Dolphins vs. Broncos: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season

The Miami Dolphins stated their case as a force to be reckoned with in the AFC playoff race, but the Denver Broncos still found a way to win, 39-36, in Sunday's Week 12 contest at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The Broncos' Twitter account posted the final score once the game finished:

A fascinating quarterback duel unfolded between the legendary Peyton Manning and Miami's Ryan Tannehill, who was surprisingly effective for most of the day with so much riding on the game.    

The difference wound up being Denver running back C.J. Anderson, as he racked up 167 yards on 27 carries, including a go-ahead 10-yard touchdown jaunt with 5:01 left in the fourth quarter.

Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports foresaw a big day for Anderson, whose running lanes were paved by an improved offensive line and Manning's brilliance through the air:

After Anderson's touchdown run to put Denver ahead 32-28, Broncos safety T.J. Ward was the beneficiary of a tipped Tannehill pass, as he made a game-changing interception to put the Broncos inside Miami's 10-yard line. That paved the way for an insurance score when Denver converted through Manning's fourth touchdown throw of the game, this time to Wes Welker.

ESPN Stats & Info referenced how tall the task would be to topple Manning, who improved to 6-0 at home this season after a shocking road loss in St. Louis last week:

Before the game, Manning emphasized how vital it was for his team to bounce back.

"Just your sense of urgency has to increase," said Manning, via ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold. "Realizing there aren't many games left and we better get on it, better get going. Need to play better, I need to play better… You can say all you want, you can talk about doing it, but you've got to go and do it.''

Tannehill is beginning to realize his potential in his third NFL season, and NFL Network's Jeff Darlington praised his leadership amid some early difficulties:

To start, Tannehill orchestrated a seven-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard touchdown rush by Daniel Thomas to put the Dolphins on the board first.

One area Tannehill bests Manning at is athleticism, which was on display when he got into the corner of the end zone on a one-yard TD run at 12:53 in the second quarter, stretching Miami's lead to 14-3.

That isn't to say the young signal-caller can't air it out with great proficiency. ESPN's Kevin Seifert alluded to how comfortable Tannehill can be in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's system when he gets on a roll:

The MMQB's Greg A. Bedard praised how the Dolphins' deep receiving corps helped Tannehill out:

As would be expected, though, Manning responded with his arm by exploiting the perpetual mismatches Demaryius Thomas creates.

Thomas hauled in three touchdowns from Manning on the day, with two of them coming in the second quarter.

The air had been taken out of Denver's home crowd when Tannehill hit Mike Wallace on a perfectly timed 10-yard TD just after the two-minute warning to put Miami up 21-10. The Broncos then faced a 3rd-and-20 before Manning quickly snapped the ball and hit Emmanuel Sanders for a clutch conversion. Grantland's Bill Barnwell reacted:

Matt Bowen of Bleacher Report broke down what happened when Manning marched down the field 80 yards in just 1:42 and Thomas finished the drive by hauling in a 14-yard touchdown grab to tighten the score at 21-17 in favor of Miami going into the half:

The hard, between-the-tackles running from the Broncos' bruising ball-carrier in Anderson drove Denver's success on the opening possession of the second half. It set up a manageable field-goal attempt.

Unfortunately, Brandon McManus clanged the 32-yard kick off the right upright, and although Miami was stopped on its subsequent drive, a muffed punt by Isaiah Burse gave the Dolphins the ball on the Denver 12.

Rookie second-round pick Jarvis Landry cashed in by snaring a five-yard bullet from Tannehill and diving across the goal line. But it was the Manning-to-Thomas connection that gashed Miami a third time in the scoring area, and a two-point conversion made it 28-25.

Mike Klis of The Denver Post praised the Broncos' bold tactics:

As poorly as this game concluded for the visitors—they yielded 22 fourth-quarter points—ESPN's Colin Cowherd brought up a relevant point with regard to the Dolphins' style of play:

But it will be critical for Miami to pick up the pieces from what is a difficult loss to absorb and gear up for a road trip in Week 13's Monday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets.

Rex Ryan's complex defense could give Tannehill trouble, as the Jets were able to befuddle Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger in their most recent win. Baltimore and New England loom as the next two games on the Dolphins' schedule, too, so they must take care of business against the inferior Jets.

With how well the Broncos were clicking to start the year, they needed some adversity to overcome in a hopeful return trip to the Super Bowl. They've found it over the past two games and were fortunate to raise their level of play to defeat a feisty Miami team.

Next up for Denver is a date with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. That game will loom large in the AFC West. The Broncos have the means to notch a tiebreaker win and start to pull away if the Chiefs can't recover to compete off a shocking loss to the then-winless Oakland Raiders.