Broncos Breeze to 6-0 with Win Over Jaguars

The Broncos entered Sunday's game against Jacksonville at home as the biggest favorite in the history of the NFL. Denver was favored by 28 points over the Jags. It seemed like a lot of points to give a team, but many people felt that Denver would cover the spread against the hapless 0-5 Jaguars. The Broncos were in a no win situation. If they blew out the Jags by more than 28, then everyone would say that they should do that considering this is a matchup of the best and worst teams in the NFL. If Denver struggled a bit and didn't cover the spread, then the Broncos would be criticized for failing to destroy the Jags. Either way, Denver couldn't win. The only thing they could do is actually win the game-which they did 35-19. It wasn't the greatest performance by the Broncos, but it certainly was enough to defeat Jacksonville by 16 points. Here are my quick thoughts and observations about the game...

1) Denver and the offense struggled at times in the game. Peyton Manning had two fumbled exchanges that resulted in turnovers and a pick-six. It wasn't the best performance by Manning or the offense, and they still put up 35 points and won going away.

2) Credit Jacksonville for hitting Manning early and often. This was the hardest he was hit all season long, and you could tell it took its' toll on Manning in the first half.

3) The Broncos defense played well against the run, and give credit to Shaun Phillips. He played great once again. He has been the Broncos best pass rusher since the beginning of the season. He forced a late Chad Henne interception that swung the momentum back into the Broncos favor.

4) The turning point for me was David Bruton's fake punt late in the 3rd quarter. It led to a Broncos touchdown and gave Denver some much needed momentum. Great call by the Broncos coaching staff on that play.

5) I never really felt nervous that Denver was going to lose this game. When it 14-12 at the half, I felt confident. After Knowshon Moreno scored to make it 21-12, I thought Denver was in good shape. After the Jags scored to make it 21-19, I was still very confident that Denver would pull away. Two more Moreno touchdown runs and the Broncos did indeed pull away in the 4th quarter. I never was too worried at any point that the Broncos were going to lose.

6) Champ Bailey came back and got burned repeatedly by Justin Blackmon to the tune of 190 yards. Hopefully, Bailey needed a week to knock the rust off before next week's game at Indy.

7) Speaking of Indy, how awesome was the promo for Peyton Manning's return to Indy on Sunday Night Football? Next week's game will be one of the games of the year, and I can't wait for this matchup. Also, next week features the return of Von Miller. The Broncos really need Miller back in the lineup and they need him to get their pass rush going once again.

8) Overall, this was a game that Denver had to take care of business in and they did. You can't get overhyped with emotion every single week in the NFL. There are going to be some weeks where you have a letdown. This seemed to be one of those weeks, but the Broncos were still able to win by 16. Next week it is onto Indy and a showdown with the 4-2 Colts.