Broncos Outlast Bengals in Week 2 Victory

The Broncos got their first win of the 2011 season with a win over the Bengals at home 24-22. The win evens the Broncos record at 1-1, and they head to Tennessee to take on the 1-1 Titans on Sunday. This was a weird game, and a game that someone had to win. The Broncos are banged up and depleted severely with injuries, but they were able to find a way to win a game that they controlled for the most part. The fact that this game was even decided on the Bengals last possession was almost criminal, but in the end the Broncos were able to win a game they had to win. Give the Bengals credit for coming back and mounting a comeback, but Denver's injuries and lack of depth really might have been the real factor in spurring the comeback. The Broncos get the victory, but with injuries mounting and issues still coming up on both sides of the ball, this Bronco team could be in trouble going forward. Here are my quick thoughts and observations on the game....

1) Beautiful first drive by the Broncos to start the game. Nice mix of pass and run that was capped off by Willis McGahee's one yard touchdown run. Remember when the Broncos always used to get off to a fast start at home under Mike Shanahan? Well, that was what Denver did on Sunday and jumped out to the early 7-0 lead.

2) Denver's defense did a nice job of forcing punts after two series in which they faced third and one situations. Their defense played well early on in the game.

3) Kyle Orton played well through the first three quarters. His 25 yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker was a beautiful paly, and gave the Broncos a big 17-3 lead early in the third quarter.

4) Up 17-6 midway through the third quarter, the Broncos offense seemed to fall asleep. Instead of keeping the foot on the gas, they took it off the gas a little and it gave the Bengals a chance to get back into the game. The Broncos and Kyle Orton need to get more aggressive there and finish off these type of games.

5) After an Andy Dalton touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-12, Denver starts to lose control of the game. Orton gets sacked and fumbles, he always seems to have a critical fumble, and now the Bengals have completely turned this game around. The Broncos were able to hold the Bengals to a field goal and keep the lead, but this game completely turned on Denver and gave the Bengals hope.

6) Ryan Clady's holding call really backed up the Broncos prior to Orton's fumble. Is anyone else worried about Clady? Does he get called for a big holding penalty everygame dating back to last season? Keep an eye on Clady, and I hope he snaps out of it.

7) Give Orton credit because he made a great throw to Eric Decker for a 52 yard touchdown and give Denver a 24-15 lead. Great throw, great adjustment by Decker, and that play was huge in getting the Broncos back to a nine point lead.

8) I'm not going to kill the defense in this game because they are without three of the best players on their unit, but you can't give up an 84 yard pass by Andy Dalton two plays later. Dalton then hooked up with A.J. Green for a five yard pass and cut the Bronco lead to 24-22. At this point, you had the feeling that the Broncos were somehow going to blow this game.

9) The Broncos going three and out, and you can't have that in that situation. Two runs by McGahee and an incomplete pass by Orton gives the Bengals a chance to take the lead. You have to get a few first downs there. You can't go three and out.

10) The Broncos get the ball back after forcing the Bengals to punt. With 3:04 left, Clady gets called for holding on first down which was a killer penalty. The Broncos run three times with McGahee, who for some reason gets tackled out of bounds, and they have to punt the ball back to Dalton and Bengals.

11) Give the Broncos credit, their defense made a stop when they had to in order to win the game. The big play was the sack by Wilhite on 2nd and 10 at the Broncos 48. Two incomplete passes later, and the Broncos had their first win and the first win for John Fox as Broncos head coach.

12) As stated before, it was a gutty win because of all the injuries the Broncos have endured so far this season. Eddie Royal and Julius Thomas both suffered injuries on Sunday, and they are both expected to miss at least a few weeks.

13) Next week's game at Tennessee will be a real test, and it will be a challenge for the banged up Broncos to go on the road and take care of business against the underrated Titans.