Broncos 'putting it all together' to re-assert dominance
DENVER — Peyton Manning's historic night would have meant little had Manning set the all-time passing record with three touchdowns in a loss to San Francisco.
But the rest of his teammates, from a retooled offensive line, to running back Ronnie Hillman, to a defense that held San Francisco's starters to just 10 points, assured that Manning made history on a night in which the Broncos reinforced their status as the AFC's best team.
"It was a special night, I think, certainly more special because of the way our team played, because we got the win with such a team effort," Manning said.
The Broncos are the only one-loss team remaining in the AFC, yet they had hardly been convincing they were deserving of title talk in recent weeks, including a loss at Seattle in September, and after narrow escapes to beat Indianapolis, Kansas City and the New York Jets. The Broncos weren't playing clean — a maddening number of penalties were killing drives on offense — and they were struggling to close out games.
But Sunday against the 49ers, in a game that was billed as a potential Super Bowl preview, the Broncos showed they are becoming the well-rounded team that they hoped to become in the wake of last year's Super Bowl heartbreak.
"We're finally putting it all together. That's all it is," defensive tackle Terrance Knighton told Paste BN Sports.
And no place more so than on defense.
Defensive end DeMarcus Ware, one of the three big-name free agents signed in March, had his best game as a Bronco on Sunday night, with three sacks of San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Outside linebacker Von Miller, appearing nearly fully recovered from his offseason ACL surgery, added two more.
Cornerback Aqib Talib had an interception for the second consecutive game — his pick last week sealed Denver's win against the Jets, and his interception of Kaepernick on Sunday night led to Manning's 510th career touchdown one play later, a pass to Demaryius Thomas that gave the Broncos a 28-10 lead.
"We're getting off the field, we're getting our offense on the field. We have the best secondary in the league, so if (a quarterback) goes through his progression, he'll have to worry about DeMarcus and Von. Or vise versa. If you throw a dumb pass, we have corners that are going to pick you off," Knighton said.
That was Thomas' second touchdown of the night, but it seemed equally as important to Manning that receivers other than Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas were a major factor in the Broncos' passing game. Emmanuel Sanders, who was leading the team in catches heading into Sunday's game, finally got his first touchdown since signing with the Broncos in March, while slot receiver Wes Welker, who missed the Broncos' first two games while serving a suspension, also caught his first touchdown.
Hillman, meanwhile, continues to make a case that he should be the Broncos' starting running back even when Montee Ball returns from a groin injury. Hillman, who had a 100-yard game last week in his first career start, ripped off a 37-yard touchdown run on Sunday, and Manning credited Hillman's work early in the game in establishing the run to helping the Broncos strike off by using the play-action game that had been missing earlier this season.
"Such a team effort," Manning said. "It's definitely one I'll remember."
But the Broncos also understand that such a big night will mean little if they can't stage a repeat performance in five days against San Diego. The Broncos lost at home on a Thursday night to Philip Rivers and the Chargers last season — a loss that didn't derail their AFC West title bid, but one that established a blueprint of how to beat the Broncos: Keep the ball away from Manning and the Broncos' offense.
"We played our best team game to date. If we keep getting better from here, we will have a shot," tight end Jacob Tamme said.
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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