Broncos vs. Browns: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

Peyton Manning can no longer carry a football team. His passes, long lacking zip, now lack accuracy. His quick-strike decisions in the pocket now lead to short gains rather than big plays. And, from a mathematical perspective, his passes are more likely to wind up in the opposing team's hands than in a touchdown. 

The Denver Broncos, though? They're doing just fine anyway.

Ronnie Hillman rushed for 111 yards, and Denver's defense thwarted the Browns offense in a 26-23 overtime victory in Cleveland on Sunday.

Brandon McManus hit a game-winning field goal from 34 yards out on Denver's second possession of overtime. It completed a 13-play, 72-yard drive that featured eight running plays. 

The Broncos are 6-0 for the second time since Manning joined the team in 2012. Manning-led teams have now won their first six games on six occasions. None, however, has taken a remotely similar path to the 2015 Broncos.

Draft analyst Mike Loyko noted the team's upcoming schedule:

Featuring a largely similar core to their 2014 iteration, the 2015 Broncos are almost completely lacking in offensive explosiveness. They've topped 30 points once through their first six games after doing so eight times last season.

On Sunday, Manning threw for 290 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions on 26-of-48 passing, his fifth game below the 300-yard mark. The soon-to-be all-time leading passer has failed to throw for 300 yards in 11 of his last 13 games, including the playoffs.

Manning said, per Allie Raymond of the team's official website:

"

We want to play better offensively, we want to do our job and somehow, someway, it's about helping the Denver Broncos get a win. But there's no question offensively, we certainly want to play better. We're going to stay committed to it, and everybody wants to try to do a better job, and that certainly starts with me. I want to do a better job and do a better job playing quarterback to help our team get into the end zone more.

"

Manning's lone big plays have tended to come in moments when the Broncos are in dire straits. His game-tying drive against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 remains his most vintage moment of the season, and Sunday he came through with a 75-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders to help put Denver back ahead 23-20 after the Browns had taken their first lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Of course, Manning needed to do that because he'd just thrown a pick-six to Karlos Dansby on the previous possession, but any big play is cause for optimism. 

Matt Moore of CBS Sports and Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders noted the dichotomy:

For most of the game, whatever offensive headway Denver made was thanks to Hillman, who seems to have taken over for C.J. Anderson as the primary running back. Hillman consistently churned out solid gains on his way to a season-high yardage total on 20 carries. Anderson, who had been the primary back for the first five weeks, carried the ball 11 times for 41 yards and caught four passes for 25 yards. 

Mile High Report said what was on the mind of every Broncos fan:

Meanwhile, the Browns' effort was filled with inconsistencies of its own. Josh McCown threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns but was also picked off twice and completed only 20 of his 39 passes. McCown's second pick came on a potential game-winning drive that started in Denver territory, and it helped send the game to overtime.

It was one of three Cleveland turnovers in a game the Browns probably should have won. Cleveland started its first overtime possession on the Broncos' 39-yard line after Manning's third interception of the day, but a running play lost three yards, and McCown was sacked twice, which pushed the Browns out of field-goal range. 

On the positive side, Cleveland wide receiver Travis Benjamin continued his ascent with nine receptions for 117 yards. Benjamin has at least 79 yards in five of six games this season. He's one of two unheralded players who have become integral to the Browns' offensive success. The other, tight end Gary Barnidge, accounted for McCown's two touchdowns.

"I don't know if I can say that we expected him to have the production that he's had, but Gary's a good football player, and we've known that for a long time," Browns coach Mike Pettine said, per Matthew Florjancic of WKYC. "When teams want to concentrate their efforts defensively other places and they want to open up the middle of the field, Gary Barnidge is a master at doing his job."

The NFL's fantasy Twitter feed dropped a nickname for the 30-year-old late bloomer:

Sanders and Demaryius Thomas also satisfied their fantasy owners, both posting 100-plus-yard days. Most of Sanders' 109 yards came on his biggest play of the season, as he had only three other receptions. Thomas hit the 10-catch mark for the first time in 2015 on his way to 111 yards, but he still has just one play longer than 30 yards this season.

All told, it's a credit to Denver's defense that the Broncos remain among the undefeated. But the odds of this run continuing hinge on Manning becoming a dependable starting quarterback again. After what we saw Sunday, things don't look too promising.

Postgame Reaction

Manning noted his and the Broncos' propensity for coming through in the clutch, per the Associated Press (via the Boston Herald): "We're not playing as well as we would like but we're playing well enough to win. We're doing some things right at critical times whether it's the last drive of the game or in overtime."

He also commented on his third interception: "Obviously that's not a good situation to put the defense in, but they got a couple of sacks and gave us a chance. I'm not having a ton of breaks. I won't be going to Vegas for my bye week. I'm not feeling really lucky."

McCown also bemoaned his own turnover problems: "It was obviously just not good. You have to get something going there. That hurt us because the defense played lights-out today. We didn't hold up our end. It is a shame."

Browns coach Mike Pettine was frustrated after the game, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group: "We said all week that playing a team like that, they minimize your margin for error, and we just made too many mistakes to come away with a win...We got ourselves behind the sticks and allowed them to tee off, and we saw the result. It's frustrating to be at home and be that close, and come up short."

Pettine wasn't entirely pleased with McCown's play: "Along with the other guys offensively, inconsistent. You can't make mistakes against that D. They're too good. There are some plays he obviously wants back. You can't turn the ball over and put Peyton Manning back on the field."

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.