Denver linebacker Wesley Woodyard plants Giants QB Eli Manning. Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels and QB Kyle Orton, below right, were on the same page with the offense in Thursday night's 26-6 victory over New York. WR Brandon Marshall, below left, also made some big pays including getting a personal call foul against the Giants' Corey Webster.
A lot of questions were answered in Thursday night's 26-6 Denver Broncos victory over the New York Giants.
Would that players-only meeting have any effect? Yep. By just playing, Brian Dawkins proved his point. Dawkins, who injured his neck in Sunday's 32-3 loss to the San Diego Chargers, made the first tackle. That hit on Hakeem Nicks after a 6-yard pass play set the tone. The rest of the Broncos took Dawkins' cue and ran with it.
Could the Broncos (7-4) stop Eli Manning and the Giants running game? After allowing 203 yards rushing to San Diego just four days ago, the Broncos held New York to just 57 rushing yards. Manning threw for 230 yards, 57 of them coming on a final, fruitless drive that ended at the Denver 16 as time ran out. How badly did the Broncos stymie the Giants? New York had just three first downs in the first 30 minutes. New York (6-5) was held scorelsss in a first half for the first time since a Jan. 8, 2006 playoff game against Carolina. The Giants' longest play from scrimmage in the first half was a 10-yard Manning pass to Brandon Jacobs.
Could Denver ignite its running game and win the time of possession? The Broncos dominated on both ends of that candle. With Knowshon Moreno gaining 88 of Denver's 138 yards rushing, the Broncos dominated the possession battle, 35:30-24:30. Denver had a 19:47-10:13 advantage in the first half, with the Broncos holding a 16-0 lead.
How would Kyle Orton's injured left ankle hold up? Not a problem. Orton hardly looked like his leg was a bit sore. Orton completed 18 of 28 passes for 245 yards. He did throw an ill-advised toss that Terrell Thomas intercepted on Denver's opening drive of the second half. But again, the defense made the plays and held the Giants to a Lawrence Tynes field goal. Dawkins is happy to have Orton as a teammate. "I love having him," Dawkins said of his quarterback. "All the scrutiny he had at the beginning of the season. He went down and not many people wanted him to come back. He came back once again and it's a pleasure playing with him."
Could the Broncos limit their mistakes -- stupid penalties and turnovers that killed them especially in the loss to the Chargers? Orton's interception was the lone Denver turnover and the Broncos recovered a Danny Ware fumble and a Manning drop and Andre Goodman intercepted Manning after nearly grabbing picks twice earlier. Tight end Daniel Graham had a holding call that negated a 14-yard gain by Moreno. And the offensive line had three false starts -- two on the same down -- that led to a Josh McDaniels sideline tirade that was caught live by the NFL Network. "All we're trying to do is win a (MFing) game," McDaniels bellowed to his offensive line after their boo-boos killed a drive as Denver settled for a Matt Prater field goal.
Could the Broncos beat a supposed "smashmouth" team? After losses to hard-hitting teams Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Washington, the Broncos were humiliated at home by a Chargers team that ran roughshod over the Denver defense. San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers got to rest his right arm in the second half, throwing for just 145 yards because the Chargers ran for 203 yards on the Broncos. But against the Giants, Denver dominated both sides of the ball with the interior line on offense and the front seven on defense. NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci was impressed by the rout, saying: "That defense for the Broncos was tremendous. This looked like the 6-0 team that started the season. This Denver Broncos team shut down the New York Giants."
How would Coach Josh McDaniels handle adversity and a must-win situation? Sure, everyone will credit to Brian Dawkins and his leadership in calling for a players-only meeting Tuesday. While Dawkins deserves a lot of the credit, McDaniels has to get a pat on the back for letting the players take responsibility. There was a lot of unity on the Broncos sideline only four days after the much-publicized spat between Brandon Marshall and Moreno. "What we did, we were ourselves," Dawkins told the NFL Network. "We weren't trying to do anything outside what we were doing the first six weeks. What we did the last six weeks is gone. Guys understood what we wanted to do and what we came out to do as a team."
Could the Broncos play a complete game for a full 60 minutes? Done and done. Special teams played splendidly. Eddie Royal was injured and didn't make returns int he second half, but Mitch Berger had a near-perfect day. Two of his three punts were downed inside the 20 and he averaged 42 yards a kick. Matt Prater made all four of his field goals and two extra points. Denver outgained New York 367-263 in total yards with 57 of those Giants yard coming on the final futile drive. "I thought we played complimentary football," McDaniels said. ""We played pretty well in all three phases of the game."
Could the Broncos regain their mojo of the 6-0 start? There's no doubt this is one of the most emotional Broncos teams ever. The players mirror their coach. Did you see that fist-pumping after the Broncos victory over McDaniels' old team, the New England Patriots? And what about that f-bomb on the sideline Thursday night? McDaniels said he wants his team to keep its cool but doesn't want to lose that emotional side completely. "We talked about that last week," McDaniels said. "That's part of our makeup. We don't want them to be somebody that they're not. We don't want them to contain that. We want them to channel it in the right direction. I love to go to work with these guys and we have a lot of fun doing what we do."
And it's a heck of a lot more fun when you win a big game and end a four-game losing streak.
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