5 Biggest Takeaways from Denver Broncos Week 6 Game vs. Cleveland Browns

The Denver Broncos still have not been defeated in the 2015 season. It took them going to overtime, but the Broncos were able to beat the Cleveland Browns 26-23 on Sunday. Things didn’t go smoothly for the Broncos offense, but their defense was able to once again shine with several big plays to put the contest in Denver’s favor.

There’s a lot to be proud of with this team, but there are several issues that need to be corrected. Head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game that he is not frustrated by these problems.

“I’m not frustrated; I’m challenged. I've been doing this for a long time, and I think we've been a different football team than what we are right now. There’s a big adjustment going on. There’s some things going on right now that we all have to adjust to, but we’re going to do that.”

Kubiak reiterated, “I am not frustrated. I am very challenged, and this is what I do for a living, so I’ll meet the challenge.”

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Broncos’ Week 6 win against the Browns.

Ronnie Hillman Making a Case to Start

David Richard/Associated Press

The Broncos have had limited success on the ground this year, but going up against the 31st-ranked Browns rushing defense, their offense was set up for a good day on the ground.

Ronnie Hillman was able to rush for over 100 yards for the second time this year. He wasn’t the starter, but he ended up as the hot hand on Sunday. Hillman toted the rock 20 times for a career-high 111 yards.

Hillman praised the guys up front after the game.

“The offensive line did their job today. They made it easy for me and C.J. (Anderson) to run the ball. They really stepped up in a crucial time when we needed to run the ball.”

The veteran running back explained why the rushing attack is so important to helping out the defense.

“We had to help the defense, we can’t keep them on the field too long. They are really good but we need to keep them off the field as much as possible. I think us running the ball and being successful with it helped manage the game a little better.”

The Broncos have designs on playing for home-field advantage through the playoffs, but in order to make the most of what they’ve built, the team needs to have a consistent rushing attack. Perhaps using Hillman more—or even starting the diminutive runner—is their best bet.

Peyton Manning Throws More Picks

David Richard/Associated Press

Peyton Manning does not look like the quarterback he once was. It’s not just the lack of arm strength, Manning has always floated passes—including accurate ones that have scored a lot of touchdowns. It’s not just the lack of mobility, either. Manning has never been mistaken for a scrambler.

What's making Manning look bad this year are all the interceptions he’s thrown in such a short amount of time. Plus, the pick-sixes have been devastating to a Broncos team that hasn't been blowing opponents out of the water.

Manning only has seven passing touchdowns this year, but he’s thrown 10 interceptions—with three of them being returned for touchdowns. Against the Browns on Sunday, Manning threw one pick-six and two other interceptions for a total of three on the day.

Kubiak had a lot to say about Manning’s poor performance after the game.

“I think he made the plays that got us in position to win the game, and obviously, he has plays that he wants back. That’s a continuing process of me working with him and getting him as comfortable as I possibly can. I know he’s very capable of getting rid of those mistakes and hanging onto the great plays that he’s made until it’s over.

“He’s our leader, and he’ll keep battling. We’re very humble in our situation right now and I know we have to improve a great deal. I think it’s a lot to do with me getting comfortable with putting him in the things that he’s real comfortable with and what he’s doing. That’s what I’m looking at.

“I talked to him coming off of the field. He’s disappointed. That’s what I saw. It’s part of football and you just have to hang in there and battle together. When we eliminate some mistakes, it’ll be nice to see what we can be. That’s what we’ll work on doing.”

Manning does not look comfortable doing the things he’s being asked to do in Kubiak's offense. This is a square-peg-in-a-round-hole situation, and there needs to be a happy medium. Until that happens, we may continue to see Manning struggle like never before.

Emmanuel Sanders Sparks the Passing Game

Aaron Josefczyk/Associated Press

Through most of the game, the Broncos passing game couldn’t get on track. Going into the half, Manning had only thrown for 70 yards on the day. The passing attack didn’t look good until Emmanuel Sanders sparked the offense in the fourth quarter.

With the team trailing 20-16, Manning hit Sanders on a go-route down the right sideline that went 75 yards for a touchdown. It was just what this team needed to get things jump-started, and Sanders easily distanced himself from the coverage on the longest play of his pro career.

Manning talked about Sanders' big play after the game:

“We’re doing some things right at critical times, whether it’s the last drive of the game or in overtime. We have to continue to work and try to improve in the red zone on third down. We had a big play to Emmanuel (Sanders), which came at a critical time. We were down and we took the lead. Great play by him.”

Later in the fourth quarter, the Broncos tried to hit Sanders on a go-route again (this time on the left side), but officials ruled that Sanders did not catch the ball. When that play didn’t hit, it sealed the Broncos trip to overtime. Sanders hurt his shoulder after that play, and his status for the future is unclear at this time.

The Broncos have a bye in Week 7, so we won’t hear much about Sanders until the team starts to prepare for the Packers leading up to Week 8.

Shaquil Barrett Shines as a Starter

John Froschauer/Associated Press

A back injury from last week’s game against the Oakland Raiders prevented future Hall of Fame linebacker DeMarcus Ware from playing this week against the Browns. In his place, the Broncos started second-year linebacker Shaquil Barrett. After shining in a limited role earlier this year, Barrett really stood out with more playing time.

Barrett finished the game against the Browns with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, three tackles for a loss, one pass defended and two quarterback hits. He was everywhere on Sunday, and Barrett—renowned for forcing fumbles in college—was able to force yet another fumble this week. That makes three forced fumbles for Barrett in 2015.

Kubiak praised Barrett for his performance on Sunday:

“He’s been that way all year. I don’t care what his name is or where he’s from, but I know that when it’s down to a play, he makes plays. All I know is every time I looked up, he was making plays. What an opportunity he’s gotten and what a good job he’s done taking advantage of it.”

When Ware returns (likely in Week 8 against the Packers), then Barrett will go back to playing a part-time role for the defense. However, Barrett has proven that he can make plays no matter how many snaps he’s given on game day.

Aqib Talib Scores Again

David Richard/Associated Press

While the Broncos offense struggled to score points, cornerback Aqib Talib scored his second touchdown of the season against the Browns. He picked off Browns quarterback Josh McCown in the second quarter and ran untouched 63 yards into the end zone. 

Talib had a change of plans on the way to the end zone.

“I was looking at myself on the scoreboard. I planned on high-stepping with the ball out, but I saw that (Travis) Benjamin was coming, so I had to turn on the jets.”

The defensive pressure on McCown was fierce most all of the day. This caused the veteran quarterback to rush some throws as he was under duress early and often.

The veteran corner loves the defensive mindset.

“We were going to be aggressive. We were going to blitz, play man, make aggressive calls. We knew we couldn’t give up anything. That is one we are going to hang our hat on.”

The Broncos offense may be a serious work in progress, but the defense is the best in the league. So long as they keep playing at a high level, the Broncos are going to be a tough foe for any team they face in 2015.

All quotes and injury/practice observations were obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information was provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats were via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information was provided by Spotrac. Transaction history was provided by Pro Sports Transactions.