WHAT WENT RIGHT
The Manning-to-Thomas Connection
Quarterback Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas connected for 99 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. The first score came with a defensive back seemingly draped all over Thomas.
“I threw that ball as early as you can throw a pass,” Manning said afterward. “I threw that ball super early and Demaryius came around, kind of came right around the DB and made a heck of a catch. That was really a special play.”
The second touchdown was equally as impressive, as Thomas beat double coverage for the 10-yard catch in the end zone.
“I knew if he was going to check me, he wasn’t going to be able to stop be from cutting across his face and getting to where I needed to be,” Thomas said of the linebacker covering him before a safety came to help. “Peyton put the ball in a great spot and I made a play.”
The Von Miller Show
The AFC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Month kept up his hot play of late against the Buccaneers. He tied for the team lead with seven tackles, sacked Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman, forcing a fumble on the same play, and intercepted him. He returned the pick 26 yards for a defensive touchdown.
“Defensive player of the year,” defensive end Elvis Dumervil said of his teammate. “For sure. What he has been doing, not only sacks, pressures, the impact he has had on the game, he should definitely be a strong candidate.”
The Third Quarter
Through 11 games this season, the fourth quarter has been Denver’s sweet spot. The Broncos have outscored opponents 124-37 in the frame.
On Sunday, it was the third quarter when Denver did its damage.
Both of Thomas’ touchdowns and Miller’s defensive score came during the third quarter. The 21-point outburst turned a 10-7 deficit into a 28-10 lead, which proved too much for the Buccaneers to overcome.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Four Straight Punts
After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the Broncos offense stalled on its next four possessions, all four of which resulted in punts back to Tampa Bay.
During that span, the Buccaneers took a 10-7 lead and looked in control of the game.
“We just basically had to stop getting penalties,” Thomas said. “We were beating ourselves. We were in first-and-long, second-and-long, and it’s tough when you’ve got a good defense that’s stopping the run. You want to run the ball and mix it up, and it’s tough to try to convert first-and-15, first-and-25, whatever it was.
“That was what stopped us in the first half.”
Fourth-Quarter Comeback
Denver’s 21-point outburst in the third quarter seemingly put the game out of reach. Tampa Bay didn’t feel that way.
Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth hit field goals of 50 and 55 yards in the fourth quarter to help keep his team in the game, and a missed 47-yard field goal by Broncos kicker Matt Prater helped keep Tampa Bay’s hopes alive.
A 5-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Josh Freeman to wide receiver Mike Williams trimmed Denver’s lead to one possession, 31-23, but wide receiver Eric Decker recovered the ensuing onside kick to essentially snuff out the Bucs’ comeback attempt.
“Right there at the end, we can’t give up plays like that,” cornerback Champ Bailey said. “We gave them an opportunity to tie the ballgame late. That’s not something that you pride yourself on. We’ve got to be better at the end.”
Ill-Timed Interception
Late in the third quarter, after Denver’s 21 consecutive points, the defense forced a Tampa Bay three-and-out.
With the ball and a chance to further put the game out of reach, quarterback Peyton Manning dropped back and looked for tight end Jacob Tamme. But the pass was intercepted by Bucs linebacker Lavonte David and returned to the Denver 48-yard line.
Tampa Bay used the field position to march down the field for Barth’s 50-yard field goal, which began the Bucs’ comeback attempt.
It was Denver’s only turnover of the game.
Tags: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 13, What Went Right, What Went Wrong
B-R-O-N-C-O-S BRONCOS BRONCOS BRONCOS!!!
Von Miller DPOY….I like the sound of that.
i dont think NE and Baltimore can hang like the Broncos. our schedule was front loaded and their schedules are back loaded. they may finish 12-4 or 11-5 while we finish 13-3
Prater has looked bad two games in a row now, which is a little unsettling..
now prater is the player that we should all be scared about
A little thing I feel worth mentioning.
Moreno had more rushing yards (69) than Martin did (56) today.
A number that bugs me is that TB had 7 TFL’s today…. that is a sign of us losing the battle up front.
Another fun Number from today…
Wins by Denver this Season 9
Wins by the Rest of the AFC West combined 9
LOL BT!!! I didnt notice that! lol
I’m a little tired of predictably running the ball up the gut over and over in the last minutes of the game for three and outs to try and kill the clock and then kick the ball back and hope our defense can hold out and get the job done.
I think that an advantage the Patriots have over other teams is they don’t stop playing for points no matter how far ahead they are or how little time is left on the clock…. I don’t think they practice an end game time management approach that I see in effect with our team.
We have a really hard time converting first downs when the game is in the last 4 minutes or less… I think this points to conservative offensive play management by Coach Fox, almost like using offense as a defense.
Using the offense like a time shield in the waning minutes of the game insted of thrusting it like a heated sward.. jmho..
If we want to win decisively and put opponents away and work towards ultimately defeating New England we must take some chances, why not keep playing for points and first downs in the last quarter of the 4th qtr?….. Keep doing what got you in position to win and then do it some more!!!
Thrust the Hot Orange Offensive Lance into the Raiders this Thursday, through the rest of the season and then Ultimately into New England to reach the Super Bowl FOX!!
KEEP THE PEDDLE THE TO METAL TO THE END OF EVERY GAME BRONCOS OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!!
A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IS ONLY SEVEN OR EIGHT VOCTORIES AWAY!!!!
ILMSDB
Good Post OC… I have to agree with you! Time to start stepping on throats early and often!!!
That thrusting part got me excited OC
That is on Fox’s personality – OC – Ole Foxy can’t help it!
Good game!!!
Manning continues to grow on me…kinda like a fungus…LOL…feeling the need for some abatement…it’s like Bay said – it just seems like it’s too easy…LOL
I think I got points this week…kinda hard to catch ‘the Dane’ when he keeps matching my predictions??? Oil well…gotta catch Bay and Strand first!!! LOL
I coulda, woulda, shoulda, put money on KC. When you have something like that to fight for….everytime!!! I was telling a Niner and a Bear fan that at church this morning and they weren’t buying it…more brownie pts.!!! LOL How about Quinn with 82% completion percentage!!!??? How do you keep that fire lit? (I mean it’s like…shameful, painful, and disgusting to have to beat up on a really bad team…LOL…never mind…scalp the Chiefs!!!)
Thank you very much Mr. Charlie Batch!!!
My favorite play was the one handed grab by KM with his butt solidly planted on the ground!!! Hahaha Was Manning throwing that one into the turf??? LOL
Decker gets shut down by double team…
Thomas…not so much…
I only recall a KM and a Tamme drop today – eliminate those drops and convert a few more 3rd downs and the Broncos could be something a whole lot like awesome!!!
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/OTL%20CTE%20study/boston-university-researchers-discover-28-new-cases-chronic-brain-damage-deceased-football-players
Guys… I can’t say this enough, but the more I read the more I believe football as we know it’s days are numbered
OSS, there is even reference to the man we spoke of the other night, Cookie Gilchrist
BT – sports…entertainment…it is the opiate of the masses. Some few may exploit American litigious ways…and get their payout…but no judge will allow any such payout to hurt enough to resurrect a caring and involved electorate. Not gonna happen! Welcome to Rome!
I agree DB that Sports Entertainment is an Opiate of the masses… But from what I’ve been reading the fact that this has been a known danger for over a decade (and the fact that two collective bargaining agreements have been reached while this info was available to the higher ups) makes me believe that there is a major change coming…
this game was as i excpected…pretty close. tb won three quarters luckily we absolutely dominated one.
makes me wonder if coach is holding back some plays for crunch time.
moreno had another respectable game. our defense continues to surpass my expectations which is saying a lot considering i predicted a top ten unit.
holding martin to about 50 was amazing.
Double that with the fact that the NFL get ‘Not-for-profit’ status, and there is a certain point that dollars that will go against the League will make it impossible for any team to carry insurance and we will lose Full contact Football… I believe the Dye has been cast for this change already
bt – i doubt it. too much money involved. and now that the risks are better understood players are giving informed consent.
There is enough money in other sports that are more global that don’t have the history of Brain Trauma, and I fear that the public oppinion of ‘Safety First’ is really going to deal this sport a death blow…
It all comes down to advertising dollars… and when the quality of the game is affected to the point that the quality of the product on the field suffers that will be the true beginning of the end… Owners won’t pay 90% of their profit for insurance, they will simply move to other avenues of revenue and those will come from other sports that don’t have the stigma that is beginning to become attached to football… as more and more youngsters play Soccer and other international games it will simply be a matter of a couple generations before the NFL would be phased out and replaced
The next lawsuit coming against the NFL is MULTI-BILLION Dollar… don’t kid yourselfs into thinking the NFL is too big to fail, and the Government won’t be on the side of the stigma of non-safety, just the way it works
The value of the Dallas Cowboys exceeds 1 Billion dollars… there is not another franchise in the sport that can make that claim that I’m aware of… The numbers of the lawsuits that are coming dwarf the annual revenue that the NFL Generates…
Just my thoughts
there are enough food sources that we dont need alaskan king crab. but the market is there so men still risk their lives and die for a fraction of what the nfl brings in. and those people arent talking about concussions or long term effects they straight-up die in the berring sea.
Your right AS, but the family’s of the Crabs or the fisherman aren’t suing any of those companies for Billions of Dollars… Until now there was an assumption of Safety becaus that is what players had been told by league doctors…
Sorry, but Fishing Crabs does not apply to hiding known evidence of long term brain injury… Someone is going to foot that bill
Anyway… just wanted to share. There has been a real influx in the number of articles about these findings in the last few weeks and I know the NFL has noticed…
Good night all
obvious risks are obvious. you cant sue for them. maybe some former players can get some recompense cause nobody understood the risk. today nobody can complain that they didnt know they might get a concussion along with their millions.
The NFL isn’t going anywhere. The world will end before the NFL is no longer. Don’t you have something better to talk about, like the fact we have an AWESOME football team!
Great win,Broncos!!! worried about Prater missing all those field goal points in our last 2 games.
How come Tracy Porter isnt playing? i thought he got cleared to play 2wks in a row now
Great game all around!! Glad to see my boy Miller get his first INT and it went for a score. Very nice!!
Just got word that I got tickets for the Broncos at Ravens game!!! Will be AWESOME!!!!
Nasty..
He has put Harris has been playing lights out and has proved himself so that is his job to lose now. He had nearly 3-4 picks yesterday. He was on fire. Look at it this way, we have a really good Corner as a reserve in case we need him. Might need that in the playoffs!! Other teams don’t have that luxury.
OC is right, that’s playing football the Fox way, just ask any old Carolina Panthers fans, they grew so tired of his conservative way of leading his football team they couldn’t wait to get rid of him.
There are only two guys who can help him change a little, Elway in the booth and Manning on the field, he might listen to those, but it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, of course you have to be an old dog yourself to understand that, LOL.
It’s a deja vu kind of thing, talked about that with OT a long time ago, conservative Reeves never letting Elway be, until it finally cost him his job.
Maybe you should pay attention Fox, haha.
And what better QB to turn a team over to!!! Peyton Manning!!! It sure cannot get any better than that… if that’s not enough to incline Fox to let go a bit of his no risk approach, nothing ever will.
In closing there is absolutely zero doubt that come playoff time a different attitude will have to be taken by Fox if we are to go all the way. If we keep this up without opening it up some more teams like the Pats and Belicheck will take full advantage. It’s a cruel world out there, no one cares whose feelings get hurt, specially not the Pats. They basically always score way more points than anyone else in the NFL, sickening, and McD is part of it, double sickening.
I bet Elway is about to have a one on one with Fox now that the division is in the bag, the next Championship is obviously a different beast that will require a bigger game. But I do love how everything is unfolding, everyone learning to gel together on their own time and progress made most every week except arguably the game at KC. That’s what Manning always reminds us of, it takes time to learn to work with a new team.
As long as we evolve I’m happy, but Fox does need a nudge for sure.
Talking about our boys, I’m very glad Willis was able to help Manning out with his two catches, nice thing for Peyton to be able to build some trust with yet another weapon.
Good Question. I have wondered that as well. I understand why he’s not starting as the DB’s have been phenomenal in his place…but, I would think he’d be in on some Nickel and Dime Packages at least.
I think it’s safe to say that Porter is still being held out because of the liability ramifications (talked about here last night btw) of his seizures condition which basically ties in to the concussions issues the NFL is learning to deal with.
It’s more politically driven than performance driven IMO.
That may be true. He played very well early this year, so I don’t see that being an issue. There has to still be some concern with health, seizures, etc. as teams almost always play their best players…with politics not being as important as they appear. If you are the best player at your position, and you’re cleared to play, you’ll play.
That kind of liability could equal mucho money in this new concussion environment (see current lawsuit against the NFL by past players), and doesn’t money rule?
But I hear your point too. In a perfect world I would agree with it.
I think something else that should be “what went wrong” is Matty P missed a FG from 47 yards out. He’s now 2-5 from 40-49 yds. That seems to be his trouble area and in close games 3 points can be a difference maker. When we’re in that 40-49 range I want a little more reasurrance that he’s going to split the uprights. I’m not quite as worried as Green Bay and Crosby’s shortcomings but having that reasurrance in Matty P’s leg makes me feel better once we get on our opponent’s side of the field. Hope he can gain his confidence or accuracy back.
Brian, I think we Bronco fans are spoiled about our kicking game:
Jim Turner, Rich Karlis, Jason Elam and Prater.
Basically fabulous kicking since 1971!
There are no other teams who can claim better kicking over that amount of time.
Definitely not worried about it, he has a slump just like anyone and will get out of it.
Now our running game on the other hand… LOL.
Great win yesterday! Pretty much shut down Doug Martin which was a huge plus……and the area where everyone thought we’d get burned badly. Wasn’t happy that the D gave up that late TD to let TB back into the game……def something to work on.
But overall a complete team effort and a team win. All 3 phases had great moments and when that can happen, you can usually win the game. Couldn’t really run the ball too well, but we tried enough to keep the opposing D honest. And we didn’t have any fumbles so I’ll take that anyday.
Not sure what’s up with Prater………3 misses in the past 2 games concerns me as well. I’m sure he’ll get it straightened out……pardon the pun!
BT……….Forbes released last week that the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL are also worth over a billion dollars…….craziness!
The Cowboys and Maple Leafs worth a billion each is peanuts next to the Manchester United soccer club worth 2.23 billions.
The Good- Mitch with his 1st career TD. Followed by Von’s 1st career TD. And of course, winning the AFC West for the second consecutive year. Which was last done in 86 & 87. Which is astounding if you think about that stat!
The Bad- Prater again with a miss. The penalties in the 1st half which stalled our drives and led to the 10-7 halftime deficit.
The Ugly- What was that at the end of the game? Conservative play calling, leading to the late score and messing up my potential win in the scoring contest… Lol
Not to mention, the bush league firing off the line as we were running out the clock. Unnecessary. There is so much chatter about player safety….
The Funny- Moreno’s ‘sit down’ route
Broncos Country Strong 2012!!!!!!!!!
BT: Since you mentioned Cookie, here’s your Floyd Little/Cokie Gilkchrist story:
It was the first pre-season after the first “Super Bowl” (Trivia fact to make a few bucks: The NY Jets won the first Super Bowl, the first two AFL/NFL championship games were called “The NFL/AFL Championship game”.).
The previous week the Broncos had beat the Vikings to be the first AFL team to beat an NFL team. This week it was the Detroit Lions in Denver. Alex Karras if the Lions said that if the Broncos beat them that he’d walk back to Detroit. It was late in the game and it looked loikie the BNroincos were going to win. Flody ran the ball up the middle and Karras took a cheap shot at Floyd. Cookie wasn’t to pleased at this and Karras got the wrong end of Cookies anger. Best of all, Broncos won to make them the first AFL to win back-to-back games against NFL teams. Karras decided to take the plane ratrher than walk.
I’ll tell you a Steve Tensi story some day.
ALL HAIL THE NECK!!!!
DON’T WRECK THE NECK!!!!
wow bay, that is shear craziness about Man U…..but I can totally see it. NFL would be slaughtered by Soccer in the UK and Europe, which is why I don’t think the league should ever set up shop there……..not to mention the logistics. Our ideas of what football is couldn’t be further apart! lol
Prater will get the kinks ironed out. Not worried.