Denver Broncos: 7 Biggest Winners and Losers in Victory over Buffalo

A lot can change from one week to the next. Fans seem to be mostly interested in the battle for second string quarterback, and a lot have already made up their mind.

However, much like John Fox has said, there are still two more game to make the decision on the quarterback rotation. Furthermore, the rotation becomes almost irrelevant on September 12, when it is assumed that Kyle Orton is going to take every snap anyway.

Luckily for the Broncos, it was a little harder to populate the list of "losers" this week. That is not to say that there isn't a lot to work on, but at the risk of nit-picking, it seemed more productive to focus on these seven players and situations.

Winners: Broncos Running Backs

Specifically, this is for Willis McGahee, and to a lesser extent, Knowshon Moreno.

McGahee had quite an introduction to the home crowd of Sports Authority Field at Mile High. McGahee showed great instincts, especially near the goal line.

His two touchdown performance is a great sign for the offense and the productivity that McGahee can bring.

Moreno showed a powerful side to his running when encountering would be tacklers. The only worry for Moreno should be whether this renewed love of contact will cause more injury.

Losers: Broncos Running Game

It’s an odd mixture when the running backs can be praised for a good game, but the running game in general was still lacking.

It could be the offensive line or the lead blocking of Spencer Larsen, but the Broncos have yet to break off a run over 13 yards.

The opposition is still respecting the fact that John Fox will not abandon the run. However, that respect from opposing defenses won’t last long without some threat of a big play to back it up.

Winner: Defensive Team Speed

Dennis Allen promised a more attacking defense, and he has delivered so far. Still, the most impressive part of the Broncos defense to date is the speed at which it operates.

Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil are as fast a pass rushing tandem as there is in the league right now, according to Saturday’s performance. Couple that with Rahim Moore flying around the field from the safety position, and this defense is looking less and less likely to get burned regularly.

Loser: Robert Ayers

It is never good for a first round draft pick to be completely missing from the box score the day after the game. That is exactly what Robert Ayers did, and his lack of production is becoming disheartening.

Watch the game again and see him being manhandled by the Buffalo offensive line. The job is there for the taking, but Derrick Harvey or Jason Hunter need to keep pressing in order to take it.

Winner: Manny Ramirez

This is not a typo, and no, the former MLB slugger has not shot up enough steroids to join the Broncos offensive line. Manny is a product of Texas Tech and is showing the kind of versatility needed to play any position on the offensive line.

Ramirez and his versatility can allow the Broncos to keep less offensive linemen on the roster and potentially more play makers at other positions. Not only is he versatile, but he proved to be effective in both run and pass blocking scenarios as well.

(Apologies for the picture quality, but Manny has not caught the fancy of the cameras yet in Denver!)

Winner: Rahim Moore

It remains to be seen exactly how vicious and illegal a hit that Moore laid down on Donald Jones. That will be decided monetarily by the NFL.

Even though the hit was penalized and seemed unnecessary, the whole thing happened so fast it was almost impossible for Moore to know if Jones had caught the ball or not.

Suffice it to say that if Jones had caught the ball, he wouldn't have held onto it for very long. Not to mention the legality of the hit swings a lot more into Rahim’s favor at that point.  

Whatever shakes down, legal or illegal, the Broncos have proof that their safety can go anywhere and hit anything.

Loser: Kyle Orton

Why Kyle Orton? The quarterback had a good outing against Buffalo and did nothing to question his starting position. The problem is that now he has TWO guys behind him that the fans like.

Brady Quinn is shaping up to be a good story in the NFL, and it’s because he is playing well. Being likable was never a problem for Brady; finding a place to play has been.

As if things weren’t going to be bad enough for Kyle Orton if things started to go poorly, now he has two of the most likable college quarterbacks ever sitting behind him…and one of them might actually be ready to play.

Quinn has made a quantum leap from last year to this year and is showing no sign of slowing. The difference between experience for Quinn and Orton is only two years, but the book seems to have been written on Orton, whereas Quinn’s still has a lot to be filled in.

Essentially, Quinn and Tebow are both tempting options for a promising future in Denver. Every good play by either of them makes it more and more certain that Kyle Orton is playing his last year in Denver.