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From SB Nation’s Mile High Report, Broncos fans were in good spirits last night:
Just how good was the defense tonight? Brandon Jacobs ran for 27 yards on 11 carries. Eli Manning was 24/40 for 230 yards – much of that in garbage time – while getting sacked 3 times. Manning threw a pick and also lost a fumble. The Giants has just 24 minutes of possession, and were 3-12 on 3rd down. Most impressive was the way the defense played in the Red Zone. They never had to. After allowing 17 Red Zone trips the past 4 games, the Giants never got inside the Broncos 20 until the final moments of the game. It was all Broncos, all the time.
What about the offense? The only thing that consistently stopped the Broncos was, well, themselves. Red Zone problems struck again early on when the Broncos had to settle for 2 field goals. One the Broncos’ second trip, 3 procedure penalties killed the Broncos chances. That led to the now-famous F-Bomb by Josh McDaniels that NFLN played on it’s broadcast. The Broncos listened, converting their next two chances. Overall, the team ended 2-5 inside the 20.
Kyle Orton was spectacular, save for one pass, in moving the team up and down the field. Orton ended 18/28 for 245 yards with a TD and a Pick. Most impressive to me was Orton’s ability to sense pressure and slide around the pocket – something that many thought was a weakness in his game. As Orton has become more comfortable in the offense – behind a much better O-Line than he had in Chicago – many of you are seeing what I saw when Orton was at Purdue – a very, very good passing quarterback.
On the other side, the reaction was in stark contrast to this "Oh my gosh! EVERYONE looked good for us!"-attitude. In New York, it's becoming painfully obvious that this Giants team is missing something. Or everything. Or most things. Whatever you want to say, they probably won't make the playoffs, and right now they just look awful. From SB Nation's Big Blue View, two sentences recap last night's performance:
Let's just say that if you are a Giants fan who doesn't have NFL Network and you were unable to see Thursday night's New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos game, you were lucky.
This was a pitiful, disheartening performance. Mathematically, the 6-5 Giants may still be in the playoff race. For me, though, it is painfully obvious that this year they just aren't good enough.
Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Kyle Orton threw for 245 yards and a touchdown on a bad ankle and the Broncos defense held the Giants in check, forcing three turnovers as Denver dominated New York in a 26-6 victory to snap a four-game slide.
Knowshon Moreno rushed for 88 yards and a score on 19 carries while Brandon Marshall made a couple nice grabs and ended with six receptions for 86 yards.
Brandon Stokley's lone catch went for a 17-yard touchdown for Denver (7-4), which started the season 6-0 but had since been in a swoon that saw the Broncos relinquish first place in the AFC West to San Diego.
"Today really had nothing to do with the streak for us. We were pleased with the way that we came out and prepared this week. Our team had a great attitude. It always feels better to win," said Broncos coach Josh McDaniels.
Eli Manning was 24-of-40 for 230 yards and an interception and Steve Smith caught seven passes for 71 yards. The Giants offense produced only 181 yards of offense before an 86-yard drive inside the final two minutes.
Danny Ware, filling in for an injured Ahmad Bradshaw, and Brandon Jacobs led the ground game with 27 yards each for New York (6-5), which has lost five of its last six games since beginning the season 5-0.
"We played poorly tonight. There is no excuse for it. There's no (excuse with the) short week, none of that stuff," remarked a frustrated Giants coach Tom Coughlin. "We knew what was all at stake. It's very disappointing to me to stand here in front of you to talk about this game because I really felt that we didn't play well."
The Broncos rumbled out to a 16-0 lead at halftime as the Giants failed to even cross into opposing territory through the opening 30 minutes.
Denver marched 76 yards in 13 plays on its second drive of the game and Matt Prater kicked a 26-yard field goal after a 1st-and-goal from the New York seven-yard line netted a loss of one yard.
The hosts began their next scoring foray late in the first and Prater connected from 32 yards out a little more than four minutes into the second to cap another lengthy 12-play drive.
A short field provided Denver with its first touchdown following Ware's lost fumble on New York's next series. The Broncos recovered at the Giants' 38 and needed four plays to find the end zone on Moreno's one-yard score. A deep ball up the left sideline for Marshall gained 28 yards on first down as the combative wideout made a one-handed leaping grab in front of Giants cornerback Corey Webster.
A Giants three-and-out sent the Broncos back on the attack and Prater booted a 47-yarder 3 1/2 minutes before the break for a 16-0 margin.
"We executed pretty well all night and played with a lot of energy on offense, which was great. The defense got us some turnovers (and) got us some great field position, and we took advantage of it," Orton said.
On Denver's opening drive of the second half Marshall made another nice grab, tipping the ball with one hand to himself up the left sideline for a 33-yard gain to reach the New York 36.
Orton, though, threw a lousy pass on 3rd-and-3 that was picked off by Terrell Thomas along the left sideline and a 24-yard return gave the Giants life at their own 40.
On second down Manning completed a 13-yard pass to Mario Manningham to reach the Broncos side of the field for the first time. But New York's drive bogged down at the Denver 21 and Lawrence Tynes kicked a 39-yard field goal to put the visitors on the board.
Denver punted back to the Giants, who seemed to be getting the offense on track. Ware rushed for 14 yards on 3rd-and-1 and Manning's 30-yard pass to a wide open Smith placed New York at the Broncos' 33. Jacobs then ripped off a 13-yard run through the left side but a pair of costly penalties set the drive back to the 34-yard line and Tynes connected on a 52-yard field goal with 31 seconds to go in the third for a 16-6 game.
Nearly five minutes into the fourth, Orton hit Stokley cutting across the middle for a 17-yard touchdown to finish off a nine-play, 64-yard trek and Denver's defense held the lead until the clock read zeros.
Three plays into New York's ensuing drive, Manning was sacked by Elvis Dumervil, who dislodged the ball and recovered at the Giants' 36 to set up a 24-yard Prater boot for a 26-6 difference with five minutes remaining.
Andre Goodman's interception of Manning on a 3rd-and-4 play from midfield all but wrapped things up with 2:43 to play. Denver did punt back to the Giants for one last possession, which proved to be aberration for New York's offense with the Broncos protecting a 20-point cushion.
Hakeem Nicks caught four passes for 66 yards and set a Giants rookie record with a reception in six straight games...Manningham ended with five grabs for 48 yards...Correll Buckhalter helped shoulder the load for Denver's running games, carrying the ball 20 times for 51 yards...The Broncos outgained the Giants 373-267...New York was just 3-of-12 on third-down conversions...Orton completed 18-of-28 passes.
VIDEO: Highlights From Broncos-Giants
Nov 27 10:38a by Andrew Sharp - 0 comments