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