The Broncos needed a big win on Sunday over the Saints in New Orleans to get to 7-3 headed into their bye week. They took a 10-0 lead early, lost the lead at 17-10, regained the lead at 20-17 and then watched as Drew Brees threw what looked like the a potentially game winning TD with under two minutes to go, and then in the most improbable ending Justin Simmons leaped over the line, blocked the PAT, and Will Parks picked it up and returned it all the way for the two-point play to give Denver the 25-23 victory in an absolute stunner. The Broncos got the win they needed and now they will head to the bye week with a chance to get healthy and give this team much needed rest heading into the final six weeks of the season. Here are my thoughts and observations on the wild game in the Bayou....
1) The game started exactly the way you need a game to start on the road. The Broncos forced a punt early, then they came down the field easily and Trevor Siemian hit Jordan Taylor on a really nice touchdown pass on a go route to give Denver a 7-0 lead. Then, they got a interception by Darian Stewart on Brees, and they were able to add to the lead with a Brandon McManus field goal to make it 10-0. Stewart also added another interception off of Brees on a great play by Bradley Roby to deflect it. That is about as good of a start that you can get on the road.
2) The turning point in the first half was when Siemian got picked off right before the half with the Broncos driving. It was a bad read by Siemian, and the Saints made them pay by getting a field goal to make it 10-3 right at the end of the half. That was a huge play at that point.
3) After the a Denver punt to start the second half, which featured the Broncos not able to gain a yard for a first down from midfield, the Saints easily marched 90 yards to get an easy TD from Brees to Willie Snead from three yards out to tie it at 10. After another bad interception by Siemian, the Saints came right down the field and Brees hit Snead again for another easy touchdown to make it 17-10. At that point, as a Broncos fan, you felt that this game was going to be over and the Broncos were going to blow this game after dominating most of the first half.
4) Everytime you think that Siemian has lost it or will possibly gets benched, he comes back and make plays that are really good. You just can't figure it out. On the next drive, he stands in and makes some big throws to drive the Broncos into field goal range, but Brandon McManus missed a 42 yarder early in the 4th quarter to keep the score at 17-10.
5) The next big turning point in the game happened when Roby punched the ball out of Michael Thomas' hands and Stewart caught the fumble in mid-air, and returned it to the New Orleans to the Saints 27. Seven plays later, Siemian hit Demaryius Thomas on a 2 yard TD pass on a fade to tie it up at 17. That was the first play that saved the Broncos on this day.
6) After the Broncos defense forced a three and out with the help of a third down sack by Shaq Barrett, the Broncos got the ball back at the 47 after a really good punt return by Jordan Norwood, and they benefitted from a 15 yard late hit by Kenny Vaccaro and the Broncos were moving once again. The Broncos had to settle for a 28 yard field goal to give them the 20-17 lead. The next series was critical as well because on 2nd down, Michael Thomas got crushed by Jared Crick and fumbled and it was recovered by T.J. Ward at the Saints 20. With a chance to put the game away for good, the Broncos couldn't do it. They ran the ball twice for little yardage, and the Saints used both their timeouts. The Broncos threw on 3rd down, which I didn't disagree with, but the play was a bad one, and Siemian air-mailed it over Emmanuel Sanders head and it was incomplete. The Broncos settled for a field goal and a 23-17 lead, but Brees was getting the ball back with 2:50 left and down six. You knew that Brees was going to be tough to stop on that last drive.
7) Brees made two great throws on that drive. The first one was a sweet pass down the sideline to Brandin Cooks for a gain of 29 to the Broncos 46. Brees then hit Cooks again on a beautiful 32 yard TD pass on a post route in between two Broncos defenders to tie the game at 23. It was a perfect pass against pretty good coverage. At that point, all the Saints needed was the extra point to take the 24-23 lead with only 1:22 to go in the game. I don't think that Siemian would have been able to bring the Broncos down the field for the game-winning score, and I was thinking about how brutal of a loss this was going to be heading into the bye week.
8) On the extra point, the Broncos special teams came up with one of the plays of the year. Justin Simmons jumped over the center, it was legal by the way, and blocked the kick, and Will Parks picked it up and raced the distance down the sideline for the two point score and a 25-23 lead. It was an amazing play by Simmons, and a great return by Parks, eventhough it looked like he might have stepped out of bounds. It was reviewed but the view was inconclusive and the score stood. It was the first time that kind of play decided the outcome of a NFL game, and it was one of the most exciting finishes I've seen as a Broncos fan. If Denver makes the playoffs, this is the play that will be talked about as the one that saved the season.
9) After recovering the onside kick, the Broncos knelt down and the game was over. Denver escaped with a 25-23 win and got to 7-3 when it looked like they were going to blow this game in brutal fashion. Now, they can get a much needed bye next week and can rest up and get guys like Aqib Talib and Derek Wolfe healthy for the stretch run.
10) If you are looking to give out game balls, then give them to Darian Stewart, the Broncos run defense, Demaryius Thomas, Will Parks, Justin Simmons, and Siemian. Thomas had his best game of the year, and made big catches all day. Siemian hung in there, took a pounding, got sacked six times, and still made some big throws to rally his team. That was a gutsy performance for him, and you have to give him credit for battling back after throwing those two killer interceptions. The Broncos really dominated most of the game, but the Saints and Brees kept hanging around, and it looked like the Broncos were going to lose this one in brutal fashion, but they found a way to pull it out thanks to rookies Simmons and Parks.
11) At 7-3, the Broncos will return from the bye and host the Chiefs on November 27th in a game that was flexed into the Sunday night game on NBC. The Chiefs also won in Carolina on Sunday and they are 7-2, so this will be a very important game coming up. It was a memorable win for the Broncos and we can enjoy the bye week and get ready for the last six weeks of what will basically be playoff games every week. Go Broncos!
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