Worst and 10 – Plays from 2006

Ranking the worst to the first in my weekly segment that sounds like “First and 10.” A quick look back today, grading the best (and the not-so-good) plays from the Denver Broncos 2006 campaign. Whether it was a long pass, a big hit, a pick-six, or a lengthy run, all the plays I could muster were under consideration.

Worst

Fourth Quarter Fumble vs. San Diego

As the fourth quarter of our November Sunday Night game against the Chargers wound down, it looked like the Broncos had a real shot at redeeming our 24-7 3rd quarter lead. Jake Plummer drove our team down to enemy territory… and then the entire offense seemed to fall apart. A 15-yard penalty, courtesy Igor Olshanksy, looked bound to be something Chargers fans would swear over for years to come. It moved us up to the Chargers’ 32-yard line, but even when we had help from the other team we couldn’t get the job done. The play was a stupid fumble on a first down – with 24 seconds left, Chargers LB Shaun Phillips made the big play they needed, and Plummer fumbled the ball. Broncos dove on it, but by the time we tried to get another play off, the clock ran down and it was the end of our season. This one hurt more than the Joe Nedney field goal – it was building to be one of those classic Broncos comebacks, the likes of which we hadn’t really seen since Elway retired, and one stupid play cost us the game and the rest of our season.

…and 10

10) Cutler to Scheffler: Threading the Needle vs. Cincinatti

If you want to see accuracy from our young quarterback, this is it. Jay Cutler fires a bullet to the right side of the end zone, aiming for the tiniest of windows that’s going to close in a matter of a second. It showed his accuracy, and told opposing defenses that their regular coverage won’t be enough against this guy. Oh yeah, and Scheffler looked good too.

9) Javon Walker takes it to the House @ New England

Asante Samuel who? Javon Walker split these defenders, found the hole he needed, and took this one to the house in one of the most memorable games from last year. Until further notice, we still have Vegas’ “favorite to win it all”‘s number.

8) Darrent Williams Reveals the Frohawk vs. Baltimore

D-Will, Rest in Peace, helped us put away the then-undefeated Baltimore Ravens with his late interception that all but put the nail in the Ravens’ proverbial coffin. The Ravens game was my favorite game from last year – I love defensive slobberknockers that come down to the wire, and this one fit the bill. Combined with Champ Bailey‘s end zone pick at the end of the first half, we showed Steve McNair that neither side of the field was safe to throw the ball. My heart still aches, and my head still fumes with unbelievable anger at the loss we suffered… a young, blossoming star was stolen from us on January 1. But we can always look back at this play, and see the frohawk, and smile.

Thanks to BroncoTalk member mopatt24 for posting this to YouTube for this article!

7) “Chris Henry was pancaked by John Lynch” vs. Cincinnati

“What? You think you’re going to get into MY end zone?” What a hit.

6) D.J. Williams lays out Kevin Faulk @ New England

What a hit by our now-MIKE linebacker. Kevin Faulk never knew what hit him – seriously. He got leveled.

Thanks to BroncoTalk member mopatt24 for posting this to PhotoBucket for this article!

5) Hines Ward Denied the End Zone vs. Pittsburgh

In the fourth quarter of my second favorite game of the year, Hines Ward is denied the end zone by both John Lynch and Al Wilson. Great red zone stop by our defense – [NOTE: The next two clips both come from the Steelers game, and it looks like they come from the same guy who literally took a camcorder to his TV screen. Needless to say, the video quality isn’t the greatest – if you can find a better clip let me know!]

4) Walker’s Reverse vs. Pittsburgh

Can you say 72 yards… on a reverse run… against Pittsburgh? As much as the Steelers fell off last year, it was the biggest running play in recent Steelers history. Javon Walker showed us all he is the star we thought he was, and he finished the game with ridiculous stats and helped us earn the ‘W’ against the team that knocked us out of the playoffs the year before.

3) Brandon Marshall Breaks Loose vs. Seattle

It might have been too much too soon, feeling eerily similar to Mike Bell‘s big run against Indy, but Marshall’s short catch and long run through four or five defenders was definitely an exciting play. With a 20-13 deficit, and just over 2 minutes on the clock, was there not a single Broncos fan thinking “The Drive” all over again? High hopes for our rookie quarterback… Marshall bailed him out of it with a huge play against our former AFC West foes.

2) Bailey’s End Zone MNF Pick vs. Baltimore

The Baltimore game was probably my favorite game from last year – I love long, defensive slobberknockers and this one was a classic in my book. When Steve McNair threw for the end zone at the end of the first half, my heart skipped a beat. But there was Champ Bailey, making a statement on how the rest of the season would go. After Champ’s insanely high leaping interception, teams decided it wasn’t a great idea to throw in #24’s direction for the rest of the year. He only got a handful of chances to get the rest of his picks for the year.

Thanks to BroncoTalk member mopatt24 for posting this to YouTube for this article!

1) Cutler’s Bomb to Walker @ Arizona

You wanna say the future looks bright? I won’t disagree – Cutler showed so many things with this play that you might not come across right at first. For one, it was his FIRST PASS of the game… he didn’t need to warm up, or get a feel of the game, to explode with a big play. Two, it was a rollout, something that showed his versatility from a more “classic” dropback, pocket passer. We all know what amazing touch it displayed. But the biggest thing for me that made that play so amazing is that he stood there, without fear, and took a BIG HIT from the Cardinal defender while still displaying that amazing accuracy and touch. Quite a throw for a two-start rookie.