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Published on 09/21/2008 at Sun Sep 21 17:32.
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Broncos Hold on to Defeat Saints 34-32

Posted Sun Sep 21st by

Bailey and Webster vs. Saints
Boss Bailey congratulates Nate Webster after Webster scores on a fumble return. AP Photo.

The manner in which the Denver Broncos (3-0) defeated the New Orleans Saints (1-2) will seem very familiar to anyone who watched Week Two’s nail-biter against San Diego. A lot of points. A little luck. And another wild, wild win.

The Broncos started with an early 21-3 lead; a few big plays allowed their opponent to close the gap; by the fourth quarter, the game was clearly in question, and by the final whistle, the Broncos came out victorious.

The difference in the end, surprisingly enough, was the defense. The Saints accrued a lot of yards, and a lot of points, but the Broncos’ defensive squad stepped up when needed. A forced fumble returned for a touchdown, big stops to end both the first and second halves, and a final stand as the Saints took their shots down the field helped seal a Broncos victory, even as the Broncos offense stuttered.

Broncos Quarterback Jay Cutler looked a bit shaky throughout the game, but stepped up in the end, tallying 21 completions in 34 attempts for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception (93.2 Rating). The running game looked solid, but couldn’t convert a third down that would have sealed the victory in the 4th quarter. They task was left to the defense and special teams, and both stepped up to help the Broncos earn their first 3-0 start since 2003.

Saints QB Drew Brees showed everyone why he belongs in the discussion of top NFL quarterbacks, finishing with an unbelievable 421 passing yards (39-48, 1 TD, 0 INT, 110.1 Rating). RB Reggie Bush burned the defense on the ground and in the air to the tune of 148 yards.

Saints Kicker Martin Gramatica went 1/3 on field goals, missing a potential game-winner just after the two-minute warning. The Broncos needed a single first down to ensure victory, but three consecutive clock-killing runs couldn’t deliver the necessary 10 yards. The Saints had enough time to take two shots down the field but couldn’t deliver, and the Broncos held on for the victory.

Denver, Buffalo, and Tennessee are now the only undefeated 3-0 teams in the AFC. The Broncos turn their attention to Kansas City, where it’s never an easy win in Arrowhead (no matter how bad the Chiefs look).

  • conbrio

    lady luck, lady luck, how many games will the broncs win when they give up 500 yards? 500 yards at home? not many. i’m beginning to think that any playoff hopes are a big stretch for this team.

  • Patrick

    Give it up to Kyle only two points off his prediction!

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    lol yeah. I said 35-31. This game went a lot like I thought it would – almost exactly like I thought it would. Broncos win, that’s all that matters!

  • Bobby

    I am concerned looking down the road…We need some defensive improvement.

  • kerry

    ok this is the most PATHETIC defense ive ever seen from this team. Webster is a joke, Paymah is a joke. Jarvis Moss is seriously turning into a bust. eventually we will run into a buzzsaw defense and we will be in trouble. either Shanahan needs to make a trade and get some MLB or DE help or we are in for a long season. we will have to score 40 points a game just to win

  • Dee

    i still think we should go with jack williams instead of paymah

  • J

    Hey that PATHETIC D scored a TD stopped NO on 4th down and made a critical stop at the end of the game. Sure Drew Brees passed all over the place but when they had to the D made plays!

  • TC

    I’m most concerned about the safeties on D. It appears that both the linebackers and the CBs have to cover for them, leaving us open to runs and long pass plays up the middle. Anyone else sense this?

  • merc22

    our D just got tired, 1st half they played well…2nd half they sucked, they need to get it in their heads that 3-n-outs r the best thing to happen

  • robtink242

    hey, i agree we need more help at mlb and paymah & jarvis are the biggest looooser on this team. I think we should also bring lynch back he has to much pride to allow this team to be run over.

  • robtink242

    hey jack williams cant be any worst than paymah so lets try him.

  • JP

    Ive said this all along and its clearly evident…..we need disruptive force in our interior defensive line….thats it….thats the only remining missing piece to the puzzle. We get that and its over…I thoght Thomas looked good today and he needs to be in there more than what he is. I tought Webster played very well today. he isnt our problem…ZERO pressure on the opposing QB is the problem. Also keep in mind we have just beat 2 of the best offensive teams in the NFL…I think the Broncs can now lay claim to tha top spot

  • http://www.search-this.com mark

    The defense still looks like they are not on the same page. They need to figure this out quickly. Play smarter, not harder.

  • ryan k

    Its stunning to think that J. Moss could be the difference maker between us being a Super Bowl contender and just a dynamic offensive team. Think about it, if Moss pans out (like so many of our other recent draft picks) we have Elvis at one end and a quality pass rusher at the other, instead of Engelberger. Now I do not want to blame just Moss, Crowder has been absent as well, but we really targeted pass rush with our 07 draft and have not got much in return so far, and it could end up being the cause of our season coming up short.

  • Person

    We need a dominant every down defensive end. End of story.

    If we get more pressure on the QB then the CBs dont have to worry every down. That is our main problem. We need to spend some money in FA for an awesome DE. Does this sound familiar? Neil Smith anyone? Sure helped good old John put a ring on his finger.

  • Richard

    If these games keep going like the last two, I will need to put the crash cart and the oxygen cylinder next to the tv. I also think that Slowik is starting to run this D the way it ran for the Bears when he was there in the ’90s. Not optimistic about that. But what the Hell we won!

    Roses are red
    petunias are pink
    we’ll win at errorhead
    ’cause the Chefs REALLY STINK

  • conbrio

    come on. the broncos made the critical stops when they needed to? gramatica made the critical stop when the broncos needed it. incredible luck last week, good luck this week. i always go against that old saying, ” better to be lucky than good”. b.s. to me. when the luck runs out, as it always does, it’s great to have being good backing you up. unfortunately ………………

  • http://broncos-denver-broncos.blogspot.com/ Ian Henson

    What a fun game, at some point late in the fourth-quarter during the live blog, I had to point out that this is when I love being a Bronco fan. I can really understand how newer Broncos fans can be so pessimistic, as they likely haven’t experienced much Mile High magic…

    However, as Earl pointed out, we were never losing. So there wasn’t much need for any of the magic.

  • T-Money

    We need a pass rush. When we blitzed it always got there but the front 3 or 4 guys need to get the act together. I want a blowout against the Chiefs. Pure domination. Only 7 more days.

  • T-Money

    And BOSS BAILEY WAS AWESOME!!!! Just a personal thought. Guy played really well.

  • Orange Crush 74

    The Broncos “D” if you want to call them a defense, may be one of the worse I have ever seen. At 21-3 why did they Bob start playing prevent? They can’t generate a pass rush with 4 guys, so you try 3! Defense needs to step up if they want to make the playoffs. Why is Abdullah inactive?

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Joe

    I was at this game, and man, it was awesome!! The best part about all of it was that there were to saints fans behind me, and everyone else was a Denver fan (of course.) So whenever anything good happened for the saints, we would here it, mouth right back. And whenever something good happened for Denver, these two fans got really got an earful…Made me laugh. Anyways, as far as the game goes, Cutler didnt do to hot. He had a bad start to the game, with a couple of incompletions. Threw a dumb INT. Royal was double-covered, and he tried to squeeze it in. Our defense needs to improve, but hey, we won. We can always build off of it. Our offense is still the shit, but I would love it if we could play a full four quarters of kickass football. We better take it to the Chiefs. Another division win would continue the kickass season!! GO BRONCOS

  • BroncoFan18

    We need to get a pass rush or we won’t be going very far even if we do make the playoffs. Someday the offense will stumble and it will be up to the defense to win the game. Right now it looks like they can’t do that.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Joe

    Damn people, have faith. Its week three. Chill. There is still plenty of time for the defense to gel together and get shit taken care of. Since we are still winning the games, lets cut them some slack. They made plays when it counted. There is still plenty of weeks to practice and get better, before we go into the playoffs. Everyone needs to remember that its WEEK THREE. We play 16 games, and have a bye. Still plenty of time before we make the playoffs to gel together…..

  • Alex G

    Dude, everyone also seems to forget that we are getting another weapon back at the bye, in Ryan Torain, to help this offense even more…man we could be very freakin scary.

    We do need a pass rush big time and does anyone know how many snaps D. Robertson is playin, cuz it seems like he hasn’t done shit. ha