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Published on 12/13/2009 at Sun Dec 13 16:48.
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Broncos fall short in 16-28 loss to Colts

Posted Sun Dec 13th by

Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, left, pulls in a pass in front of Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins (20) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, left, pulls in a pass in front of Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins (20) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

If only.

Third and one. Fourth and one. On Sunday against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, the down and distance didn’t matter. The Denver Broncos fell short.

If only they had converted a few of those short yardage downs, the Broncos could have been the team that knocked off the undefeated Colts. Instead, they were a stepping stone along Indy’s path to NFL history.

The undefeated Colts won their NFL-record 22nd consecutive regular season game and, more importantly, clinched the AFC’s first seed in the playoffs in a 28-16 victory over the Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium.

And Indy stayed perfect even as the Broncos edged and even dominated the Colts in several key statistical areas.

In total yards, the Broncos outgained the Colts in both rushing and passing. The time of possession was fairly even, but Denver edged Indy by a little over three minutes. The Broncos handily won the turnover battle, forcing three Peyton Manning interceptions while Kyle Orton only surrendered one. And wide receiver Brandon Marshall had a career performance, breaking the NFL record in receptions with 21 (including two TDs).

The stat sheet — especially the plus-two turnover ratio — suggests the Broncos should have won a close game. That wasn’t the case.

The Broncos were doomed by letting Manning and company take an early 21-0 lead and struggling to capitalize on short yardage downs.

Two fourth-and-ones were stuffed by the speedy Indy D as the Broncos ran Knowshon Moreno up the middle. The Broncos’ inability to move the chains on third and short and fourth and short — repeatedly with runs stuffed up the middle — devastated an otherwise solid performance.

In fact, from the time Denver fell behind 14-0 on Indianapolis’ second possession, the Broncos outgained the Colts 350-176. During part of this stretch, Manning was three for 21 with three interceptions.

But the Broncos only outscored the Colts 16-12 in that stretch, which wasn’t nearly enough after Indy’s back-to-back touchdowns to start the game.

At one point, with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Broncos were showing life by making it a one-scre game, but Manning responded with a clock-eating, seven-minute drive that put the game out of reach.

Making matters worse was the play call. Manning’s touchdown toss to Dallas Clark came on third and goal at the one, demonstrating the very play McDaniels would be wise to consider the next time he’s facing a stacked line on short yardage.

If only.

  • http://americablog.com magster

    The 3rd and 4th and short yardage plays have been a huge problem all year. McDaniels needs to quit being so proud on these plays and treat those as passing downs.

    One thing I miss from the Shanny era is the bootleg on these plays.

  • anthony33

    Broncos beat themselves in this game (except for the first quarter).

    Glad to see them hang in there as last years team would have lost this game 45-10.

    Short yardage and red zone is still killing them. Why not at least try Hillis??

    Sign Marshall now.

  • kerry

    our defense really adjusted well and made plays. anytime you get 3 INT's on Peyton MAnning you HAVE to capitalize. guess how many points we got off those 3 Turnovers? 3 measly points. our offense really played badly. well except Marshall. McD is so in love with his first pick of the draft (Moreno) that he wont even consider giving Hillis a shot on short yardage situations. Moreno is NOT a power RB. how many times does this team fail short yardage before McD realizes that?

  • broncosfaninal

    Couldn't agree more. Our short yardage game is crap. Part of the problem is that Spencer Larson got hurt on the first play of the game, then Buckhalter got hurt on the first series. Something must rub McDaniels the wrong way with Hillis. I can't imagine what else it could be.

    Oh, and where were our other receivers in this game? Eddie Royal was quiet again. Gaffney got maybe 2 catches. Scheffler was nowhere to be found (maybe it was the injury).

  • ocbronco

    I don't see Moreno as the problem as much as the line isn't getting enough push. Maybe Hillis could have gotten the yardage but I doubt it. Anyway, we can definitely play with anyone when we play a full game but Manning just owns us. Even with three picks he comes away with the W against us…..

  • TheTroglodyte

    Hillis would not have converted on the short yardage plays either. The Colts were getting ridiculous penetration. Why in the hell did we run on every 1st and 3rd down though? 3rd and 3+ are not running downs anyway. They haven't been for the last 20 years.

    Orton's accuracy was horrible all game. Is that why McD refused to throw the ball more or is he just stuck thinking he can force this team to execute the same way as the 07 Patriots.

  • kerry

    i dont know why Hillis cant get on the field either. he did something wrong thats for sure. Hillis could have gotten some of those short yards because of his ability to break tackles. he doesnt go down on first contact like Moreno usually does. i mean did you really watch Moreno? the guy has NO BALANCE. he was stumbling forward on most his runs. i guess those turf monsters were out in force again. funny they come out when we play mostly.

  • chooch76

    I really doubt Hillis would have gotten anywhere. I agree with ocbronco. The O line is fully responsible for the crappy running game. The job lays on the shoulders of the O line to open up the running lanes. but instead Moreno would get first contact in the backfield. They stuffed the box and forced us to pass. Moreno did have a couple botched blocks, one of which led to a sacking of Orton. But most importantly we RARELY get out hands on Peyton Manning. You have to put heat on that guy. You have to sack him 3 or 4 times. We haven't been able to do that in years. The key factors for this loss was the line on both sides of the ball.

  • kerry

    i see so because Moreno couldnt get anywhere on the ground, its entirely imposssible that Hillis could have done better? even if the O-line was getting zero push on every play Hillis couldnt have possibly gotten even one of those 4th and 1's?? come on man. Hillis has great power. stop trying to deflect the fact that Moreno falls down on first contact. Hillis at the very least could have picked up a couple of those short yardage situations with his ability so stay on his feet. but even if you were right that Hillis couldnt have gotten any of them, the entore offense was lousy. well except Marshall. and regardless of how the defensive line played, the defense stopped Manning on the last drive before the half and every drive except the last and the offense still couldnt get a lead. 3 INT's on and Manning and 3 points to show for it. thats all on the offense. and Orton couldnt even score a point on the offensive drives when INDY got their 21 point lead. the offense is way more to blame for this loss. if anyone thought 16 points was gonna beat this team then they were severely mistaken. even if the defense didnt give up that last TD we still didnt have more then 16 points.

  • WhidbeyBronco

    I bet Hillis wouldn't be whiffing those pass rushers like Moreno did!!

  • Plato

    Hillis can't get on the field for one simple reason.

    He's not as good as Moreno or Buckhalter.

    It's annoying as hell seeing some fans ask why he's not on the field (I'm not calling you one of those fans Kerry, you're usually right about what you say). Hillis should be on the field for SOME 4th and 1 situations… SOME… and guess what he has been, not enough but McD has given him a few shots. Hillis has fumbled and messed up so McD puts him in the dog house.

    What frustrated me was the lack of creativity on short yardage… Moreno up the middle… over and over again. Why not run a pitch if the middle is so stacked? I don't know, I'm not a coach, but it just seemed foolish to me run that same play that many times. I agree that you can't abandon the north/south running game, but really?

    All in all I wasn't too frustrated with that loss because it helped me gain more confidence in the defense. Orton's play seriously confuses me, I'm not sure how I feel about him yet. I don't think Denver is ready for a post season run unless Orton plays like he did in the New England game every game, or it finally clicks for Moreno.

  • anthony33

    kerry, I agree with you on this. Here's the deal… running backs need to have one or two of four things… great speed, great instincts, great power or great heart. Guys like TD have 3 or 4, guys like Moreno good at a couple, but not necessiarily great. Hills, in my opinion, has good power and great heart. He needs to be on the field in short yardage situations. The problem is the 'heart' factor might not show up in practice, but this does during the games.

    Point is… they absolutely, positively can do no worse with Hillis in there… TRY IT for couple of games and see what happens.

  • flbronc

    agree with plato. the playcalling on third and one and fourth and one needs to improve. mcd is pretty good at mixing things up throughout the game, but it seems like his third/fourth and one playbook only has one thing in it- run up the middle. the colts knew it, and were in the backfield with the ball each time. hillis is the more powerful back, but i still dont know if it would improve our conversions because the defense was right there- it wasnt a case of moreno needed to break/dodge one guy to get the first. he would have to have gone through about 4 defenders pushing our o-line back into him, with linebackers flying in on top of everything.

    run a quick slant- orton does that pretty well. throw that quick out to the wr and hope he can beat the single coverage from the corner. heck, try a toss sweep to the rb and hope our speed and wr blocking can get us the edge. we have tons of options that will work for short yardage… hell, that's almost our whole offense! we need to use them on 3 & 1- even though it is a traditional 'run down'.

    having said all that, i dont think that out team sucks in the running game. we're pretty good. we're sitting at 1600+ yards through 13 games and rushing at 4.3 yds a carry. we're just outside the top 10 in each category. we've also done that playing 5 defenses that rank in the top 10 in rushing defense to this point. i think we can be and are effective in the running game. just not in short yardage situations, and we wont be until we mix things up and get the opponents to think we're going to do something other than try to run a tiny guy up the middle behind an offensive line that typically doesnt push too well.

  • Mergrath

    As has been said and I'll repeat “the o-line got owned”. You can't put these runs on Moreno and to bring up Hillis just makes you look silly in that you think you are a better tallent evaluater from your couch than the coaches who spend every single day with these players. It's clear that McD wants a power blocking o-line…problem is that we're a finnesse zone blocking personal. This will be an area of emphassis this off-season. We will be adding some serious beef at Guard and possibly even Center. This innability to execute short yardage situations has got to stop!

  • kerry

    i completely disagree when you say Hillis isnt as good as Moreno or Buckhalter. Moreno is nothing special. im sorry but the guy just doesnt have that playmaking ability. he hasnt shown me anything that we couldnt get out of a 2nd or 3rd round RB or even from Hillis. Hillis may not be as fast or agile as Moreno, but the guy can gets those yards we need AND can catch the ball out of the back field and make guys miss. and to me, what sets Hillis up to be better then Moreno is the fatc that he has great balance and can break multiple tackles. Terrell Davis wasnt fast or agile but he was so difficult to bring down, just like Hillis is. and here is something else, Hillis has fumbled once on a kickoff (which he shouldnt have even been doing anyway) and once on the goal line. Moreno has twice as many fumbles as him but Moreno still gets carries and Hillis the doghouse. doesnt make sense. it makes me think McD didnt actually watch film of Hillis from last year.

    but i do agree with the lack of creativity on the short yardage runs. and it brings me back to Hillis again. why not put Hillis to lead block that LB that may come free up the middle. a single back set doesnt work when we run the ZBS. a lead blocker could have helped alot. as you said a pitch play, me personal favorite is the rollout play and a short pass to the TE. Scheffler was invisible today. so was Stokley and Royal.

    im frustrated like hell with the loss because we could have won this game had the offense gotten in gear. our defense stiffened up and Manning himself was shut down until the very end. ive said all year that i love our defense and the way they attack. that being said i believe we have gotten all we can out of Orton. the guy just doesnt have “IT”. he doesnt have that ability to shoulder a team and lead them to a win.

  • kerry

    see thats what im saying. Hillis may not be as flashy as Moreno, but he gets those hard yards and can break tackles. Moreno just hasnt shown me anything that would suggest he is a special RB. and i know most will whine that the O-line isnt doing well, but here is the thing with that, special playmaking RB's can do well without a great O-line. Moreno cant and hasnt. i mean the guy has no balance and no speed. if you dont have speed you have to be able to break tackles and he doesnt do that either. not trying to shit all over the guy but thats just the deal. he ran decent against Kansas City, but here is the thing, ITS KC. i agree Hillis should at least be given a chance. even when Buckhalter went down yesterday, McD STILL wouldnt give Hillis a chance. thats bad coaching.

  • SilkyB

    I'm pretty shocked at some of the comments. Are we talking about the same Broncos that were being ridiculed across the nation before the season began? I am very impressed with this Bronco team. I know we lost, but in similar situations in the past (down by 21, early game, in the east, dome, etc) we were blown out. Not this team. They came back and definitely had a chance to win. This is a different team than we have watched the last several years. The attitude, hustle, heart, aggressiveness, whatever it is, is different with this team. Where did it come from? Should McDaniels get a little bit of the benefit of the doubt? Accusing him of not playing someone because he was “Shanahan's guy” seems ridiculous to me. Last thing, you Moreno bashers really think he has shown so little? How many times has he been hit 2-3 yds in the backfield, but still gained a yard or 2? I know he has made mistakes, but I think he has a chance to be pretty special. Time will tell.

  • indymike

    ???hahaha …i like to read colts upcoming opponents fans websites prior and immediately after game. ive i comment i try to be gracious in victory.

    this time is an exception..bronco fans have to be the most delusional fans ever!!! The broncos fall short?? losing by double digits is considered falling short in colorado??? hahahaha. i think the high altitude has made everyone of you soft in the head. bunch of delusional retards..all ive read is”if we just did this, or that we would have won.” Newsflash, every losing team can point to why they lost…moral victories are for the Losers:)

    so you losers can pontificate amongst yourselves about what went wrong blahblahblah. reality is that you lost, and your team isnt very good!!! they havent been since elway retired, about a million years ago.

    the best comment i read was that your team would have a good chance if they faced the colts againbahahaahahaha. yeah, iam sure manning will through 3 picks in a rematch,and girlfriend beater wr would have another 20 reception day…morons.

    it doesnt matter because it will not happen, there is very little chance broncos make it out of wildcard round. ,baltimore,chargers both whipped your butts. how in the hell do you have any confidence in a team that had 3 1/2 game lead in their div. in week 6, and are now 2 games back in week 14..talk about a friggin meltdown.

    you can keep chalkin up your moral victories, and us colt fans will celebrate our colts real victories.haha..actually hope we do see you again..that will be a guaranteed win

  • Tish Maynez

    Thank you for bringing up Hillis! Why doesn't McDaniels use him more? It doesn't make sense why they don't put in a big body when Moreno can't get a yard. Hillis sure could have helped win that game for us.

  • Fan From Spain

    Hey Indymike… go suck a lolly, just wait till your Colts lose Manning one day and you will be back to the shitty old Colts hhahaaa, enjoy it wile it last. Thats what the comments are for, so fans can discuss the game and so on you moron.

  • Fan From Spain

    Hey Indymike… go suck a lolly, just wait till your Colts lose Manning one day and you will be back to the shitty old Colts hhahaaa, enjoy it wile it last. Thats what the comments are for, so fans can discuss the game and so on you moron.