Tuesday
NFL News, Top PostsBroncos take stranglehold of AFC West
Any questions regarding the Denver Broncos’ place among the NFL’s elite were put to rest Monday night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
On the strength of the spectacular special teams play from receiver Eddie Royal, combined with another stellar effort by the defense, Denver pulled away from the Chargers 34-23 to run its record to a pristine 6-0.
Denver joins Indianapolis, Minnesota and New Orleans as the only four teams to remain perfect on the season.
Of the NFL clubs left with unblemished marks, no one could’ve predicted the Broncos looking so good after six games.
After all, the team traded away star QB Jay Cutler, threatened sanctions against big-play receiver Brandon Marshall, and new head coach Josh McDaniels inherited a defense that was one of the worst in the NFL last season.
Yet here is Denver with a 3 ½ game lead on the Chargers (2-3), who have dominated the AFC West for the last three years.
Not anymore.
Cutler’s replacement, Kyle Orton, had another solid game, going 20-of-29 for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Broncos used two Royal touchdowns in the first half to keep themselves within striking distance of San Diego, trailing only 20-17 after 30 minutes.
Royal shocked the Chargers after taking a kickoff 93 yards for Denver’s first score. He then added a 71-yard punt return in the second quarter, becoming only the 11th player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for TDs in the same game.
“You’ve got to believe it can happen before you do it,” Royal told reporters following the win. “I’ve got a lot of faith in the guys in front of me, so I wasn’t surprised.
“You want to kind of give a boost to the team on special teams. We were able to do that today.”
Denver needed all of Royal’s points just to stay close as San Diego’s human dynamo, Darren Sproles, brought back a 77-yard punt return for a score to help keep the Chargers ahead at halftime.
Nate Kaeding booted the Chargers to a 23-17 advantage early in the third, but San Diego would not score again.
The Broncos replied with 17 unanswered points led by Orton’s two touchdown passes – one to tight end Tony Scheffler and other to receiver Brandon Stokley, to finish off San Diego.
Chargers QB Philip Rivers, who threw for 274 yards and one TD, was swarmed through most of the game. The Broncos sacked Rivers five times, including two by defensive stud Elvis Dumervil, the league-leader with 10.
Seeing Dumervil dominate each week makes you wonder how in the world he slid all the way down to the fourth-round in the 2006 draft.
This Denver defense, a laughing stock only one season ago, has yet to allow a single point in the fourth quarter of any game this year.
The Broncos can savor this victory a little longer with their bye week coming up.
However, Denver has a difficult stretch beginning with a visit to Baltimore before coming home for another Monday night affair with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
