1) Kudos to Peyton Manning for throwing 4 touchdowns and setting the record for TD passes in a season with 51. It was very cool to see Manning go all out to get the record with the Broncos up 30-13 late in the game. Manning was pretty much on fire the whole game with the exception of the third quarter. He finished 32-51 for 400 yards with 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also exceeded 5,000 yards for the season. Manning was spreading the ball around all day long. To watch Manning every week is just a pleasure every week. I know I say it a lot, but it is simply amazing to watch him run this offense every game.
2) Knowshon Moreno had another solid game and he finished 11 carries for 76 yards. He has eclipsed over 1,000 yards for the season, and he has been one of the most valuable players on this offense besides Manning. Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas once again picked up the slack with Wes Welker out again. Decker finished with 10 catches for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns and Thomas added 8 receptions for 123 yards and 1 touchdown.
3) The Broncos completely dominated the first half, but they kept settling for field goals. It was key that they got a field goal near the end of the half to make it 16-6 instead of 13-6 at halftime.
4) The real bummer of this game was the fact that Denver lost Von Miller for the year with an ACL injury. He was hurt early in the first quarter, and you could tell it was bad when he crumpled to the field holding his knee like he just got shot. On Monday it was confirmed that he tore his ACL and will be out for the season. I'll talk more about his impact when I preview the Broncos playoff run, and the ramifications going forward in the playoffs.
5) The Broncos defense was able to hold up well and they played really well in the second half. I know it was against Matt Schaub, who was awful by the way, but the defense really rallied together in the second half. The key sequences were the following: With Denver up 16-13, the Texans were driving in Denver territory, but the Broncos got back-to-back sacks on Schaub to stifle the drive. Danny Trevathan got the first one, and Robert Ayers got the second one to end that drive. Then, on the next drive and on the second play of the 4th quarter, Mike Adams picked off Schaub to give the Broncos the ball deep in Houston territory. It was one of the biggest plays the Broncos defense has made in weeks. It set up a Manning to Eric Decker 10 yard touchdown pass to give the Broncos a 23-13 lead and put the Texans away.
6) Manning's third touchdown pass of the game and his 50th of the season was a floater to Decker in the corner of the end zone. It was a great play, and it almost seemed like Manning just floated it up there and was the only one who knew where it was going to land. I guess when you are that good, then passes like that go your way. His 51st TD pass and final of the game to Julius Thomas was a great throw on a go route in which Thomas was matched up on a linebacker and as we have seen all year those matchups just don't work well for the defense.
7) The Broncos clinched the AFC West for the third straight season. After making the playoffs from 2003-2005, the Broncos missed the playoffs for five straight years from 2006-2010. Now, they are in the playoffs for the third year in a row. Also, this was the first time Denver won the AFC West title three years in a row. At 12-3, the Broncos need to beat Oakland in Week 17 to clinch homefield advantage for the playoffs. They need to play all their starters because the Pats are playing the Bills at the same time, and if the Pats win and Denver loses, then the Broncos would be the #2 seed and New England would get the #1 seed. In any event, the Broncos will have at least a bye and will host a playoff game on Divisional weekend. If the NFL playoff scheduling format remains the same, then look for Denver to host a playoff game on Saturday night January 11th at 8:00pm EST.
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