“It looked like to me, throughout the course of the game, we were close a couple of times”. Denver’s receivers piled up yards after catch, and the Colts’ beleaguered secondary still has a ton of work to do.
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All is well in the city of Denver. The Broncos won 34-20.
In the short National Football League career of Luck, he has managed to be a perpetual thorn in the Broncos’ side.
Sunday, however, was a slightly different story. Luck was 7-of-10 for 65 yards on a 12-play, 80-yard drive capped by a seven-yard pass to Frank Gore, who dodged a tackle, tight-roped the sideline and extended the ball just inside the pylon to cut the deficit to 23-20. While the completions and yardage are undoubtedly lackluster, they pale in comparison to the two turnovers, both of which resulted in Broncos’ touchdowns.
When taking on the Indianapolis Colts, you have to be tired of their quarterback Andrew Luck.
Last week we blamed the loss on coach Chuck Pagano for a number of reasons (game planning, faith in defense, clock management) but this one falls on the quarterback. It was the ninth interception returned for a touchdown of Talib’s nine-year career – a total that ranks him first among active NFL players, and which has been surpassed only by three others (Rod Woodson, Darren Sharper, Charles Woodson) in league history.
The defense wasn’t done there.
Defensive end DeMarcus Ware suffered an elbow injury in the third quarter and did not return.
“Von Miller: The most unblockable dude in the game”, running back C.J. Anderson said after the game.
The Broncos finished 400 yards to the Colts’ 253. Although Anderson only rushed for 74 yards on 20 carries, Booker was able to supplement the rushing attack with 46 rushing yards on his way to a 5.1-yard average.
That Del Rio is a defensive specialist and his “D” can’t even be categorized as uninspiring is the bigger issue today in Oakland for a unit that invested $83.5 million and a first-rounder who can barely get on the field this offseason.
The second big mistake from Siemian was his third interception in two games. Please. The Broncos’ best player is Miller. That the Rams improved to 1-1 by upsetting a conference powerhouse without scoring a touchdown for the second consecutive game speaks volumes about the state of Seattle’s broken offense.
“All I saw in front of me was the end zone”, Butler said.
Last week, Andrew Luck played really, really well. The Broncos will eventually get bit this season.
McManus’ third field goal, a 33-yarder with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter, put Denver back on top 16-13. A field goal for each side. Aaron Rodgers threw for 77 yards last season against this defense.
But it shouldn’t come down to that.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck walks off the field after their loss against the Denver Broncos during a NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Denver. He also has an interception and three forced fumbles.
The Colts had their opportunities to escape with another victory on Sunday, but the Broncos simply took them all away in the end. He missed some throws and obviously could’ve played better but he was also facing an all-time great defense that forces quarterbacks to play poorly.
It may be a short ride with rookie Paxton Lynch waiting in the shadows, but the Broncos have found their quarterback for the 2016 season.
There has been nothing statistically intriguing about Siemian.
“There were some really good runs in the game this past weekend”. The eye test has shown that he is just what the Broncos need. This might be the quality that truly separated him from that of Mark Sanchez.
After Sunday’s victory, which put the defending NFL champions alone atop the AFC West with a 2-0 record, Talib opened up to NFL Media about the immediate aftermath of the shooting, during which a bullet entered through the rear of his right thigh and exited his right calf. Other than to indulge impatience, there is rarely a reason for dumping a coach or GM prior to the end of the season because it’s nearly always necessary to hire from within to replace them.
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I will be the first to admit that I was wrong about the Broncos giving Siemian the nod.
