2:43 P.M. MST: Jack Nasty — a.k.a. Nate Jackson — got, well, jacked up by Robert Griffith, but hung onto the ball between the hashmarks. Tatum Bell goes backwards one yard on the next play, though, setting up Jason Elam’s second field goal of the day.

2:44 P.M. MST: Elam now eight points from a 14th straight 100-point season. Such campaigns may seem routine after all this time, but considering how he sets a new NFL standard every time he hits the century mark, they’re always worth commemorating.

2:48 P.M. MST: As key as Kenard Lang’s deflection of a second-and-2 pass was the fact that John Lynch and Domonique Foxworth hit Anquan Boldin as the football arrived in the wideout’s grasp, forcing an incompletion; the Cardinals, however, convert the third down on the next play and then move the drive to the Denver 35 after a 13-yard Edgerrin James run one play later.

2:53 P.M. MST: Neil Rackers drills a 49-yard field goal, and the Broncos’ shutout is done.

2:59 P.M. MST: Dennis Green channels his inner Rick Barry (or Jennie Finch) and underhand-heaves his red replay-challenge flag 15 yards onto the field to contest a Rod Smith reception.

3:02 P.M. MST: The challenge nullifies the completion, and seconds later … disaster. Cutler secures the handoff to Tatum Bell, who promptly loses it when Chike Okeafor hits him in the backfield. Loose ball … touchdown … and the Broncos’ once-bulbous 13-point lead is now down to three.

3:08 P.M. MST: Javon Walker comes back in for the Broncos’ next possession, and makes a crucial third-down catch, getting one extra yard after Orlando Huff hits him — a yard that keeps this drive alive as the Broncos look to regain some control over this game.

3:10 P.M. MST: Like the erstwhile baseball player he is, Tony Scheffler holds up the football as though he were an outfielder gesturing with his glove following a diving reception. The 16-yard reception is his second of the game; Cutler has already spread the football around to six different pass-catchers.

3:16 P.M. MST: Denver is four-of-seven on third-down attempts, but all three third-down failures have come inside the Arizona 12. Jason Elam is now three-for-three on field goals.

3:21 P.M. MST: Three three-and-outs for the defense this half. Denver has outgained Arizona 211 yards to 60; the Broncos’ dominance so far is evident everywhere but on the scoreboard.

Tags: Arizona Cardinals

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