The Broncos received the ball to begin the second half and started off on their own 7-yard line following a short return.

Denver got down into New Orleans territory with a couple of big plays – a 19-yard catch by Demaryius Thomas and a 38-yard run by Ronnie Hillman.

Willis McGahee and Thomas combined to touch the ball on five of the next six plays to get the Broncos into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown catch to Thomas near the front left pylon.

Quarterback Peyton Manning is now 15-of-20 on the night for 213 yards and two touchdown with a QB rating of 142.3.

The Broncos are out-gaining New Orleans 358 yards to the Saints’ 121 after the touchdown, as they hold a 24-7 lead.

After the Denver defense forced the fourth Saints’ punt of the half, the Broncos took over at their own 13-yard line.

On the first play of the drive, running back Willis McGahee picked up another big chunk on a reception. This one was a 19-yard gain as McGahee beat a defender to the sideline and finished the play with a strong stiff arm.

A play later, quarterback Peyton Manning stood in the pocket and took a hard hit from a blitzing Saints defender, delivering a perfect ball down the left sideline to Eric Decker for a gain of 23.

McGahee then carried it twice, covering 11 yards of turf and bringing us to the two-minute warning with the Broncos set up with a first-and-10 at the New Orleans 30-yard line.

Coming out of the two-minute warning, McGahee took it again to pick up 10 yards, but that was the last first down the Broncos would gain on the drive.

Matt Prater kicked a 33-yard field goal to end the first half, giving Denver a 17-7 lead at the break. Prater is now 8-of-8 on the year after nailing his first field goal attempt since Week 4.

Manning finishes the half with 11-of-16 passing, 178 yards and a touchdown.

McGahee had 13 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, as well as two catches for 33 yards.

Decker caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown, while Demaryius Thomas caught two passes for 75 yards.

The attendance tonight was 76,832, the fourth-largest crowd in team history.

Chris Harris broke up two passes to help the Denver defense force a fourth down for the Saints.

On fourth-and-2 from the Denver 47-yard line, New Orleans elected to go for it. Quarterback Drew Brees dropped back and passed over the middle, but linebacker Wesley Woodyard leaped in the air to secure the interception.

Woodyard returned the pick eight yards, as he became the first Broncos linebacker since Al Wilson in 2004 to intercept two passes in a season.

On the first play of the possession, from the Denver own 44-yard line, quarterback Peyton Manning dropped back and found wideout Demaryius Thomas for another big gain, this one a 34-yarder.

Running back Ronnie Hillman made a nice move on a carry to pick up 7 yards, and then got the first-down on the next play with a 4-yard run.

Then, Manning found a wide open Eric Decker in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown 13-yard touchdown. It was Decker’s 13th career touchdown, tying Steve Watson for the fifth-most in team history through a player’s first three years with the club.

The score put the Broncos back up by 7 points by a score of 14-7 with 6:43 remaining in the first half.
The drive took 2:17 and covered 56 yards on five plays.

Click here to watch the video of Decker’s touchdown catch.

Click here to watch Woodyard’s interception.

Following a Willis McGahee fumble, the Saints took over at their own 45-yard line.

New Orleans picked up a first down and crossed midfield with a 16-yard reception from Drew Brees to wide receiver Marques Colston.

On the next play, Brees hit wideout Lance Moore for a 7-yard gain, bringing an end to the first quarter of play.

On the first play of the second quarter, Brees hit running back Darren Sproles over the middle of the field, who scampered into the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.

The drive took four plays and covered 55 yards over 1:53.

Seven seconds into the quarter, the game is tied at 7.

Following the Saints’ second punt of the day, a 52-yarder by Thomas Morstead, the Broncos offense took over at their own 2-yard line.

Running back Willis McGahee provided some breathing room with four straight carries that gained a total of 26 yards.

That set up for a play-action pass as quarterback Peyton Manning faked the handoff to McGahee and hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas deep over the middle for a 41-yard gain.

From the Saints’ 28-yard line, rookie running back Ronnie Hillman took his first carry of the game for a gain of 4 yards. After Manning and Decker just missed on a pass to the end zone, the quarterback hit tight end Jacob Tamme on third down, who laid out to reach the first-down marker.

After a McGahee carry, Manning dropped back on second down and saw several defenders charging in on a blitz. Calmly, he flicked the ball to McGahee near the line of scrimmage, who made the catch and stormed up field to the 1-yard line. A play later, McGahee took it one more time to run it in for the touchdown.

The short touchdown run capped off an 11-play, 98-yard drive that took 4:39. Following the extra point conversion, Denver took a 7-0 with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.

McGahee ran the ball six times on the drive and totaled 47 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown.

Manning was 3-of-4 and picked up 61 yards through the air.

Click here to watch the Manning-to-Thomas 41-yard connection.

Click here to watch McGahee’s touchdown run.

At midfield for the coin toss were the Broncos’ season captains: quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, guard Chris Kuper, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and cornerback Champ Bailey. Joining them was wide receiver Brandon Stokley, a game captain.

The Saints chose tails, won the toss and elected to receive.

Kicker Matt Prater booted the ball through the back of the end zone, and the Saints began the opening possession on the 20-yard line.

With the Broncos starting the game on defense, their starters on the defensive line are Derek Wolfe and Dumervil start at the ends while defensive tackles Justin Bannan and Kevin Vickerson are in the middle.

The linebackers are Von Miller, Keith Brooking and Woodyard.

In the defensive backfield, Rahim Moore and Mike Adams are at the safety positions with Chris Harris and Bailey on the corners.

The defense forced New Orleans to go three-and-out, thanks in part to a deflected third-down pass by rookie linebacker Danny Trevathan. Following a punt, the offensive starters are as follows:

On the offensive line, from left to right, tackle Ryan Clady, guard Zane Beadles, center Dan Koppen, Kuper and tackle Orlando Franklin.

Joel Dreessen starts as the tight end with receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker out wide and Brandon Stokley in the slot.

Manning is under center with Willis McGahee as the starting running back.

The Broncos head into tonight’s game coming off a bye week, which is a good sign for Denver if history is any indication. The team boasts the second-best record in games after a bye week since 1990, a mark of 17-6. Its .739 winning percentage trails only Philadelphia in that category.

Safety Mike Adams needs one pass defensed to set a single-season career high.

Cornerback Champ Bailey needs one interception to tie Mike Harden (33) for the fifth-most in franchise history.

Defensive end Elvis Dumervil, with four forced fumbles on the year, is one shy of taking the NFL lead and setting a career high in that category.

Quarterback Peyton Manning needs one game-winning scoring drive to pass Dan Marino (47) for most all-time.

Running back Willis McGahee needs one rushing touchdown to tie Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville for the second-most among active players.

The following players will not suit up for Sunday night’s contest against the Saints:

BRONCOS:
LB Steven Johnson
CB Tracy Porter
G C.J. Davis
TE Julius Thomas
RB Knowshon Moreno
DT Sealver Siliga
QB Caleb Hanie

SAINTS:
WR Joseph Morgan
LB LB David Hawthorne
LB Scott Shanle
DT Tyrunn Walker
DT Brodrick Bunkley
OT Bryce Harris
TE Daniel Graham