Denver Broncos Play Tough, Show Growth Against Hardest Schedule in NFL

The Denver Broncos, who are now tied at the bottom of the AFC’s worst West division, have shown growth so far in 2010.

I know you’re thinking, “How can a team that’s 2-4 shown growth?”

Here’s how.

The Broncos may be only 2-4, but after looking through the six teams they’ve played, Denver’s record could be 0-6.

Jacksonville (3-3), Seattle (3-2), Indianapolis (4-2), Tennessee (4-2), Baltimore (4-2) and New York (5-1) are all good teams, and the last four the Broncos faced are current contenders for a Super Bowl.

Simply put, Denver has faced the toughest schedule in the NFL with its opponents going 23-12 (.657 percent), and they’ve had chances to win in nearly every game they’ve played.

In Week One against the Jaguars, Brandon Lloyd could have tied the game late if he would have gotten both feet in the end zone. Against the Colts, head coach Josh McDaniels mistakenly went for three fourth downs, and while the Broncos hung in until late, they couldn’t tie up or overtake Peyton’s guys from Indy.

The next week in Tennessee versus the Titans, Denver’s defense came alive and stopped the NFL’s best runner in Chris Johnson, while Orton continued to show how confident and comfortable he’s become in the Broncos offense.

Against the Ravens, the Broncos got down 17-0 and could never come back while committing 10 penalties for 90 yards on the day.

And finally this week, while Denver lost by four points to the Jets at home, there are many positives to point to.

The Broncos, ranked 32nd in the NFL at 67.3 yards per game on the ground, were finally able to run the ball somewhat effectively on Sunday. Led by original starting running back Knowshon Moreno (48 yards), who injured both hamstrings in training camp, Denver ran for a far-and-away season-high 145 yards. And that was against a top NFL defense in the Jets, who only allow a fourth-best 90 yards per game.

For Moreno, the four yards-per-carry are encouraging. What’s not is the fumble when the Broncos were nearing the Jets end zone in the first quarter that left him standing on the sideline until late in the second period.

Included in those rushing yards are 23 from rookie quarterback Tim Tebow, who ran in his first-ever NFL touchdown, helped the 27th-ranked Broncos increase their red zone scoring percentage (67.5) and leaving fans wanting more.

Encouraging from the passing stand point was the continued spreading of the football by Orton, as Jabar Gaffney actually led in receptions and yards (6-for-81 yards) and rookie Demaryius Thomas caught his second touchdown of the year.

From a defensive standpoint, the Broncos played through a list of injuries that included five starters, and they played well. The two interceptions and one forced fumble were outstanding for a defense composed of almost as many backups as starters, as Perrish Cox, Nate Jones and Mario Haggan were second and fourth respectively in tackles for Denver.

Another positive was Eddie Royal’s 32-yard punt return that set up the Broncos with great field position.

And while there are a multitude of positives that can give Broncos fans hope for the future, there are also some points that Denver and McDaniels can focus improving on.

Orton’s passing percentage (14/34 .418 percent) definitely left something to be desired.

Long snapper Lonnie Paxton’s bad snap on a field goal left a possible three points on the board, while kicker Matt Prater missed another one that could have given Denver enough points to win.

Terrible was the special teams only putting nine players on the field against a Jets field-goal attempt.

Of course, Renaldo Hill’s interference call basically cemented the victory for the Jets, although it was incidental contact and both players fought with each other for position on the floating Mark Sanchez pass.

But, possibly the thing that Broncos can be most hopeful about is that the AFC West is basically still wide open and Denver has all six divisional games remaining on their schedule.

The Chiefs have lost two in a row and are now 3-2, with the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos tied for last at 2-4.

McDaniels commented on the possibility of the Broncos still winning the AFC West saying, “We obviously have six division games left, which is an opportunity for us in the last 10 games of the season to try to control what we do and win our division. I think it still comes down to what we're going to do now through the end of the year."

In the next two weeks, Denver plays arguably the two worst teams in the league in the hated Oakland Raiders at home and the San Francisco 49ers (1-5) in London, England, two games that are almost must-wins going into the bye Week Nine.

If the Broncos can get both wins they would be back up to .500 at 4-4 and would be in the thick of the division battle to be sure.

For fans wanting the Broncos in the playoffs for the first time in six years, at least there’s a lot to be optimistic about and hopeful for.

Other News

Eddie Royal suffered a hamstring injury, and there's no word on whether or not he'll be ready to go this week.

LB Diyral Briggs was promoted from the practice squad to the 45-man roster after WR Matt Willis was placed on IR with a broken foot.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner, Kurtzman is a Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.

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