November 30, 2008 6:32 PM
Cutler, Broncos ground Jets
Are the Broncos going to blow it?
The thought swirled through my head -- and probably yours too -- at the end of the third quarter, with Denver gripping a slippery 27-17 lead over the New York Jets.
Fourth quarter. Time for Brett Favre to reach into his 18-year-old bag of NFL magic tricks, right?
Well, Denver cornerback Karl Paymah swipes away a fourth-down Favre pass. Then Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler hooks up with Brandon Stokley on a third-down, 36-yard touchdown pass.
Denver leads 34-17 with less than 10 minutes left in the game, and holds on for the win.
What, you worry? There are no worries when talking about the AFC West-leading Broncos -- by three games over the San Diego Chargers, who lost 22-16 at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
OK, so you do worry. Up three with four games left in the regular season, the schizophrenic Broncos showed their good side against the Jets. But there's still a baffling, bumbling characteristic about this team that is hard to shake.
It's the characteristic that made you think that those 17 first quarter points against the Jets -- the most scored by Denver in an opening period since Sept. 26, 2005 against Kansas City -- might not be enough.
But you weren't aware that the Broncos haven't lost a game when they've scored 17 or more in the first quarter since Sept. 4, 1994, against San Diego.
The Broncos made the most of two Jets turnovers, cashing in a fumble and interception for touchdowns. The interception, by cornerback Dre Bly, was only the fifth this season by Denver's defense. But it was big.
And a third-quarter sack of Favre was the first by Denver's defense in 116 pass attempts. But sack-less streaks seem overrated when teams win, and the Broncos have won three of their past four games in November -- all on the road.
With the victory over New York, the Broncos (7-5) have matched their win total of last season. Now it's December, and Denver has gone 20-16 in the month since 2000.
The Broncos have a 14-2 record at home in December since '00, and both losses were by a field goal. On Sunday Denver gets the 2-10 Chiefs, with a chance to gain revenge for an embarrassing 33-19 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in September.
For the third consecutive road game we've seen Denver display tremendous heart and poise. It's safe to say Bronco Fan would love to see the same effort in games at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Three games ahead in the division, with the 2-10 Chiefs coming to town. If it were college, this would be homecoming week for the Broncos.
But it's not college. For Denver, which grabbed the NFL's attention with Sunday's win over the Jets, it's a chance to prove it can handle an opponent with a lesser record at home.
And it's a great opportunity to strengthen the sleeper hold on the defending division-champion Chargers.
Don't blow it, Broncos . . .
Tidbit tid-blitz: Take away Thomas Jones' 59-yard burst for a touchdown in the first quarter, and the Jets finished with 83 rushing yards (on 18 carries) against Denver's defense. The Broncos' early double-digit lead helped to prevent the Jets from controlling the game with the run . . . Is Cutler a Pro Bowl QB this season? He's got the numbers. Cutler is on pace to throw for more than 4,500 yards. No Broncos QB has thrown for 4,100 yards in a season . . . Cutler still has an outside chance to become the first Broncos QB to throw 30 touchdown passes in a season. He has 21, with four games left . . . Before Sunday the Broncos had only four runs of 19 yards or longer in 272 attempts. Rookie Peyton Hillis had three 19-yard runs en route to season-best 129 yards rushing -- most by a Broncos running back since Selvin Young gained 156 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 9, 2007 ... Denver, which is looking to break a three-game losing streak at home, hosts K.C. on Dec. 7. The Broncos haven't lost four straight home games in one season since 1990, when they finished 5-11. The Chiefs never have won a game at Invesco Field.
November 30, 2008
6:52 PM
Dynamicdave writes:
"Bushwhacked", Sam. Just like I predicted. Jets looked ahead and Denver slapped them down. Good performance in ugly conditions. D took a beating but did some great 4th down stops. Jay was on the mark (except for that 1 interception) and the tight ends were hot. Hillis was a beast and Royal was impressive, as usual. Marshall dropped some but also caught some critical catches. Overall, I was pleased. I'm still waiting for all the bandwagon bashers to write in. They will still find "something" to cry about. Or they will praise the Broncos (for this week, anyhow), but swear they will lose at home to the Chiefs. They are like clockwork, Sam. Funny little men.
November 30, 2008
7:08 PM
r_u_shtn_me writes:
Forrest Gump would say "the Broncos are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get".---d(*c*)b
November 30, 2008
7:12 PM
SamAdamsSportsTalk writes:
Congrats, Dave ... You got it right in the prediction. The Broncos played a solid game from start to finish ... But I'm not worried about being wrong in my pick (My record is 7-5 in picking Broncos games this season, just like the team's record in the standings) ... I'm more worried about being "bushwhacked" by Raiders fans ... You know, they still can win the division after that pounding they dealt Denver, followed by today's blowout win over Kansas City ... Hold on, somebody's tapping me on the shoulder ... Are you kidding me -- the Raiders LOST to K.C.? ... No way ... That means they're um, lemme get the calculator ... 3-9 ... OK, and that means the Raiders are guaranteed to finish under .500 ... again ...
November 30, 2008
8:13 PM
Spider writes:
Well, so much for all the Charger/fader fans talk about running the table and winning the AFC West.
November 30, 2008
10:41 PM
Dynamicdave writes:
Yeah, Sam, I called that game well. I said use a TE formation and dink and dunk. I said use Hillis on short slants and running plays. I said it would free up the WR's downfield. It did.
Yep, how about them Raiders, ha, ha. The Dolts, as well. Now, we just need to show we can beat a team on our own turf. A team, I might add, that already torched us once, this year. If we can put together a game like today's, no problem. Then KC can fight with the Raiders for cellar rights.
Spider, SD fans must be contemplating suicide, right about now? Tsk, tsk.
December 1, 2008
10:22 AM
ANTONY54 writes:
NICE GAME FOR HILLIS.. CUTLER ALMOST GAVE ME A STROKE WHEN HE THREW THAT PICC IN THE ENDZONE.. DENVER TIGHT ENDS ARE THE KEY TO THEY'RE PASSING GAME, BUT IT ALL COMES BACC TO THE RUN.. SAM, HILLIS LOOK LIKE HE PULLED HIS GROIN LATE IN THE GAME, WHATS UP WITH THAT?? FOR A FEW MINUTES THERE IN THE SECOND HALF WHEN IT SEEMED DENVER GUYS WERE GETTING HURT ON EVERY PLAY, I ALMOST PULLED MY HAIR OUT IN ANXIETY.. WAS ANYONE HURT SIGNIFICANTLY??