The Denver Broncos beat the Baltimore Ravens 34-17 on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, winning their ninth consecutive game.

The win improves Denver to 11-3 as the Ravens fall to 9-5.

Baltimore needed just one play to answer Prater’s field goal.

A short pass from quarterback Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta turned into a 61-yard touchdown reception for Pitta, who broke several tackles after weaving in and out of traffic along the sideline and breaking free for the score.

Pitta’s touchdown cut the Denver lead to 34-17 with 4:32 remaining.

Looking to run the clock and keep the ball away from the Ravens’ offense, the Broncos ran the ball on 10 consecutive plays to start the drive.

Of those 10 plays, three were carries by running back Knowshon Moreno, who gained 11 yards. The other seven carries were split by running back Ronnie Hillman, who gained 22 yards on five carries, and fullback Jacob Hester.

Quarterback Peyton Manning didn’t put the ball in the air until the Broncos faced third-and-8 from the Baltimore 45-yard line. On that play, Manning found wide receiver Eric Decker for 13 yards, and the completion turned into a big gain thanks to a 15-yard penalty after the whistle for a late hit on the Ravens.

After three more running plays failed to yield a first down, kicker Matt Prater came on and converted a 36-yard field goal to make it 34-10, Denver.

The drive covered 62 yards in 15 plays, taking 9:59 off the clock.

The Ravens started the series on the Denver 36-yard line after a 40-yard punt return by wide receiver Tandon Doss.

Baltimore’s first two plays of the drive, a handoff to running back Ray Rice and a short pass to tight end Dennis Pitta, picked up five yards, bringing up third-and-5 from the Denver 31-yard line. Flacco’s pass to Rice was incomplete, but the Ravens picked up the first down when a personal foul was called on Denver safety David Bruton for roughing the passer.

On the following play, the Ravens were penalized for a personal foul of their own, this one for unnecessary roughness on wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

But Baltimore found the end zone on the following play, when Flacco’s pass to a diving Pitta resulted in a touchdown after Pitta made the reception near the goal line, was not touched by a defender, then got to his feet and ran into the end zone. The ruling of a touchdown withstood a review by the official. The score trimmed Baltimore’s deficit to 31-10.

The drive covered 36 yards in four plays and took the Ravens less than 90 seconds.

Denver needed just five plays and 2:25 to answer the Ravens’ first scoring drive, driving 83 yards thanks to a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Eric Decker.

The drive started with Moreno carrying on three of the first four plays, gaining 17 yards on those carries. The only play during that span other than the handoffs to Moreno was a 15-yard completion from Manning to Decker.

The Broncos got into the end zone thanks to a 51-yard bomb to Decker, who beat single coverage set up by the Ravens’ attention to a play-action fake.

With the touchdown, Decker notched his seventh catch, which gave him 120 yards receiving. It marked the third 100-yard day of Decker’s career and the second of the season. With 120 yards to that point, Decker also recorded the second-most yards receiving in one game in his career.

After forcing a punt by Baltimore, Denver added another quick touchdown drive.

This one was set up a 27-yard punt return by wide receiver Trindon Holliday, which put the ball on the Baltimore 39-yard line. A Manning completion of 28 yards to tight end Joel Dreessen quickly penetrated the Ravens’ red zone. On just the fourth play of the drive, running back Knowshon Moreno found the end zone from six yards out for the 31-3 lead. The scoring drive took just 1:16 off the clock.

The score put Moreno over the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive week. Moreno now has four career games with at least 100 yards on the ground.

On the first drive of the second half, Baltimore took advantage of great field position thanks to a 50-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Jacoby Jones that set the Ravens up on their own 44-yard line.

Baltimore moved into field goal range with a 15-yard completion from quarterback Joe Flacco to wide receiver Tandon Doss, a 7-yard run by running back Ray Rice and a 5-yard catch by Rice.

The drive then stalled at the Denver 27-yard line. Three straight incompletions, including a third-down incompletion that Baltimore challenged, set up a 45-yard field goal by Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker.
The Ravens’ scoring drive covered 29 yards in eight plays and took 2:42 in time of possession. The field goal cut the Broncos’ lead to 17-3.

With time winding down in the first half, the Ravens mounted a two-minute drive that started with a 43-yard completion from quarterback Joe Flacco to wide receiver Jacoby Jones.

The Flacco-to-Jones completion seemed to energize the Baltimore crowd and offense, as the team quickly penetrated the Denver red zone with an 11-yard run by running back Ray Rice and a 14-yard completion from Flacco to wide receiver Torrey Smith.

But with the ball on the Denver 4-yard line, Chris Harris stepped in front of a pass on the sideline and raced down the sideline for a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. It marks the third interception of the season for Harris, who has returned two of his picks for scores.

The pick-six represented the longest interception return for a touchdown in Broncos history and Harris became the first player since Champ Bailey in 2005 to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season.

The touchdown capped a dominant half for the Broncos. At halftime, in addition to a 10-0 lead on the scoreboard, Denver has an 11-to-4 advantage in first downs, as the defense has forced Baltimore to go 0-for-6 on third conversions.

Of Baltimore’s seven drives before its final kneel-down of the half, five resulted in punts, with the other two ending in turnovers.

The Broncos outgained the Ravens 173-119 in total yards, including a 93-41 edge in rushing yards. Denver also held the ball for 18:59 while limiting Baltimore to just 11:01 in time of possession and ran 40 plays to just 29 for the Ravens. The defense also held Flacco to 78 yards through the air on 7-for-15 passing.

Taking over at their own 22-yard line, the Broncos quickly picked up 20 yards when running back Knowshon Moreno burst through the right side of the Ravens D, stiff-arming one defender before hurdling over Baltimore safety Ed Reed for extra yardage.

Moreno added three more rushing yards on the following play before a 14-yard completion from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Eric Decker gave Denver first-and-10 from the Baltimore 41-yard line.
On the first play of the second quarter, Moreno ran up the middle for 9 yards, then gained 3 more on the following play for the first down.

After one incompletion, the offense went back to Moreno, who gained 9, then 2 yards on back-to-back handoffs. The Broncos handed off on a third straight snap for three more yards, this time on a carry by fullback Jacob Hester, who recorded the first run of his Denver career, moving the ball to the Ravens’ 15-yard line.

On the following play, a Manning pass to Decker on the sideline was originally ruled a touchdown, but was overturned, with the ball being spotted on the Baltimore half-yard line.

Denver wasted no time getting into the end zone, as Hester plunged in for the score, his first as a Bronco and the second rushing touchdown of his career, with his last one coming on Dec. 28, 2008, against the Broncos. It marked Hester’s fifth career score.

The touchdown gave Denver a 10-0 lead with 11:51 remaining in the second quarter. The scoring march covered 78 yards in 11 plays that took 4:12 off the clock, with Moreno accounting for 46 of those yards on six carries.

Defensive tackle Justin Bannan forced Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco to fumble on a quarterback sneak on third-and-1, giving the Broncos possession at their own 47-yard line after the recovery by safety Rahim Moore.

Denver started the ensuing drive with a 5-yard completion from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Eric Decker. The Broncos moved the chains when running back Ronnie Hillman picked up six yards, putting the ball on the Baltimore 42-yard line. From there, Manning found decker again, this time for a 9-yard pickup.

After a short run and a pair of incompletions, the Broncos converted a third-and-10 when Manning completed a 14-yard pass to a leaping Brandon Stokley along the sideline.

Facing first-and-10 from the Broncos’ 17-yard line, a penalty, an 8-yard completion to tight end Joel Dreessen and a short pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas brought up third-and-7 for the Broncos. Manning’s pass to Thomas was complete, but Thomas was brought down short of the marker, bringing on kicker Matt Prater for a 27-yard field goal try.

Prater knocked it through the uprights to give his team a 3-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter. Prater is now 22-for-27 on the year.

The drive covered 44 yards in 11 plays and took 4:56 off the clock.

The Broncos’ offensive starters at the skill positions are Manning, Knowshon Moreno at running back, Brandon Stokley, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas at wide receiver and Joel Dreessen at tight end. Denver’s starters on the offensive line are Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin at tackle, Zane Beadles and Manny Ramirez at guard and Dan Koppen at center.

On defense, the Broncos’ starters on the defensive line are Dumervil and Derek Wolfe at defensive end, with Kevin Vickerson and Bannan at the tackle positions. The starting linebackers are Woodyard on the weak side, Keith Brooking in the middle, and Von Miller on the strong side. In the secondary, the starters are Bailey and Chris Harris at cornerback, with Mike Adams and Rahim Moore at safety.