Third-and-5 from the Denver 47: Hoping to sustain the Broncos’ opening drive, quarterback Peyton Manning targeted wide receiver Demaryius Thomas deep downfield. The third-year receiver made the catch and took the ball all the way to the New England 18-yard line, but was stripped from behind. The Patriots recovered the fumble, ending the Broncos chances of taking the lead right out of the gates.
Third-and-5 from the Denver 47: Facing the same down and distance from the same line of scrimmage as its opening possession, the Broncos offense looked to extend its second drive of the game. This time, Manning was sacked, forcing Denver to punt the ball over to New England. This time, the Patriots capitalized and marched down the field for their first score of the game.
Third-and-1 from the New England 25: Needing just one yard for the first down, Manning handed to running back Willis McGahee. The veteran charged through the line and extended the ball forward as he was being tackled near the first-down mark. The play was ruled a first down on the field, but the Patriots challenged the spot. After a replay, the call stood and four snaps later, Manning found tight end Joel Dreessen for a 1-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7.
Third-and-10 from the New England 20: After the equalizing touchdown, the Broncos defense had the Patriots in a third-and-long situation. Instead of a three-and-out, quarterback Tom Brady hit wide receiver Wes Welker for a 14-yard gain to give the drive life. The Patriots wound up scoring on a 1-yard run by Shane Vereen to take a lead that they never relinquished.
Third-and-5 from the New England 35: The Broncos responded with another sustained drive into Patriots territory. However, the drive stalled when Manning’s third-down pass intended for Brandon Stokley was knocked away, forcing Denver to punt.
Third-and-17 from the New England 43: Trailing by 10 points midway through the third quarter, Denver’s defense forced New England into a third-and-long. Brady handed the ball off to running back Danny Woodhead, who found a hole and carried for a 19-yard gain to pick up the first down. Instead of having to punt the ball back to the Broncos, the Patriots were able to pad their lead with a Tom Brady rushing touchdown that made the score 24-7.
Fourth-and-1 from the New England 47: With the Broncos offense looking to narrow the gap in the fourth quarter, the team needed one yard on fourth down to extend its promising drive. Manning targeted McGahee out of the backfield, but the running back couldn’t hold on to the ball and the Patriots took over on downs.
Second-and-10 from the New England 14: Late in the game, Denver had a chance to cut the deficit to one score, but McGahee was stripped of the ball and the Patriots recovered at their 11-yard line with 3:42 remaining in the game. New England was able to run out the clock to come away with the 31-21 victory.
Tags: Key Plays, New England Patriots, Week 5
Honorable mention: 3rd and 4, up the middle with Lance Ball… d’oh!
Dis-Honorable mention: Knowshon inactive for the third week in a row…d’oh! How can you build equity in some one you want to trade if they don’t play? Doh! ! !
Doh! Double Doh! Triple Doh!
Have to stay positive Broncos Country, while that was ugly at times this team does have a lot of fight in them, and we are approaching some games in the schedule that we should be able to string together a bit of a run here. Huge to see the Saints pull it off last night so we are only one game back with a chance at a tie of the division lead next week. We have arguably the toughest schedule in the league and no one said this was going to be easy. I think Peyton had an incredible game as did Von. The next 4 games are at SD, home to NO (im there!) at CIN, then at CAR, and I see no reason why we cant run the table against those teams, if not at least get 3. The communication will get better, adjustments will be made and like every other season, I’m just going to enjoy the ride. KEEP THE FAITH IN OUR ORANGE AND BLUE!!!!! GO BRONCOS!!!
youre absolutely right scalp and i’ve been preaching that same thing from the beginning and what do i do? freak out after an early loss! smack! but the reason this one stung was the way we lost. we couldve won this game with those 3 offensive mistakes not happening, the defense at least almost playing well (von miller played out of his mind i gotta say), including a little pressure on brady, filling running lanes, and tackling. we very well should have won that game and possibly a couple other ones but every week we shoot ourselves in the foot multiple times and it finally really got to me yesterday. dumba$@ mistakes not forgivable ones. we have to stop doing that. of course we are about where i thought we’d be and we are getting better and better and things do look bright, especially on the offensive side. i’ll just keep looking forward, hope we can get over all of this and get playing good football when it counts.
While I didn’t get to watch it on TV (the stupid Vikings were on) I listened to what I could on the radio.
Thomas really needs to learn to hold onto the ball. It’s the 2nd week in a row where he has fumbled after a big gainer. Once is an anomoly, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend, let’s hope he doesn’t start a trend.
At least we’re still 2nd in the division with a SD loss to the Saints. I’m still a little upset though that we can’t seem to play well against decent teams. Our two wins came from a Pittsburg team with injuries and a terrible Raiders team. We play, Atlanta, Houston, and New England and we can’t seem to bring our “A” game.
I did think we were in for a blowout but we kept battling. If we can clean some things up on offense and defense I think we’re still in a good position. This whole “getting back on top” isn’t going to happen overnight so I guess we all have to have patience.
Moreno..if all of our other backs can stay heathy, I think he’ll either be traded or released after the trade deadline. One at a time we’re getting rid of anything that resembles the McD era.
Peyton did well considering the OF line protection was a bit off. He was hit after getting the passes off a bunch, and this worries me because I see that his health is not 100%. Also, he must be wearing a different type of helmet than he had in Indy. I don’t recall seeing all the helmet marks on him when he was with the Colts. Maybe I wasn’t looking as hard back then. Who knows.
The Bronco’s defense is much better than the Colt’s defense ever was, except maybe 2 years. I feel that the corners and safety’s need to play a about 5 yards closer to the receivers and then go for the interceptions by stepping i front of quick hook and side line plays. They are doing good defending for the most part, but getting burned a bit too. We need to create turnovers in the secondary and make the other teams believe they can not win with the pass. I see our run defense as pretty solid.
Had a guy on twitter calling for the Pats to break Peyton’s “old man neck” during the game. I wish more people other than me would have picked up on his tweets and responded negatively to his comments. No need for that kind of attitude. If you want to look up those comments, you can look me up @HowToPromotions and click on conversations to find this “pats” fan.
The run D is anything but solid, it is probably still one of the weakest parts of the D. They gave up 251 rushing yards yesterday.
When you play a team like NE they’ll spread you thin and then run the ball. Which is why you need good physical DTs. You need good DTs all the time to help keep your LBs clean. But since Fox didn’t want to address the DT position in the offseason we need our current DTs to step it up. Fox will never address the DT position so everytime we play the Patriots or any other team that spreads the D out and runs it, will have a good day of rushing against us.
Yeah South Dakota, that’s about as clever as the guy in the last blog who said we beat ourselves in this one, like the Pats had nothing to do with it, I really hate that cliche of the losing team fans. But it’s just what many do, selective memory, by selective meaning what serves their hopes best, not what actually happened.
In that light I do understand the ones who say the turnovers (mental mistakes) had more to do with the loss than the ineptitude of the D (namely against the run and short dump off passes /horrible LB play as always only topped by just as bad play from the safeties nowadays), it’s because it is a lot easier to fix mental mistakes than the entire middle of a D, LOL.
What everyone needs to know, as ugly as you think its been, we have played some Elite teams two of them are still unbeaten. When we win next week on monday night in San Diego, we will be tied for 1st, but actually in first with the Head to Head win. Its not that bad in Bronco Country Guys, Ive seen alot of possitives also. One of my pet peeves about our D, is that nobody puts their hands up, no tipped balls. I watched a play were number 99 had no chance at Brady an he just stood their and watched him throw the ball rt over his head, I mean he didnt even have to raise his hands 2 inches over his head and he just stood their. When you look at what the Texans do with tipped balls, theirs no excuse for that IMO.
Bay, I completely agree with that last comment. When we win were unstoppable, when we loose nothing good comes from it. We are getting better every game, NE is a very good team, you have to play mistake free football. Mcgahees dropped pass on 3rd down hurt and his fumble didnt help, but I still think at that point it was to late, we couldnt stop brady you have to match points. I think the biggest play was probably our first drive when Damarius fumbled that started everything.
Brian said it best about Demaryius ” Once is an anomoly, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend, let’s hope he doesn’t start a trend”. Demaryius is talented but he needs to close the deal, his two games fumbles were in essence the equivalent of a likely 14 points swing in each game, talk about putting the whole team in a hole right off the bat!!!
Demaryius has become a snow ball, the kind that becomes an avalanche, haha.
Last wk he fumbles switching hands WTF, LMAO he can catch but man he has to control the ball better, that would of set the stage yesterday, specially because we actually held them on their first offensive posession.
We’re only one game better than we were last season after the first 5 games with Orton.
Are record might be simiular but our team is a heck of alot better then last yr bro. You have to look at the teams weve played
this yr, compared to the teams we played last yr rt. Were not getting blown out either 6, 6, 10. These games could of went anyway.
God, I cant stand Merryll Hodge either, he makes me ill. Specially for someone that didnt do squat in his carreer, he sure has alot of oppions.
I have no quarrels about our team being better than last season, especially our defense. I’m just making a very generic observation in that while our team may be better our record (on paper) is very similar. Yes, we’re not getting blown out, but it seems like the offense takes a while to get going and once they do it is too late.
Yah, I agree on the late part bro. But yesterday we had them on their heels on the first drive, till Damarius fumbled. But all in all our O did ok yesterday when they had the ball, they just didnt have it all that much lol. We have to get off the field on 3rd downs and no turnovers thats it, and, make the crucial plays that seperates the great teams from the good teams.
I agree Brian, DT has been a huge need for a long time. They will spread you out and run, teams have been doing it against us for a long time now. Its time to catch on. Also other then Miller I am not a huge fan of our LB’s. They cant cover.
Thanks Bay. and agreed the turnovers are unacceptable but that’s always true, foundational football…PROTECT THE BALL!!!
Millertime, I agree there has been a lot of great points, even with the losses I am encouraged and excited by this team. They do pull together when they get down and things get tough. In each loss as bad as it looked at times they did put themselves in a position to come back in each game in the 4th quarter which is encouraging.
The fact is though that this D can be picked apart by short passes to the slot receiver, running back or TE’s across or up the middle. The linebackers and safety’s can seem to stop it. They give up way to many 3rd down conversions especially 3rd and mid to long, thats what is so frustrating. You know that when an opposing offense is in 3rd and long it will be something thrown at a TE, slot WR or RB with a LB or Safety in coverage and they will convert. In addition a run up the middle is always a 1st down. The middle of the D has big holes to work on. I think this team can be fantastic once these few thing are met but they are big things. I surely am not doom and gloom. I am very excited about this team!!
Hodge just likes to talk, I swear he just loves the sound of his own voice. Those types of people have no credibility.
Well, that was a hard pill to swallow loosing to Billy and the boys….including McD$%&*!
It is still early in the season and we are being brought up to speed in a hurry playing some great teams. Thankfully, the saints who were the best 0-4 team in NFL history pulled off a victory against the Chargers.
My side notes:
1. Better coaching…Fox has made some questionable calls and needs to get his team focused to play four quarters of football! Fox was stripped naked in front of national television by being out coached.
2. Turnovers: we are giving away more than we are taking!!!
3. Defense has got to stop giving up big plays on third down!!!
4. Run the two minute drill for the entire game.
If we can just focus on winning the division right now and maybe we will find our groove come playoff time….LETS GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey guys, been awhile. I haven’t missed a game though! I’ve been busy buying a house, writing new songs with the band, and starting to work on a movie. How’s everyone doing?
Why were our Corners giving so much space, we should have been pressing them all game.
when we rushed 3 and had an extra corner in it seemed like we did better. we should try and do that more.
Teams are worried about giving up the big plays to the Patriots. Bills played a similar type of defense last week as well. The goal is to keep everything in front of them and force the Patriots to beat them on every play instead of letting them get a huge one down the field. Then as they get closer to the redzone tighten up coverage. Not only that but that is Fox’s belief in his philosophy as well, kind of the “bend don’t break” mentality. You let big plays happen and that really gets the momentum swinging. You let them have room and force them to run more plays gives you a better chance at disrupting them and getting a play in your favor. Fact of the matter is to not get into a shootout with the Patriots.