Denver Broncos: Week 9 State of the Franchise

Knowshon Moreno #27 of the Denver Broncos celebrates his team's only touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 1, 2009 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Larry French/Getty Images)

Weekly goodness from the Broncos PR dept.  View the full 216-page release here.

The Denver Broncos (6-1) will make their second Monday Night Football appearance in their last three games this week when they host the defending Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2). Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 6:30 p.m. MST.

QUICKLY:

• The Broncos, who look to rebound from a 30-7 loss at Baltimore last week, will appear on Monday Night Football for the 61st time in club history.
• That total is the fifth highest in the history of the program. Josh McDaniels guided Denver to a 6-0 record to begin the year, a start that tied for the third best by a rookie NFL head coach since 1930.

OFFENSE:

• QB Kyle Orton’s 18-2 (.900) career record at home as a starter is the best by an NFL player since the 1970 merger. He leads the AFC in TD-to-INT ratio (9-to-1), fourth quarter passer rating (124.2) and INT percentage (0.4).
• The Broncos’ 16 drives of at least 10 plays (20.8% of their possessions) tie for third in the NFL.

DEFENSE:

• Coached by long-time NFL defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, Denver leads the NFL in yards per game allowed (266.7) and yards per play allowed (4.4) while ranking second in the league in scoring defense (13.7 ppg.).
• Last week at Baltimore, the Broncos posted an NFL Week 8-best 10 tackles for a loss (31 yds.) with seven run stuffs, two sacks and one on a reception.
• OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil’s 10 sacks lead the AFC (2nd in NFL). Minnesota DE Jared Allen is the only player in the NFL with more two-sack games than Dumervil (11) since he entered the league in 2006.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• The Broncos have won both AFC Special Teams Player of the Month awards this year with K Matt Prater (September) and WR/KR Eddie Royal (October) earning those accolades.
• Royal became only the 11th player in NFL history to score a touchdown on a kickoff (93 yds.) and a punt return (71 yds.) in the same game at San Diego on Oct. 19.
• S Darcel McBath, a rookie second round pick from Texas Tech University, leads the Broncos with seven special-teams tackles.