchup.  With the Broncos being able to score in bunches, slow down the Bronco offense and force Denver to score on every drive, put the pressure on them.  This is still a young team, even with Manning at the helm, they are still learning how to win.

For the Broncos, Defense.  Get after Phillip Rivers early and often.  Rivers is key to their offense with a non-existent running game lead by RB Ryan Mathews.  Whether he gets sacked or is hit after a throw, rattle Rivers, cause as he gets more rattled, he tends to lose his composure and the team feeds off him.  The entire offense goes through him.

Broncos cage and tame the Panthers

Even against the Carolina Panthers, the Denver Broncos faced a daunting task of going to the east coast on back-to-back weeks.  This time, Denver head coach John Fox heads back the place where he began his head coaching career.  He heads back to the place where he built a 73-71 record, three trips to the playoffs, two NFC Championships and a trip to Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Both teams went three and out to begin the game.  On Carolinas second drive of the game, QB Cam Newton had moved the offense down the field at will, including 26 yard pass completed to RB Mike Tolbert and two consecutive passes that lead to a touchdown grab by TE Greg Olsen.

The Panthers were able to move the ball down the field with ease, but that would be the last time Carolina would see a lead in this game.

The Broncos shook off the jet lag and went to work on the Carolina Panthers.  On all phases of the game as well.  Starting their third drive of the game, Peyton Manning (27 of 38, 301 yards, 1 TD) went to work on the Panthers.  Connecting with WR Demaryius Thomas for a 32 yard pass (9 catches, 153 yards) to help set up a 10 yard touchdown reception by Brandon Stokley.  The rout was on.

The Broncos put together a complete game on this afternoon, following the touchdown, the defesne went to work on QB Cam Newton.  On third down, DE Elvis Dumervil was able to get around the line and work his way to Newton, forcing a sack-fumble.  The Panthers were forced to punt the ball, and into the hands WR/KR Trindon Holliday.  75 yards later, Holliday was in for a score, presumably in for a score.  Following the game, footage came up showing that Holliday may have celebrated prematurely on the punt return.

Whether he was in or not, the ruling on the field was a touchdown, and no review necessary as the Broncos go up 14-7.  Manning told the Denver Post he was pleased to see other parts of the team putting points up on the board other than the offense. 

"It's the Broncos who scored those touchdowns," Manning said. "And anybody on the team that wants to score a touchdown I'm for it."

That wasn't the end of it for the Broncos on this day.  The defensive efforts continued to get to Newton.  LB Von Miller and the Broncos were camped in the backfield with Newton.  On 45 of his dropbacks, Newton was hit on 19 of them.  The defense held the Panther offense to 250 total yards, no third down conversions, 52 yards on the ground and holding Newton to 21 of 36 for 241 yards with two touchdown passes to tight end Greg Olsen along with two interceptions.

The Panthers and Broncos were the two teams that picked one and two in the 2011 NFL Draft with Newton going to Carolina and Miller going to Denver.  Denver did look at Newton prior to the draft as any team would, sitting at two, you evaluate all talent at every position.  Denver chose Miller, and he has paid off for Denver thus far with 105 tackles, 21.5 sacks thus far early in his career.  Head Coach John Fox had this to say about Miller.

“Well, he’s a dynamic guy. I think this kind of meant something to him. Sometimes where you are in the draft and that kind of stuff kind of motivates guys. You’ll have to ask Von, but he definitely came to play today, that’s for sure.”

The Broncos got solid efforts out of multiple players, Miller chipping in a sack, six tackles including four for a loss.  Seven total sacks for the day, seven QB hits as they rattled Newton to throw one of his INT's to CB Tony Carter for a pick six.  For icing on the cake, DB Mike Adams sacked Newton in Carolinas endzone for a safety. 

The Broncos dominance on offense, defense and special teams was on full display this past week, and in the process, a couple milestones were reached.  QB Peyton Manning passed for his 420th touchdown of his career, tying him with Dan Marino for the second most in NFL history, and RB Willis McGahee was the 44th player to surpass the 8,000 yard rushing mark of his career with 14 carries for 56 yards on the afternoon.

"Rumble in the Jungle" between Dalton and Manning

This game for the Denver Broncos had "trap game" written all over it.  The ingredients were there, emotional win over the Chargers, dominating win over the Saints, two weeks for the Bengals to prepare and the beginning of a soft schedule for the Broncos, this could have slipped into the Cincinnati Bengals favor...and it almost did.

To start the second half, the Broncos returned a kickoff return for 105 yards (club record) for a score in part to the speed and shifty moves of WR/KR Trindon Holliday.  17-3 Broncos against a struggling Bengals time, game over right?!  Wrong.

Game on after the kickoff return...The Bengals defense stepped up, took away the Broncos running game which was non-existent.

This game would be put on the arms of the leaders of each team, Peyton Manning for the Broncos and Andy Dalton for the Bengals.

Following the kick return,  Dalton took to the air on their first drive, which included a fifty two yard completion to TE Jermaine Gresham that would set up the Bengals for a TD pass from Dalton to WR A.J. Green.

It was Mannings turn to take to the field, and he showed off the skills that makes him a future H.O.F'er.
He moved the Broncos down the field with the Bengals knowing what was coming with no running game.  On this day, both defense's gave up yardage to opposing QB's, but played opportunistic defense as well.  The Bengals showed it off first by intercepting Manning in the endzone for a touchback.

The Bengals offense continued to move the ball down the field, and again, defense stepping up in a big way, this time by the Broncos.  LB Von Miller would step up and sack Dalton on third down to force the Bengals to a field goal.  Miller was good for three sacks on the day.

The ball would go back into the hands of the Broncos offense, and the pendulum would swing back into Cincy's favor. With pressure coming into the face of Manning, he attempted to get the ball down the field to WR Eric Decker.  Result?  Two straight passes to Decker, two passes intercepted by Bengals CB Terrance Newman.

Bengals offense went to work in the redzone, punching the ball in from two yards out.  Suddenly, the Broncos go from leading 17-10 to trailing 20-17 early in the fourth.

Although the Broncos defense had come up with plays at crucial times, Manning knew he had made a mistake that put the defense in a tough spot, allowing the Cincinnati to take the lead.

"I can't put our defense in that kind of situation. It was a poor decision on my part. We faced some adversity there and we were able to respond" says Manning to the Denver Post.

With the Broncos now in the fourth quarter, one must had to believe that they were going to make something happen, especially with #18 at the helm.  The Broncos would respond with several intermediate and deep passes.  With a little help from the Bengals defense with a pass interference call, Denver was set up nicely from one yard out.  Manning would connect with TE Joel Dreessen from one yard out for his third touchdown and 291 yards in the air.  Broncos now lead 24-20.

Dalton, who passed for 299 yards and TD pass, continued to work his way towards AJ Greens side, who was god for 99 yards and a touchdown on the day, eventually got see what it was like when you keep going towards CB Champ Baileys way, "when you play with fire long enough, your going to get burned".  Bailey picked off a under thrown pass Green's way, who had been getting the best of Bailey most of the day.  The INT would eventually lead to Manning TD pass to Decker and Denver would go on to win 31-23  and improve to 5-3 on the season.

This was a game for the QB's.  725 total yards in the game, 566 was from the arms of the Manning and Dalton, that would equate to 78% of the games yardage.  This game would be won on the arms of the QB's and also the mistakes that each defense was capitalize on.  3 INT's between each team, and 5 sacks by the Broncos defense.  What separated this game from being a Bengals win instead?  Timeliness of the defenses plays.  Denver would sack Dalton on second down, putting the Bengals in obvious third and long passing situations, or they would create pressure of the edge and get to the QB on third down.  Sure, Cincy came up with two INT's, but they came at a time where there was plenty of time to comeback from those mistakes.  Denver would take the lead and pick Dalton off late in the fourth, putting added pressure on the offense to come out and lead a comeback of a bigger deficit.

The Broncos survived several scares and overcame not a great performance by Manning to win a game that could've been seen as a "trap game"

Jack Del Rio has defense playing a mile high

The summer talk was all about what will Denver do next with Tim Tebow, the signing of Peyton Manning, and the anticipation building up and the excitement to see what Manning can do as a Bronco.  One signing that tends to go unnoticed, and one that isn't seen technically "on the field", that would be defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

Del Rio comes to Denver after being the head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.  He coached the team from 2003-2011 where the ball club was 69–73 and 1–2 in two playoff appearance.  His extensive coaching resume stretches back to 1999, where he began as he Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach and was apart of the squad that would win Super Bowl 34.  After two years there, he moved up to defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.  The defense did help carry their load to get the team a game winning field goal away from winning Super Bowl 37.

In his one year stint with Carolina, his defense was ranked 2nd in the NFL.  As he headed over to Jacksonville, he took over a defense that was ranked 20th under then head coach Tom Coughlin.  During his reign, his defenses ranked in the top six or higher in four years, including number two in 2006.

After years of having a struggling offense, the Jaguars decided to move in a different direction and was let go 11 games into the 2011 season.  Del Rio was struggling to find a job as a head coach, delegated to looking for positions as a defensive coordinator.

Looking for defenses, Denver had been looking to get their defense back on track since their run to the AFC Championship, where they went 13-3, knocked off the New England Patriots in a home game in Denver and lose to the eventual Super Bowl Champs in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Since then, Denver has been a revolving door for defensive coordinators, and eventually coach killers as well.  Larry Coyer, Bob Slowik, Mike Nolan, Don Martindale and Dennis Allen are all the coordinators the Broncos have gone through since '06, only Slowik was there in consecutive years, and Nolan and Allen are the only two coaches still in the league.  During that time as well, we saw Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels fired.  Denver looked like a very unappealing place to coach, even with name players on the defense.

Jack Del Rio looking for work and Denver looking for leadership on the defensive side of the ball, it was a match made in heaven, and it was a icing on the cake with now Head Coach John Fox having been Del Rio's boss in 2002.

Del Rio comes into Denver, and has done an admirable job.  He is doing so with missing four starters, and plugging in rookies, seasoned veterans, undrafted players and career special teamers into these positions.  DE Derek Wolfe, CB Chris Harris and LB's Wesley Woodyard and Keith Brooking have got the job done thus far.  Wolfe has three sacks on the season and has helped seal the edge opposite Elvis Dumervil.  Harris has stepped in for CB Tracy Porter as he has dealt with a seizure.  In return, he had two INT's, including a 46 yard "pick-six".  Woodyard had a career day against the Saints, including a INT, 13 tackles, a sack, tackle for loss and a pass deflection.  Brooking helms the defense and has done good job getting the defense in the correct position and has helped out a lot in the running game. The players game hasn't gone unnoticed, including Wesley Woodyard's play as Del Rio tells the Denver Post.

"There have been guys who have played at the highest level of this league who haven't been big guys," said defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, himself a former linebacker. "He's done a good job. He's played well. He's practicing with intensity, which we like. And he's done a good job playing for us in a role that's kind of gotten bigger maybe than he thought it might be entering the year and we thought it might be entering the year."

 Denver ranks 6th in total defense, 6th against the pass, 13th against the run, 7 INT's, 4 fumbles, and tied for 4th with 19 sacks.

If Del Rio keeps pushing this defense to a level of "elite", Del Rio may become a hot commodity in the offseason, and Denver may spend another offseason looking for another coordinator. With a soft schedule down the stretch, Del Rio may be setting himself up for another coaching opportunity.

Drew Brees and The Saints come marching into Denver

The Denver Broncos are now coming off their bye week having two weeks to prepare for the New Orleans Saints.  The Broncos now hit a stretch in their schedule where they face only one team that has a winning record as of this weekend, that would be the Baltimore Ravens. 

At the beginning of the season, one might have looked at the schedule and automatically assumed that this would have been a loss, but with recent injuries to CB Ladarius Webb, LB Ray Lewis and NT Haloti Ngata, the defense is struggling to give support to the Raven offense.  The Broncos now have the best opportunity to win the AFC West, and with the way the AFC is shaping up right now, a shot at a first round bye if they play well enough for the remainder of the season.

The Saints welcome back interim Head Coach Joe Vitt.  Vitt had been serving a six game suspension for his part in "Bounty Gate".  He was able to coach the team through training camp and preseason until the suspension started when the regular season had begun.  Joe Vitt has been welcomed back to the sidelines, and to the players, at the right time.

The offense hasn't been missing a beat with QB Drew Brees at the helm, but the the defense has had their struggles.  The Saints are letting others "go marching on them" with the ground game.  Saints are second to last in the league in terms of yards allowed, giving up 161 yards per contest and 4.9 yards per carry.  Vitt, technically holding the position of linebacker coordinator, will look to get the rush defense fix with his linebacker corps.

Manning will face the Saints for the first time since his loss in Super Bowl 44.  Two prolific passing offenses will be in full display Sunday evening.  The Broncos, led by QB Peyton Manning are fourth in the league at 291 yards through the air while the Saints counter with Brees with the most potent passing attack, first in the league 335.  Both quarterbacks had their struggles early in the season but have started to find their game and have their offense clicking on all cylinders.  Both teams are averaging better than 28 points per game.  This game has more meaning for Manning as well as he comes to his hometown of New Orleans where his father Archie used to play as well.  Manning will look to get two wins in the Superdome this season, this weekend against the Saints, and in February in Super Bowl 47.

With two passing attacks flying high, both secondaries will be put to the test.  One player who is making a "return" is CB Tracy Porter.  Porter was the corner responsible for the "pick six" on Manning in S.B. 44.  This time he comes back as a Bronco.  Porter did miss the last game for the Broncos in the Monday night game against the San Diego Chargers.  Is reasoning was mysterious, but was listed as due to a illness.  In recent days, it has been reported that he had been treated for "seizure like symptoms".  Although he feels good, doctors have not cleared him yet for a return to the field. 

The Broncos secondary will definitely get a test for a second week in a row.  Last week, DB Mike Adams was yanked in favor of Jim Leohnard after a few on field actions that resulted in penalties for the Broncos.  In return, Leohnard did come up with a interception near the end of the second half.  Porter being out, Chris Harris started and Tony Carter was inserted into the  nickel-back position.  The three DB's combined for four INT's, including a Harris pick-six.  The Broncos depth will be challenged if the Saints go four or five receivers.

This game has a serious potential to be a complete shootout, currently, the over/under for this game is 54 points.  This game has all the makings to be a great game for Sunday night football.

Broncos catch lightning in a bottle against Chargers

Photo courtesy of and by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

A game of two tales down in San Diego on Monday Night Football as the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers duked it out for AFC West Supremacy. If you weren't able to watch the entire game, you probably ran into some people, might have started to talk about the game and think you were talking about two entirely separate games.  The first half went to San Diego, and the second half was all Denver.

The first half, the Broncos continued to be plagued by turnovers as the specials team looked anything but "special" as recently signed WR/KR Trindon Holliday was signed off waivers to help boost the kick return game.  On his second punt return of the game, he muffed the punt, allowing the Chargers to recover the ball at Denver's 17.  The Chargers were able to get a field goal out of the turnover.  Following the score by the Chargers, on a attempted kickoff return by rookie CB Omar Bolden, he miss judged the kick and bounce, catching him off guard and not able to get full possession of the ball, eventually leading to a fumble and Chargers recovery at the 19, resulting in a touchdown pass to TE Antonio Gates from QB Phillip Rivers on a 15 yard strike.

The the first half bleeding for the Broncos didn't end there.  Two plays after a 55 yard catch and run by WR Eric Decker, miscommunication was the result of another turnover for Denver.  On San Diego's 26, QB Peyton Manning called a hot route to WR Matthew Willis.  Manning was looking for Willis to go short, and instead, Willis ran up the sideline.  Charger CB Quentin Jammer saw the miscommunication, "jumped" the route and ran the ball back 80 yards for a pick six.

Not long after that, The Chargers were able to move the ball down the field and score another touchdown pass, Gate again on the receiving end of a Rivers pass.  Denver found themselves on the trailing end of a 24-0 score at halftime from Qualcomm Stadium.  Rookie DE/DT Derek Wolfe told the Denver Post that in the locker room, you wouldn't have figured Denver was figuratively down and out.

"The feeling in this locker room at halftime, you would've thought we were up," defensive end Derek Wolfe said. "It didn't really matter what the score is. We knew we could play better, and we did."

The second half was underway, and so to was the surprise full-on assault the Broncos were about to put on the Chargers.  Without wasting anytime, Manning marches the team down the field coming out of halftime and caps the drive off with a 29 yard strike to WR Demaryius Thomas.  The Chargers would counter with a field goal of their own.  The defense it self got in on the act and did work on the Philip Rivers, something the Broncos haven't had success in the past doing.  Every Charger drive in the fourth quarter resulted in a turnover.  It was kicked off with three straight Charger drives resulting with Bronco CB's Tony Carter and Chris Harris combing for three picks, including the latter of the two getting to pay dirt on his second INT of the night.  To help set up the "icing on the cake" for the superior play of the second half by the defense, as San Diego was marching down the field, with less than a minute left and approaching midfield, DE Elvis Dumervil "left the building" with a sack fumble and a recovery by safety Mike Adams to give the ball back to Denver.

A game can't be complete unless there is a complete team effort.  The offense put together a "complete" game in the second half and the effort couldn't have been more impressive than what was witnessed.  Manning completed 13-of-14 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns as part of his day where he completed 80% of his passes for 309 yards.  The Broncos found themselves down 24-0 before the comeback had begun.  Behind the MVP like performance by Manning, Denver overcame the fourth largest deficit and third largest on road in NFL history.  Denver's offense and defense for the second half was able to catch "lightning in a bottle" as they go on to win 35-24.

Many want to judge this as a great comeback by the Broncos, but we can't forget the other side as the Chargers completely meltdown in the second half.  This game was a tail of two stories.  Going into their bye, Denver feels great about themselves as they have control of the AFC West and the second half of the season will be a different story as well.  Denver's remaining schedule consists of its final 10 opponents have a combined 19 wins, including a battered up Baltimore team that is the only plus .500 team on the record.  With a easy schedule coming up, expectations will be high for Bronco fans to make a push for a playoff spot, and more.  As the season goes on, this team will improve and may be a "night and day" difference in terms of play on the field and we will see a "finished product" for the season when the playoffs begin.

The second half of the season is kicked off on a Sunday night as the New Orleans Saints come matching into Sports Authority Field from Mile High with their #1 ranked passing offense lead by Drew Brees.  The defense will have time to rest and prepare for two weeks for a passing attack against a potent receiving corps that consists of Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, Devery Henderson and Lance Moore.  The secondary has had their ups and downs so far this season, but this will be the ultimate test for the pass defense as they will find out if all the money and roster changes made in the offseason was worth it.

Monday Night Bout for the "AFC Weak"

Week six will end with a match-up between two long time adversaries in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos traveling to Qualcomm Stadium to take on the San Diego Chargers.  Winner of the game will have a early grasp on the division and go a long way into deciding the division winner.   After the Monday night match-up, there will be a combined eight wins in the division, showing the lack of talent and competition in the division, there will be no wildcard team coming from the AFC West, so it's win the division or go home.

Denver looks to come off a loss against the New England Patriots in which nothing worked in their favor except the incredible display of play put on by QB Peyton Manning.  Manning was 31-fo-44 for 377 yards and three touchdowns.  The question about Manning and his arm strength continues to be brought up as Manning is seen as "not being able to throw the long ball" following his four neck surgeries.  Interesting stats provided by ESPN.  Manning in week five through nine passes for fifteen yards or longer in the game against the Patriots, all which went to WR Demaryius Thomas.  He connected on five of the passes he threw, all of which to Thomas for 154 yards, a career high in yards for the third year pro.  There should be no question about strength, but how familiar he is becoming with his receivers as he works to get the timing down still with the receiver corps.  The Chargers pass defense is giving up 260 yards per game, look for Manning to throw it, and throw it often to work that secondary.

This San Diego defense is not the same defense that has been coached by the likes of Wade Phillips and Ron Rivera.  This defense lacks the ability to get pressure on the quarterback, something that they haven't had problems with in the past.  But through five games, the Chargers have accumulated ten sacks on the season.  Lets put it perspective, DE Elvis Dumervil and OLB Von Miller have eight between the two.  

The Broncos defense will look to use the two man wrecking crew in Dumvervil and Miller to try and get off the field on third down.  This continues to plague the Broncos.  Last week against the Patriots, they gave up 11 of 16 third down conversions, they got to do a better job of stopping opponents and getting off the field so that their offense isn't constantly playing catch-up like they have in most games.  Denver is currently ranked 30th in the NFL, allowing 46.7 of thirds down to be converted.

Slowing down the Chargers has been a problem as well, Manning hasn't had a good track record against the Bolts and Broncos for that matter.  Manning himself is 1-5 against San Diego with a TD/INT ratio of 11/15.  Denver themselves haven't had luck against Chargers QB Phillip Rivers, he is 9-3 against the Broncos completing 64.4 of his passes and 20 touchdowns.  Denver's pass rush will have to "camp" in the Bolts backfield if they want to slow down the Chargers offense.

One key will be the Chargers offensive line, the last couple seasons if has been patch work, dealing with injuries and journeymen to fill in on the line.  Last season, Rivers struggled against the Broncos rush, completing 46.9 of his passes against the rush.  Denver is 13th in the league in pass completion, allowing 61.4 completion percentage.  But the defense will really help out the offense if they can generate some interceptions.  On the season, they only have two interceptions, and four takeaways total.

The Bolts offense is not the same as it has been in the past.  With WR Vincent Jackson, the squad was essentially reliving the "Air Coryell" offense, slinging the ball all over the place, including deep to Jackson.  Jackson wasn't resigned in the offseason and has moved on to Tampa Bay.  They don't have that "go-to" guy on the offense now, the leading receiver is Malcolm Floyd with 20 receptions for 358 yards and one touchdown.  Next up is RB Ronnie Brown with 17 catches.  This passing game is being put together by a"committee".  No one guy will scare a secondary right now on this offense.

Twitter: @Josh_reising

The Patriots give the Broncos a mile high salute

Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash/Getty Images

One of the more anticipated games of the season has come and gone with the Denver Broncos finding themselves looking for more answers as questions continue to pop up with this team.  Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning didn't get much help.  He was magical in this match-up against his counterpart in Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.  But this game soon enough turned out to be less about what New England did do and what Denver did and didn't do.

What Denver did get was great quarterback play.  Manning was 31-of-44 for 345 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.  Since the first quarter of the Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons, he has been hot, throwing nine touchdowns and no interceptions.  But that's where the good play ends.

The guys on the receiving end of Manning's passes have to become more reliable, including wide receiver Demariyus Thomas.  Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas combined thus far on the season have eight dropped passes on the season, or four a piece.  But the problems go deeper than that.  Thomas in the last three games has had three fumbles, and on plays in which Thomas covers up the ball can result in a touchdown and swing momentum their way.  In this last game, Thomas had nine receptions for 188 yards.  Good numbers, but to be great instead of good, mistakes like that can't hamper your game.

Fumbling has been some what of a problem for the running game as well.  Running back Willis McGahee continues to defy his age and his play hasn't let down at all.  With a patchwork offensive line in that hasn't seen all five starters on the field at one point of the season, he has been productive.  But fumbles and mental mistakes have become a problem for McGahee this season.  Bronco fans will have a tough time letting go of the fact that McGahee dropped a clean pass on fourth and one deep in Patriots territory, as well as a fumble on the following series.  Broncos fans are screaming "WHATCHU DOING WILLIS!".

On defense, they couldn't contain the slot WR in Wes Welker, who had 13 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.  Nickelback Chris Harris had his work cut out for him as Brady made work of the youngster.  Brady didn't hit Welker with anything more than a ten yard pass as he let the receiver do all of the work after the catch.  New England's shaky offensive line was able to hold up against the Denver pass rush.  The Broncos had thought they had the Patriots offense figured out as cornerback Champ Bailey told Comcast Sports New England 

"You gotta translate things from the meeting room and practice field to the game. Coaches can’t go out there and play for us. We gotta make sure we put ourselves in position to make plays and get off the field on third down. We worked on everything they did to us. There wasn’t no surprises. They just hit us in the mouth and we didn’t hit back hard enough."

What hit the defense the hardest was third downs.  The defense has had a problem against the better offense with getting off the field.  This week, the Patriots were able to convert 11-of-17 and were also able to pick up 36 first downs. 

Lastly, the Broncos got a good look at the revitalized Patriot running attack, lead by second year pro RB Steve Ridley. As the Patriots spread their offense out, they also spread out the Broncos defense, putting the Broncos in a lot of one-on-one match-ups and Denver lost just about everyone of them.  As New England was able to handle our front seven, Ridley went on to find hole after hole as he hightailed his was to 151 yards on on 28 carries and a touchdown.

The offense shows glimpses of "what it could be" and the defense continues to dominate the weaker but kneel down to the stronger competition.  Much work is still to be done with this team, but if changes aren't made or improvement isn't seen, playoffs wouldn't be a option if they weren't fortunate to be in the AFC West.

-Josh Reising
Twitter: @Josh_reising

This isn't JUST another game...Broncos verse The Patriots

Kickoff set for 4:25 Eastern Standard Time....Foxboro...Massachusetts...Denver Broncos...New England Patriots...Peyton Manning...Tom Brady.  Sounds like just another Sunday right, well, you guessed wrong.  Last season, the rivlary between these two quarterbacks took a season off as Manning was dealing with a neck injury as the Indianapolis Colts went up to New England to visit the Patriots.  The Patriots got the best of the Colts, leading them 31-3 late in the third before Indy would score three TD's in the fourth as the Pat's would go on to win 31-24.  Obviously the rivarly between the two teams lost its luster without one of the stars of the NFL in play.

Manning and Brady face off for the first time since 2010 where Brady and the Patriots got the best of Manning 31-28 and stopped a late comeback by the Colts.  Within inside of two minutes, James Sanders intercepts Mannings pass to help preserve the win. The two have had their memorable moments against each other, meeting twelve times in the regular season with Brady winning the first six matchups and Manning catching up winning four of the last six.  They also have met three times in the postseason, 2-1 in Bradys favor, but are split in the AFC Championship game as the two have seen each other twice.

This year, it's a different story as Bronco fans like to say, Manning is now a Bronco and "all colts grow up to become broncos".  But, as all Bronco fans want to forget, there was a Bill Belichick deciple here in Denver for a year and a half.  Dare I say his name?  It was Josh McDaniels.

Many Bronco fans believe it was a consipracy by the Patriots and McD to have him come to Denver.  He comes to Denver, trades QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall.  Terrible and questionable draft picks including DE Robert Ayers, RB Knowshon Moreno and QB Tim Tebow.  Halfway through the 2010 season, McD was fired and eventually was hired back on to the Patriots staff as a offensive consultant, and is now their offensive coordinator.  The thought process was that he comes to Denver, ruins the team and goes back to New England.  But it is what it is, a conspiracy theory.

But McDaniels knows the Broncos, particularly Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.  McCoy was hired by McDaniels in 2009 and worked in conjunction to impliement the offense with the Broncos.  With McDaniels leaving and John Fox coming in, the offense was left up to McCoy to run.  McDaniels knows what this offense is about and could work in his favor in preparation for this weeks game against the Broncos.

The New England Patriots running game is coming back to life, and in a big way.  Running backs Brandon Bolden and Steven Ridley both rushed for over 100 yards and three TD's in their win against Buffalo last week.  The rushing attack has been on life support since the retirement of RB Corey Dillon.  Denver's rush defense seems to be back, on paper.  They are 10th in the NFL giving up an average of 87.5 yards per game, well see just how good this running game is or if this N.E. running game is back and just how stout the Broncos rush defense really is.

The Broncos defense looked revitalized as well lead by defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.  But one problem they have had has been dealing with tight ends early this season.  Fifteen receptions for 168 yards and three TD's.  As of late, they have been getting better, but look for the Patriots to try and work the linebackers down the middle and with the seam routes with TE Rob Gronkowski and game-time decision TE Aaron Hernandez.

Interesting stat, courtesy of ESPN. It will be what the Broncos do best on defense against what the Patriots do best on offense.  Denver's pass rush has come alive when the blitz is present, allowing only a 47.5 completion percentage, best in the NFL.  But when Brady has pressure in his face, he does his best work, completing 66.7% of his passes against the blitz, including four touchdowns to zero interceptions.  The offensive line for New England is key for Denver as they are dealing with transition from experience to youth, but the numbers don't lie.  Denver will have to find creative and exotic ways to get into the face of Brady if they want to slow down this offense.

-Josh Reising
Twitter: @Josh_reising

Broncos pull plank out from underneath Raiders defense

The Denver Broncos wild ride through the tough part of their schedule brought out the divisional and hated rival Oakland Raiders.  The Broncos came into this game desperately needing a win to keep chase with the San Diego Chargers.  Denver also needed this win because looming a week from now is the New England Patriots.  Following the disastrous loss to arguably the best team in the AFC and maybe the NFL in the Houston Texans, the Broncos needed to get their offensive and defensive problems figured out quick, fast and in a hurry.

One problem the Broncos struggled with was getting off to a fast start, and against the Oakland Raiders, for at least the day, they figured that problem out.  For the first time this season, Broncos offensively scored first, setting the tempo of the game with their opponent.  Denver capped a 11 play, 80 yard drive that took nearly four and a half minutes off top off with a 22 yard strike to TE Joel Dresseen.  The Denver defense had their ears pinned back and were ready to get after quarterback Carson Palmer. 

Early on, it looked as though the defense was close, but wasn't quite going to get to the QB, but as the game went on, they were able to make Palmer comfortable with the turf.  The defense got after the Oakland offense, sacking Palmer three times and letting knocking him down to the ground right times.  They also slowed down the very dangerous running back in Darren McFadden.  After his breakout performance for the season against the Miami Dolphins last week, they held the RB to 38 total yards on the afternoon.  The defense had no problems of congesting the gaps, forcing the RB to bounce to the outside where he would be met with a slew of Bronco linebackers and defensive backs. 

One problem the Broncos seemed to have also figured out for the week as getting off on third downs.  After being able to get a reversed call on where the ball should have been spot after a catch and run to fullback Marcel Reese early in the second quarter, they were able to really diminish any opportunity for the Raiders to continue any drive on third down.  On the afternoon, and astounding 1 for 12 on third down conversions and allowing 237 total yards on the day.

After their first scoring drive, we saw the Bronco offense open up, especially in the second half.  It was apparent that Manning and the rest of the Bronco offense was going to take some time to gel and become a potent and dangerous team.  The second half, Denver was able to score on each of their five drives, including three straight TD's.  They tallied 245 of their 503 yards during this time.

QB Peyton Manning looked like the maestro as he orchestrated the Bronco offense.  Manning himself had great protection all day, allowing him to 30 of 38 for 338 yards and three TD's while not even being touched, good for a 130 QBR.  The offense kept the Raider defense guessing where the ball was going to be going.  Why?  Distribution.  Manning looked more comfortable this week, we saw him lead his receivers more, putting the ball in places where only his receivers could make the catch.  Questions will still persist about him not being able to make the deep pass, but when you can outsmart a defense, having to go deep may not be necessary.  John Fox spoke to the Denver Post, talking about the progression of the passing game

"Let's not forget he didn't play all last season," Broncos coach John Fox said. "This is a new team. A new coaching staff. A new city. A new field. A new everything for him. The type of guy he is, he's just going to get better and better. He's a championship guy. He's getting used to his teammates. He just was better at it today than earlier."

Manning hit seven different players at least one time with a catch, lead by WR Demaryius Thomas who had five catches for 103 yards.  The only problem he encountered was "fumblitis" as he fumbled the ball as he was running towards a TD to put the Broncos way ahead of the Raiders.  He fumbled as he was exchanging the ball from his right hand to his left.

The ground attack did their work as well, RB Willis McGehee broke the century mark again on 19 carries for 112 yards on the day.  Knowshon Moreno was inactive this week, giving rookie RB Ronnie Hillman more looks this week, 10 carries for 31 yards.  The ground game help dominate the time of possession as the Broncos almost doubled up the Raiders 2-to-1.

The only players missing from this weeks action was S Quinton Carter (IR), LB Nate Irving (Concussion) and G Chris Kuper (Forearm).  They did happen to lose C J.D. Walton for the season due to a broken ankle, they did sign Dan Koppen three weeks ago to be his backup.  This may be a blessing in disguise, giving Manning a center that is more experienced to work with him now.  This is a good time for the offense to be clicking, because come Sunday, as the Denver Post was told by Manning, the Broncos will need to bring their "A" game.

"You know when you play New England that Tom is going to have his guys ready, so you know you have to be prepared to be at your best." 

The two have squared up for some of the more memorable games in recent NFL history, in the all-time matchup between the two, Brady has got the best of Manning, 7-4.

Broncos-Raiders Storylines

The Denver Broncos are back at home again this weekend to take on the much hated Oakland Raiders.  Denver is coming off now two weeks in a row where they come into the fourth quarter trailing by double digits and attempt a late fourth quarter comeback.  But in each of the two games, the late effort was there, but it was not enough as the Broncos are sitting at 1-2 coming into this divisional game.  This will be a good chance for Denver to get back on the saddle as they continue the brutal start to their season.

The Broncos will be going up against former defensive coordinator and now current Raiders head coach Dennis Allen.  Allen, along with Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy were some of the hotter prospects of coaching candidates in the offseason.  Of the two, Allen was hired away from the Broncos and now is at the helm for the Raiders.  Allen will be facing a offense that is in no way, shape or form the same type of offense that we saw here in Denver last season.  Denver for the better part of last season ran the option read offense.  Now, with QB Peyton Manning in charge of the Bronco offense, this is an entirely new looking style of offense that Allen has to prepare for.  Having Allen on their staff last season, the Broncos know his tendencies, so this could become a chess match as both the Raiders and Broncos have a little "insight" on what the opposing coach may be thinking.

Denver has the luck of playing the Raiders now, a team that is decimated in the secondary.  Manning will get his first dose of the AFC West competition from a Bronco perspective this week.  The Broncos have had luck with their no-huddle offense through most the season.  If Denver catches Oakland in a situation where they have multiple matchups in their favor against the secondary, look for them to run that no-huddle to exploit the matchups as often as they can.

The Raider offense continues their trend of Jekyll and Hyde this season.  Against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sand Diego Chargers, QB Carson Palmer boasted a completion percentage of 70, four touchdowns to one interception with a QB rating over 94.  But against the inferior defenses, such as the Miami Dolphins, his completion percentage was at 50, threw for a pick and a score and had a QB of 74.4.  A bigger issue with the Raiders offense is the running game.  He's got 167 yards on the season through 44 carries.  Aside from his 64 yard TD run, hes got 103 yards on 43 carries, good for 2.4 yard per touch.  This offense is now being lead by Gregg Knapp, who also a O.C. from 2007-2008, Run DMC's worst years in the league.  Under Knapp, the Raiders employ the zone-blocking scheme, but while he has been gone, they Raiders went with power blocking.  During that time, he ran for 2128 yards, held a 4.83 yard average and scoring 12 TD's.  This offense is also going through a transformation, it will be interesting to see how well they can adapt as the season goes along.

-Josh Reising

Twitter: @Josh_Reising

Broncos messed with the Texans and got the horns

For a second week in a row, the Broncos got a date with one the NFL's best, this time from the AFC.  Denver played host to the 2-0 Houston Texans.  In the previous week, the Broncos dealt with team that has become more known for their "high flying passing attack" in the Atlanta Falcons.  Now the Denver Broncos had to try coral the Texan defense, lead by J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing and Jonathan Joesph.

Early on, the Broncos showed like they had put the tough loss and terrible officiating in Atlanta behind them and look to get the "home-cooking" going back at Sports Authority Field from Mile High.  On the Broncos first defensive play, DE Elvis Dumervil easily beat RT Derek Newton for his first sack, that also resulted in a safety.  Things looked gravy for this team right off the bat and fans were thinking they were in for a wild ride.

Wild ride is what the Bronco fans got, but a ride that had left them leaving the stadium at the end of the day in dismay.  Matt Schaub and the Texan offense got the reigns off and opened up on the Bronco defense.  Matt Schaub then connected with Andre Johnson for a 60 yard TD catch on run.  It was apparent that on the play, DB Mike Adams should have played deep but had rolled down on the out route leaving CB Tracy Porter beat down field giving Johnson day light for the easy score.

This play in it self describes the Broncos as a whole for the day, miscommunication and out of place.  On the next touchdown pass of the day, Matt Schaub had thrown a three yard screen pass out to RB Arian Foster in which DT Kevin Vickerson found himself the one that was tasked with having to cover and track down Foster. Advantage, Foster, result, Broncos down 14-5.  The troubles continued for the squad, even on the offensive side of the ball.

The passing game continues to look like a "work in progress".  The offensive line is struggling to give QB Peyton Manning time to look down field without pressure to make a play.  The offense surrendered thee sacks and six QB hits.  The line is dealing with injury currently as OG Chris Kuper is still re-coopering from a forearm fracture suffered in training camp/preseason.   The Broncos also signed over the last week C/G Dan Koppen as insurance.  Should the line continue to struggle with protection and C J.D. Walton not being able to comprehend audibles called out by Manning on the fly, I would not be surprised to see Koppen starting to get some reps with the first team in practices.

The receivers have their work cut out for them as well.  They lack the separation and ability at times it seems to fend off DB's to get room to make a catch.  Proof, 12 pass deflections on the day for the Texan defense.  The main guys in Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker get hot and cold from series to series.  One drive they can catch everything, and another they struggle.  Six dropped passes in this game for the Bronco receivers, part of the issue may also be timing and chemistry.  It is pretty obvious that the offense still needs to build that time and chemistry with Manning.  There was plenty of passes that were made where the receiver did run the right route, got separation by just was a step behind in his route and Manning putting the ball where he thought his receiver would be when the pass was thrown; a habit that Manning developed playing in Indianapolis for his entire career.

On the Broncos second scoring drive of the day, Manning called a audible, looked to his left where Tamme and a receiver were in the area, by only five yards at the least, and the ball falls harmlessly to the ground for a Broncos incompletion, resulting in a field goal instead of a touchdown.  Lastly, third down continues to be a problem for Denver.  The offense converted 6 of 17 third downs while the defense let the Texans go 7 of 14 for the day.  On the season thus far, the offense is only converting 39.5%, good for 15th in the league while the defense is giving up a whopping 50% on the season, 22nd in the league.

The season is young, but much work is to be made as the season moves on with the high expectations that this team is facing, this week, Denver has a chance to even their record as they face the 1-2 Oakland Raiders.

-Joshua Reising
Twitter: @Josh_Reising

Emotional Buffs get first win of season

The Colorado Buffaloes are riding an emotional high right now.  There is almost no words that can describe the feeling for the team to get the monkey off their back, especially following the recent harassment the team has been getting.  ESPN had rated the CU football program as the worst of the worst in after week three following the losses to FCS Sacramento St. and a 69-14 throttling by Fresno St.  Much turmoil was starting to cloud the program throughout the week leading up to the first PAC-12 game of the season.. There were murmurs floating amongst CU faithful that this may be a team that goes winless this season...

Understanding how frustrating it is to get a win, the Buffs remember being in this position all too well of being apart of a disappointing defeat.  November 6th, 2010, Colorado travels to Lawrence to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, where dealing with the first season following several good years under Mark Mangino and at this point, had nothing to play for while CU still had hopes of getting to that six win mark and become bowl eligible.  Start of the fourth quarter, CU is up 45-17 and just had to run the clock out to preserve the win.  Long story short, CU ends up losing this game 52-45, eventually leading to the firing of then Head Coach Dan Hawkins.

Fast forward roughly two years, CU still is trying to regain respectability amongst the FBS as being a "worthy opponent" on any given week.  Loss after loss, dealing with constant anguish, and seeing "new lows" for the program roll through, this most recent loss was a tipping point for this program.

Players and coaches all understood that they had become the "laughing stock" of D-I football.  It was going to take some action for someone or something to wake this program up and show that the loss to CSUS and FSU were flukes.  Mostly reserved OT David Bakhtiari stood up and made a statement.  The Denver Post got Bakhtiari in what he said from the heart to the rest of his teammates.

"I told them that these coaches know how to win. They're the best coaches I've ever played for. I was completely distraught that we cannot execute what they set out for us. I told them, 'Look. If you're not willing to give 100 percent, to do exactly what they tell you, buy into this program, be a Buffalo, then I don't want you coming to practice, I don't want you suiting up, I don't want any of that.' "

 The Buffs fought valiantly and showed "grit" as they grind through the game against the Washington St. Cougars.  This is obviously a team that lacks talent to keep up on a "week in-week out" basis to run with the rest of the PAC-12.  After a field goal by the Cougars early in the fourth quarter, CU found themselves down 31-14 and on the verge of another crushing defeat.  CU rose to the occasion, and it started with Jordan Webb, who was 29 of 42 for 345 yards, 4 total TD's and 1 INT, connecting with TE Nick Kasa for a 70 yard TD catch and run.

CU found themselves on the other end of a crushing defeat, this time...being the ones that dishes out the pain, and the comeback effort was on.  Later in the fourth, Webb was forced to come out of the game due to new rules by the NCAA that should your helmet come off during play, you must sit out for the next play.  Webb comes out and in comes backup Nick Hirschman.  Handoff right side, a few good blocks, and RB Tony Jones gone up the right sideline for a 84 yard TD run.  The defense played well for the fourth quarter, slowing down the aggressive and pass happy offense led by Mike Leach.  On the first three drives of the quarter, the Buffs D buckled down surrendering only 61 total yards, and those three drives resulted in a interception, FG and a punt.

After forcing the Cougars to punt the ball, the Buffaloes found themselves down six points with just over three minutes of play left.  The offense moved down the field using a good balance of runs with Tony Jones and Fullback coverted to Tailback Christian Powell, with the arm of Jordan Webb, and a little help from the officials, the Buffs scored on a Webb QB keeper to cap a 12 play-70 yard drive to go up one, leaving only several seconds for Wassu to mount a "comeback" of their own.  And just like that, the Buffaloes end a day that showed another possible low of low to showing the raw emotion players were displaying throughout the comeback in the fourth, seeing the will of the players to come back and win this game 35-34. Following the game, Tony Jones explained the comeback effort the Buffs mounted to get their first win of the season.

"We told each other to just stay in it."  "We definitely weren't going to let go. We stayed up, stayed up. The offense was cheering on the defense, and the defense was cheering on the offense."

Following the game, in the locker room, the players show the passion of CU football that is there within the CU locker room, the pride is there with this program as they look to get back to the ranks of the elite in college football.

Broncos regroup after getting the "Dirty Bird" from Atlanta

Hold up everybody, the offense will be fine.

The Broncos went into Atlanta riding a high after beating the Steelers as we watched and thought we were watching the rebirth of QB Peyton Manning.  Denver struggled in the matchup with Atlanta, leaving the Georgia Down with the Falcons giving the Broncos the "Dirty Bird".  Denver saw some signs of what this team is all about on Monday night, particularly on defense. 

In the first quarter of the game against Atlanta, the defense was put into some tough spots.  Following Mannings first three inceptions, the Falcons started at the Denver goal line, Denver's 43 and Atlanta's 47.  The Falcons were able to put up ten points from those three drives.  But given the fact the defense had short fields to work with, they held their ground.  The longest play was a 15 yard pass to TE Tony Gonzalez down the middle, which was accompanied with a 15 yard facemasking penalty to help Atlanta get in position for a field goal.  QB Matt Ryan struggled to get the passing game going and the defense held RB Michael Turner run for eight yards on four carries.

Credit is due to the Atlanta offensive line for giving Matt Ryan time to get the passing game into gear.  The Broncos defense tried their hardest to get to Ryan, getting six QB hits on the day, and for the most part, keeping most completed passes short and in front of them.  They also did a good job of stopping the running game as well.  28 carries for 67 yards.  Two games into the season against some decent offenses, Denver is ranked 9th in pass defense and 7th in rush defense.

What most people are worried about is Manning.  When was the last time that you can say that Manning may have been a problem for a team in their growing process.  The two games played thus far are two different stories. The game against the Steelers, Manning almost boasted a perfect passer rating.  The game against the Falcons, Manning was picked off three times in eight passes; first time since 2007 that he has had a three interception game, and the fewest amount of passes needed to get to three interceptions.

Relax...this offense is still a work in progress.  Manning has had only several months to get back into football shape and several months to work out the new offense.  The entire offense is in a learning process, Manning is learning Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy's offense and the rest of the offense is still learning to play with Manning and vise versa.  It was evident that the offense is still learning, particularly the no huddle.  Some players looked out of position or ran the wrong play.  Center J.D. Walton has even admitted to still trying to remember calls for audibles just before the snap.

While the offense is still learning how to work with each other and learn the system, Manning is trying to learn more about himself and his play.  Some columists are saying that Manning is done for already after two weeks.  Manning himself is still a work in progress, he says he's 100%, but what if he isn't.  Should we take it away from him, doubt his ability to play the position.  The answer is no.  The Denver Post reports that backup and rookie QB Brock Osweiler was going to come into the game to replace Manning for a "Hail Mary" pass.  Media outlets have started to then question whether Manning has "it" or not anymore.Manning at this point of his career is better than a vast majority of the QB's playing right now.  There is much that is happening right now on the offensive side of the ball...the offense is very fluid to say the least.  They are working out the "kinks" in the offense and once they get things together, this should be a potent offense...not to say that they already aren't.

-Joshua Reising
Twitter: @Josh_Reising