On Sunday the Broncos showed why you never say, “Never.”
As improbable as the Broncos’ 12-7 win over the Bengals was, it is real. As miraculous as it was, it is truly happened. As unbelievable as it was, they are off to a 1-0 start.
Welcome to the great unknown.
With the game about to slip away, the Broncos came up with a you-have-to-be-joking 87-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Brandon Stokley with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
While virtually all of our attention will rightly be focused on the stunning turn of events in the waning seconds, the Broncos’ effort throughout the game shed some light on just what kind of team they might be.
First off, they played really well on defense. They held the Bengals to 307 yards of total offense. They intercepted Bengals’ quarterback Carson Palmer twice and sacked him three times. They didn’t let him get into a rhythm and get the offense into high gear.
Granted, the Broncos’ defense wasn’t perfect and Cincinnati’s 91-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter was evidence of that. But the Broncos, under a new defensive coordinator, allowed seven points while playing on the road in an always emotional season opener.
I’ll take that.
Second, quarterback Kyle Orton looked pretty comfortable running the offense, even with an index finger on his throwing hand that he dislocated only two weeks earlier. I didn’t say the Broncos played well offensively because they didn’t. They are a work in progress and have some things they need to get right.
But I liked the fact the Orton stayed on an even keel. He was in control emotionally and didn’t get rattled, even when the offense sputtered. He got a lot of guys involved; eight different receivers caught passes. I loved how they incorporated the tight ends into the passing game.
The running game showed some flashed of good play, too. Correll Buckhalter averaged nearly six yards per carry. Brandon Marshall caught four passes. All of these things are good signs. Yes, they need to score more points. But it was their first regular season game in a new system and even though they struggled at times, I didn’t see anything that would lead me to believe the system won’t work. It will work and they will get better offensively.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Broncos simply found a way to win. They battled; they scrapped; they played hard. They showed heart and resiliency, attributes that teams don’t automatically have. If characteristics such as these are truly part of the foundation of the 2009 Broncos, then this season could really get interesting.
There is something to be said for winning when you don’t play great. I don’t believe the Broncos played a great game against the Bengals. There are plenty of things they need to work on and it doesn’t take a football coach to compile a list.
But they still won the game. They got the job done. When the clock showed all zeroes, they had more points than the Bengals.
I’ll take that, too.
The fact is the Broncos don’t have to apologize for anything. They went to Cincinnati to win a football game. They did that.
Bring on the Browns.
What did you take away from the win over Cincinnati? Thanks for reading and posting your thoughts.
Best,
Mike
Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Postgame, Week 1
If my memory servese me correct, didn’t Sharpe and Davis get picked in like the 6th round or something like that.
@bailyinorcrush apparently people do liten because you and a few others responded. So you take away from the validity of your own statement. I merely echoed some things from earlier posts if you read before me, those were comments already made. When accumulating draft picks and using them, it is unwise to use a 1st round pick on a second round talent. Smith played well, but he would have played well regardless of where he was picked. Using your logic, we should throw our picks at anyone anytime. Should we have used a first round pick on Marshall. No, we got him where he was slotted and he perrformed. Next, I said we needed d-line help, not the d-line played poorly. we had a chance to draft said help, insstead we took Moreno, who gave us nothing this week, and Ayers, who is playing special teams, as others have also said. You can be a fan and notice glaring weaknesses. Cincy has never been a great ground team, but Benson looked good. Palmer had a lot of time to throw out there and they dropped 7 balls. Also when it counted, they drove the length of the field, so there is work that needs to be done. And again, because reading is fundamental, I think I pointed out the positive that we are 1-0. So feel free not to respond, thanks.
@brian- really five deep? Uhhh not at all. They are three deep with true talent. Ocho, who had a good game, Coles, who uncharacteristically dropped 3 balls and Henry, who the coaches did not play much. So they were actually playing their fourth guy. that is not what you typically trade a first round pick, to pick up. Yes I would have been happy to trade up to get Sanchez or Stafford, duh, they are going to be franchise qb’s for a while. Even GREAT corners don’t lead to the Super Bowl. There is a such thing as value
@rayjr- maybe you were reading some other post, I did not say they played bad D. (although the Bengals are not a good rushing team) I did not flip out, I have been saying the same things since the preseason, and the situations have been the same. I am aware we won, I think I posted that as well. Cincy will not be very good. Maybe they will. We have a long way to go.
@baily one mo gain, plus I am a fan, die hard win or lose. I put my money where my fanhood is too. I buy the package so I can watch and record EVERY game. I travel to the games and I buy and display my merchandise everwhere, from my front lawn to my cars to my Bronco room in the house. So yeah, I am a Broncoguy, true and through. Not agreeing with everything, or expecting them to play better does nt make me any less of a fan. In fact, my passion runs deep. Where is yours
You don’t know when players will be picked. Look at Hayward-Bey going before Crabtree. It is a chance to take drafting a player before they’re slotted. You don’t know maybe some team might throw a monkey wrench into things. Stafford or Sanchez, one of them will be a bust.
in the preseason the bengals showed that they could run the ball.. and that was without Carson on the final 3 games, so we can’t say their a bad rushing team, and cedric benson isn’t a bsut yet he might have a good or a decent year this year maybe 1k yards or better.
@Mike Rice..could you find out any reason’s for certain players to be put on ‘inactive’? The simple ones are the injured players.
My main point would be why Chris Baker was inactive since he was running as the fourth DL though camp. McBean, Fields, Peterson, Baker, Thomas.