Miracle Tip Gives Denver Week 1 Stunner!

When the NFL Network does a show called "Top Ten Finishes," the 2009 season opener, Broncos/Bengals, will be in that group. Call it whatever you want, "The Immaculate Deflection" sounds pretty good to me, but Brandon Stokley's 87 yard catch off of a deflection with 11 seconds left was one of the great moments in Denver history. After all the bad things that happened to this franchise the since January, it was about time that Josh McDaniels and the Bronco fans had a break go their way. Denver's 12-7 win over Cincy on Sunday might have been one of the most important Week 1 wins in franchise history. I'm not saying that the Broncos are now going 12-4 and winning the AFC West, but sometimes you need a break and the ball has to bounce your way once a while and the Broncos got that break yesterday. I'm happy for McDaniels and the rest of the Bronco fans because this team needed a positive jolt and this ending- no matter how lucky it was- is something to cherish and enjoy for this week. Some observations from Denver's victory over Cincy: 1) Kyle Orton and the offense look out of sync and very conservative. It is obvious it is going to take a while for Orton and the rest of the offensive skill players to adjust and get moving in this offense. 2) Denver's rushing attack couldn't get going either. Nothing really worked for Correl Buckhalter or Knowshon Moreno all day long. 3) Denver's defense played really well. To hold the Bengals to 7 points and have them shutout for 59 minutes was nice to see. The defense got 3 sacks, an interception, and bent but didn't break for basically the entire game. They are not the '85 Bears, but I was impressed by Mike Nolan's scheme and the play of the defense. 4) Matt Prater made some big kicks with a 48 and 50 yarder. Hopefully, last year's debacle is behind him. 5) Special teams coverage was solid, and the Broncos played the field position game for most of the afternoon. 6) Only Gus Johnson could have an ending to a game like this. Gus' call at the end was a classic 7) A win is a win, and I'll take it. Great day for Bronco fans.