After the Broncos struck first, Cleveland responded with a scoring drive on its first possession.

It began on the Browns 28-yard line, and running back Trent Richardson carried the ball on three of the first five plays to gain 18 yards.

To cross midfield, quarterback Brandon Weeden hit tight end Benjamin Watson for a first-down completion of 13 yards, and a play later the pair connected again for 15 yards.

Cleveland picked up one more first down and moved into the red zone, but on the following series, the drive stalled.

On third-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Weeden tried to hit wide receiver Josh Cooper, but safety Mike Adams – who spent the last five years in Cleveland – hit the receiver as the ball arrived to force an incompletion.

Kicker Phil Dawson converted on a 27-yard field goal on the next play to make the score 7-3 with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter.

It took the Broncos only 2:50 to find the end zone on Sunday afternoon.

Denver received the opening kickoff and began the first possession of the game at their own 20-yard line after a touchback.

An 8-yard carry by running back Knowshon Moreno on the first play got the offense started, and wide receiver Brandon Stokley followed that up with a 5-yard first-down catch.

From there, quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas connected on three passes to gain 57 of the remaining 67 yards, finishing the drive off with a 22-yard touchdown. Click here to watch the NFL Network highlight of the play.

In tight coverage, Manning fit the ball in perfectly to Thomas who didn’t have to break stride to make the over-the-shoulder diving catch near the back right pylon of the end zone.

The touchdown is Thomas’ ninth of the season, and it gave Denver an early 7-0 lead.

3 for 57

Representing the team at midfield for the coin toss were the captains: quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, cornerback Champ Bailey, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and the game captain, running back Knowshon Moreno.

Cleveland won the toss and deferred its choice to the second half, so the Broncos started the game on offense.

Browns kicker Phil Dawson put the opening kickoff through the end zone for a touchback and Denver started the first possession of the game from the 20-yard line.

On the offensive line, the Broncos came out with Dan Koppen at center, Manny Ramirez and Zane Beadles as the guards and Orlando Franklin and Ryan Clady as the tackles.

Wide receiver Brandon Stokley was in the slot and tight end Joel Dreessen was on the line of scrimmage. Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas were out wide.

Manning was in shotgun with Moreno next to him at running back.

Following the touchdown, the Broncos came out on defense with four down lineman – defensive end Derek Wolfe, tackles Kevin Vickerson and Justin Bannan and Dumervil at the other end.

The starting linebackers were Von Miller, Keith Brooking and Woodyard.

In the secondary, Rahim Moore and Mike Adams were the safeties with Bailey and Chris Harris at the corners.

The inactives for Sunday’s contest against the Browns have been announced. The following players will not suit up:

BRONCOS:
G Chris Kuper
WR Andre Caldwell
FB Chris Gronkowski
TE Julius Thomas
QB Caleb Hanie
CB Tony Carter
DT Sealver Siliga

BROWNS:
TE Jordan Cameron
WR Mohamed Massaquoi
DB Tashaun Gipson
RB Brandon Jackson
LB Adrian Moten
DL Ishmaa’ily Kitchen
OL Jarrod Shaw