Broncos Win At Arrowhead to get to 4-5

I have seen a lot of different things in my lifetime of watching and obsessing with the NFL, but Sunday's Denver win over Kansas City was something that I have never seen before. The Broncos defeated the Chiefs in Arrowhead 17-10, and the victory puts Denver at 4-5, and it is their first two game winning streak since December of 2009. The crazy thing about this game was that the Broncos attempted a total of 8 passes the entire game. They ran the ball 55 times in the game. Tim Tebow was 2-8 for 69 yards and one touchdown, including the game-clinching 56 yard game winning touchdown pass to Eric Decker to extend the Broncos lead to 17-7. After rushing the ball eight times on their opening drive, the Broncos punched the ball into the end zone on a Tebow seven yard run. The Broncos added a huge 38 yard field goal with 7:46 left in the second quarter to give the Broncos a 10-0. The Broncos defense held the Chiefs scoreless until Kansas City cut the lead to 10-7 after Matt Cassel hit Le'Ron McClain on a short touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the third quarter. The Broncos faced a huge 3rd and 10 at their own 44 yard line with just over six minutes left when Tebow hit a beautiful, perfectly thrown bomb to Decker to give the Broncos the clinching points. It was as bizarre a game that I have ever seen as a Broncos fan. The bottom line is a win is a win, and now the Broncos have won three out of four, and they are only one game behind the Raiders for first in the AFC West. Here are my thoughts on the game............

1) Give Tebow credit. It may not be pretty, but he makes at least one or two throws a game that are game-breakers. He is now 4-3 as a Broncos starter overall, and he is 3-1 this season. The long term situation with Tebow is up for debate, but right now you have to go with what he is doing. It is fun to watch every week, and let's just enjoy this ride right now.

2) The Broncos running game is pretty damn good. Willis McGahee had 17 yards on four carries, but he was injured in the first quarter. Knowshon Moreno, who was lost for the year with an ACL injury in the second quarter, had 4 carries for 52 yards. Next up was Lance Ball, who rushed for 96 yards on 30 carries. The Broncos totaled 244 yards rushing.

3) The Broncos defense is not great, but they play well against average QBs and average offensive teams. They simply swarmed Matt Cassel and limited him to only 93 yards passing. Von Miller added 1.5 sacks, and Broncos sacked Cassel four times, and hurried him countless other times. Their defense will get carved up by the Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Matt Staffords of the world, but they can play against average players.

4) Give credit to John Fox and the Broncos coaching staff. Yesterday, we saw dive option, spread option, zone read, jet sweeps to Eddie Royal, and even a semblance of a shovel pass. They are being creative with Tim Tebow, and that is the sign of good coaching. It kind of reminds me of what the Dolphins did with the Wildcat in 2008. I don't know how long it will last, but it is certainly bucking the trend in the NFL.

5) If Tim Tebow can get to about 20 passes a game, and if he can complete about 12-13 of those a game, then that is reasonable for his development the last seven games.

6) The Broncos lost Moreno for the year with an ACL, and McGahee is questionable for the Jet game on Thursday.

7) The Broncos host the Jets on NFL Network's Thursday Night Football, and it will be a very difficult game for the Broncos to win. I'll preview this game before Thursday Night, but with a win, Denver can get to .500 at 5-5.