“I didn’t throw the ball well, they played good defense so a lot of factors to it”. It was a 34-20 victory for the Broncos, who moved their record to 2-0 on the young season. The first couple of plays it looked like it was nearly a guarantee that the Colts were going to send Andrew Luck out there already facing the 7-point deficit. The Broncos were marching already.
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The Broncos defense was as good as advertised on Sunday, as they held one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League to a very pedestrian game.
Wide receiver Donte Moncrief exited in the first quarter with what the team said was a head and neck injury.
The only touchdown of the first half came on a 4-yard run by C.J. Anderson. They also started 0-2 previous year and ended up 8-8 and on the postseason sidelines. They’ve put but wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas know they must be better if they want to take the next step as a group. Thomas turned nothing into something gaining 44 yards and putting Denver in the red zone. The Colts could easily have been down by 20, but had fought hard enough to stay within striking distance against a fearsome defense.
That tied the game at 13. But that was a completely different Colts team and a completely different AFC South. This week was another close call versus the Indianapolis Colts. So far we’ve had an offensively challenged burn burner.
The biggest difference in the defense on Sunday was they were facing Trevor Siemian instead of Matt Stafford. Siemian did not play well at all. With 9 minutes left in the 4th, Luck led the Colts to an 80 yard touchdown drive capped off by Frank Gore’s nimble feet, tip toeing to the end zone. To add to their takeaways, the defense sacked Luck five times. But, the offense stalled and had another 3-and-out. It’s very simple: You can’t be one-dimensional against the Denver Broncos. Another questionable PI on Winston Guy contributed to another field goal drive in the fourth quarter. He didn’t score until the seventh game a year ago, but reporting to camp in shape has allowed him to function as a bowling ball with legs again early this season. On 3rd and 10, CJ Anderson made an impressive one-handed catch, shredded a tackle, and picked up the 1st down. For the Broncos, it was to hold onto the lead and take the win. An offensively challenged barn burner still, in Denver.
THIN AIR: One week after Panthers punter Andy Lee had a 76-yard kick in Denver’s mile-high air, Pat McAfee had a 72-yarder for the Colts that was almost blocked but ended up bouncing into the north end zone for a touchback.
1 – Andrew Luck remains a top tier young quarterback. Halting Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was one challenge, but Luck provided their pass defense a different challenge. The Denver Broncos hosted the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 18, 2016. This could be the beginning of the end. Well, there the go back onto the sideline again after another 3-and-out. Sure, the Colts might be a 5-11 team when January 2, 2017, rolls around, but this is September 19th with 14 games looming on the horizon.
“If the game is on the line on defense, you can nearly guarantee we’re going to finish the game and win it for us”, cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. Hilton, who has always been a nemesis of the Broncos, was held to four catches for 41 yards on 11 targets.
With the Colts trailing 16-13, an off day for Andrew Luck had one costly mistake.
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Offensively, the Broncos penetrated the Colts’ 40-yard line on seven of their nine possessions Sunday, but only came away with a single TD to show for it. A pump fake would have helped an bad lot or checking down to his running back. 34-20 Denver, this time it was over.
It’s not luck, it’s preparation, Talib said. The right side of the offensive line is going to get the franchise quarterback killed if they don’t get it together.
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Although this has not hurt the Broncos yet, good teams will nearly certainly make them pay for their inability to capitalize on their drives.
