Broncos vs. Falcons: Denver's Poor Performance Not Indicative of Success to Come

The Denver Broncos laid a giant egg on Monday night losing 27-21 to the Atlanta Falcons, but there is no reason to jump off the orange and blue bandwagon yet. 

With the amount of offensive transition this team is undergoing, looking bad against a strong Falcons team wrapped in the comfy confines of the Georgia Dome is not the end of the world. 

This team was bound to have some early growing pains, and when Peyton Manning chucked three picks against the Falcons in the first quarter, those growing pains struck them right in the face. 

There are some concerns with Manning's early struggles: The reduced arm strength was in full view. His passes had a wobble and they were floating more than we're used to seeing.

Still, it's not like we're dealing with the weakest arm in the league or anything, and Manning will adapt.

Also, everything will improve when this offense settles in. The reads by Manning and the receivers will come quicker; Peyton will have more confidence when he delivers the ball, and as we saw in the fourth quarter of this game, when the offense gets rolling it is hard to stop. 

Demaryius Thomas is looking like a legitimate No. 1 receiver, and he finished this game with eight catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Unlike Week 1, these yards didn't all come on a screen pass either. Thomas was making plays all over the field.

He had a nice leaping grab on the sideline and quickly turned up field, displaying the physical talent that it takes to be elite. And his toe-tapping touchdown grab was a phenomenal display of concentration and body control. 

What is going to make Thomas and this offense so dangerous is that teams are not going to be able to spend a lot of time devoting extra attention to him.

This is not an offense where defenses will have the luxury of focusing on any one player.

Manning is spreading the ball. Nine different Broncos caught a pass in Monday's battle. Denver also continues to have a strong running game. They gained 118 yards and 4.4 yards per carry against Atlanta. 

Defensively, they performed excellent considering the early hole the offense kept putting them in. This is an excellent Falcons offense, and they held Matt Ryan to 219 yards passing, and they only allowed 2.4 yards per carry. 

Their biggest liability in this game was their passing game, and that is not going to be a problem for long.