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Published on 11/06/2008 at Thu Nov 06 23:10.
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Broncos End Losing Streak with 34-30 Comeback Over Browns

Posted Thu Nov 6th by

Daniel Graham vs. Browns (AP Photo)
The passing game carried the Broncos to a furious fourth quarter comeback. (AP Photo)

This is just the spark the Broncos need.

Trailing 23-10 in the second half, the Denver Broncos (5-4) were in trouble. Already without their top three options at running back, they relied on their passing game – and an amazing play by their seventh round rookie fullback – to mount a furious fourth quarter comeback.

Despite scoring only 13 points in three quarters, the Broncos outscored the Cleveland Browns (3-6) 21-7 in the fourth quarter to beat the Browns in Cleveland 34-30. Quarterback Jay Cutler finished with 447 yards, the third-highest total in franchise history. Eddie Royal‘s 93-yard touchdown marked the second-longest pass to a rookie in franchise history.

There was literally no threat of the run. The Broncos were one-dimensional because they had to be – but amazingly, that one dimension was enough to put up 34 points. Not to say the running game didn’t have its impact – FB Peyton Hillis‘s second effort on 4th and 1 is the stuff of legend. It was the type of game-changing play that can alter the course of a season.

Give the Browns and QB Brady Quinn credit – they played one helluva game. Particularly Quinn – his debut saw him making incredible throws in the face of pressure to both himself and his receiver. His first touchdown came with Broncos sack-leader Elvis Dumervil in his face, on a bullet through three white Broncos jerseys to receiver Kellen Winslow. It was a play five seasoned quarterbacks in the NFL could make. The Browns have found someone special at quarterback in Brady Quinn.

But at the end of the day, this Broncos defense – this banged up Broncos defense – made enough plays to give the offense a chance. And the offense – which hadn’t scored 20 points in five games – finally got back on its feat, tallying 34 points.

Take this momentum and capture the division, Broncos. GOOOOOO BRONCOS!

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    We didn’t get any sacks, but Quinn hit the turf a lot. In the early game we gave up some huge runs, but very much to my surprise the defense cleaned that up and the running game quit going anywhere.

    But Quinn threw lots of short, high percentage passes and he was cool and calm under pressure. He burned Bly on the blitz and Dumervil hit him over and over again and he got the ball out on target every time.

  • http://81trucolors.livejournal.com/ Truman

    Hillis is an absolute BALLER!!! Finally some Broncos making plays!

  • Marv

    ATV was great at running the ball to we need him back on the field asap

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Torain had 12 carries for 68 yards… that’s over 5.5 a pop… having back would be a good thing, but no updates yet folks…

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    UPDATE FROM BRONCOS – Torain suffered a left knee sprain. No word on how serious/future time missed…

  • J

    B Marsh was about to do a prop after he scored what came to be the game winnig TD. This would have been a 15 yard penelty which could’ve cost us the game, good thing Stok stopped him!
    B Marsh has a lot of growing up to do and learn to put the team first and him second

  • dee

    Kyle I’m hearing he may be gone for the year as per Bill Williamson .. take that for what it is …. Hopefully its minor and hes back for Atlanta …we need him…. LETS GO BRONCOS …. lets win the AFC West

  • Aerobroncos

    Man what a game! So great to see a victory like that. Cutler looked great!

  • Jordan C

    Someone please fire the Broncos medical staff. Wait – do the Broncos even have one?

  • J

    Adam Schefter says that Torain will be placed on IR

  • Rob Bronco

    My concern is the same that it has been all along – the defense playing zone. We were INCREDIBLY lucky to win this game and let’s face it, we aren’t always going to be scoring 35 points a game with no running game. Because a number of key defensive players are injured or out for the season, we need to be able to mix up the defensive scheme and apply more pressure on the QB. Better teams are going to steamroll us, and is bad news as we wrap up the regular season. We don’t want to go into San Diego having to rely on a win to get us into the playoffs. We just aren’t consistent enough on offense to rely on that. We need to hit receivers off the line and disrupt patterns while blitzing up the middle and from the blind side. Use our linebackers to plug the gaps to seal off the run, and force their backs outside.

  • AKscott

    A thing that worries me is it seems like Jay was damn near intercepted 3 or 4 different times, also him and B-Marsh weren’t on the same page at least 3 times i can think of. Had just one of the defenders made a play (and a big heads up play by Schef as well stopping a pick in the endzone) it wouldve been a diff’t ballgame. I bring that up for this question.. Was that more the DB’s zeroing in on our pass only offense bc we had no true RB’s, or did we dodge a major bullet here tonight with our mistake prone offense?

    I love Cutler, some call it a man crush.. but tonight i felt like i was watching the Plummer days.. every pass i kinda winced and gritted my teeth, almost expecting the worst.. thoughts???

  • Josh

    AKscott- There is no doubt that Cutler is the future of this team. Yes, it’s true that he make you hold your breath once in awhile. However, unlike Plummer, Cutler has the ability to win games for the Broncs–not just manage games.

    Kyle–As for Torrain, the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that he may be done for the year….uggh!

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/06/broncos-report-injuries-give-rookie-lb-woodyard/

  • AKscott

    oh jeeezus.. im by no means calling for him to be benched or any other retarded stuff ive been reading around the web.. i LOVE what he brings.. it seems even in a 400+ yd game, we were damn close to giving it away a few times, had a handfull balls we got lucky that were dropped by the Browns tonight.. i just wonder if it is a continuation of the bad trend of the past few weeks or if we can chalk it up to the D knowing we were gonna pass most every down.

    Obviously we dont REALLY know, but thats what this site is kinda here for right?? Bronco news and speculation?

    And again to clear the air.. im borderline gay for cutler

  • Bobby
  • Josh

    The man crush is in the air… But you’re absolutely correct. We were dangerously close to losing this game several times. Concerning Cutler’s recent play, I’d compare him (deep breath) to Peyton Manning this season. There is zero doubt that Manning is an incredible QB. For years, I watched him screw my team up and down the field. But this year, Peyton has serious problems because he has no team. Cutler needs a traditional Denver running game and an average defense. This year, he has a MASH unit. If we can hang in there for a few weeks and get some guys healthy, we’ve got a shot at making a late-season run. Either way, at least we get to watch football that matters. Go Broncs!

  • BroncoFan18

    So who do we sign to take Torain’s spot if he goes out for the season? And does anyone know the status of Young? I’m worried about this running game. Success in the playoffs is with a good defense and a running game, both of which we don’t have right now. I’m glad we got the win — every one counts. But there are still glaring problems we need to deal with if we want to be successful.

  • Matt

    I cannot get over our rookies. These guys are absolute STUDS! Royal, Hillis, Clady, Woodyard, etc. Its impossible for me not to think of the future of this squad. How badly did we miss shef? I really didnt think we would miss him all that much when he went down but the guy brings another dimension to our O. He gets back in the line up and we put up 34 again. He and culter clearly have great chemistry to boot. Cutler played outstanding! Sure he had some close calls but we literally had no running game. Those DB’s could sit back all day. We talk about his arm strenth but He made some of the best touch passes i have seen in awhile. Stokely is a wise vet. What he did will not show up on any stat sheet but he deserves credit for keeping his pose and staying on his toes. I have been waiting all season for a game changing play like the 93 yd’er to royal. That was HUGE! I could watch that highlight all friggin day.

  • robtink242

    Matt your right this looks like a whole new team. its good to know they have some heart cant get embarrassed on every prime time occasion. we need a running back though if we’re going to torched Atlanta

  • http://birty.blogspot.com mikebirty

    SORRY!!! I must apologise for causing all this distress. Even though I was watching a recording and the result was predetermined, I didn’t put my lucky hat on until half time. If I had it on in the first half this game would’ve been a walk-over. SORRY!

    On to more serious matters. Wow! Just Wow! What a game by everyone. Its hard to pick out just one player or even a handful of players. In fact its tough to pick out anyone who didn’t play well. Sure the defense didn’t tackle in the first 20 minutes but they did when it mattered.

    Just as we were lucky to win this the Broncos get two plays (the Jay Interception and the goal-line stand) go their way and we’re looking at a comfortable win. That sort of thinking goes both ways.

    Ok – Just one more moment of WOW for that Hillis run where he got the first down.

  • flbronc

    all i can say is quinn did a very good job last night. he had a lot of pressure coming at him (way more pressure than the broncos normally apply). for the most part he made great reads and got the ball out quickly- we usually brought a lot of guys on the blitz and he was able to find the open guys- usuallu kellen ‘i’m a solja’ winslow.

    The running game is a friggin tragedy. if torain goes on the ir that will really sting. he showed some real promise when he was able to play. hillis is the man for filling in after he went down.

    i’m glad that we have 10 days to figure out what the heck is going on with our backfield and to install a game plan to cope with our losses there. hopefully this game puts cutler back on track.

    i love a comeback win in cleveland.

  • Barto51

    I’m with Matt, man our Rookies are studs. Clady, Hillis, Royal, Woodyard, Larsen, Torain and Kern are awesome. Now if we can just keep Torian health that guys is the kind of RB Denver needs. Andwould someone in the national media give Royal some respect. Ever article I read about this years top rookies Royal’s name seems to be forgotten, give me a break. He is the best WR in this rookie class (even better then Jackson, no disrespect meant) and has had the greatest impact of any rookie with the exception of Ryan in Atlanta. Eddie Royal gets my vote for rookie of the year.

  • flbronc

    barti- he’s not totally overlooked. i’ve seen him in the middle of the pack on some ROY lists. this game will certainly help his cause. i like clady before royal for the award. that guy is a flat out player. has he allowed a sack yet? (honestly i dont know if he has, but i dont think so) he’s played in every game and has gone against solid opposition and kept his guys off jay. without him, royal doesnt get the big passing plays.

    dont get me wrong, i’m not slighting royals achievements and contributions at all! i love the kid, and he has suprised the heck out of me in the way he has played so far. any other year i would say hands down he would be our best rookie, but not with clady playing like he is this year.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    flbronc: Yes, he has allowed 1 sack (last week at Miami) but just the one.

  • Bobby

    E Halsey…That sack was given up be D Graham and Andre Hall