Denver Broncos: Week 13 State of the Franchise

News and notes from the Denver Broncos‘ weekly press release. View the full release here (.pdf).

Coming off a 26-6 win against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving, the Denver Broncos (7-4) begin the final month of the regular season on Sunday at the Kansas City Chiefs (3-8). Kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium is set for 12 p.m. CST, and the game will be televised on CBS with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts calling the action.

QUICKLY:

• Sunday’s game marks the latest in a year (Dec. 6) that Denver has been scheduled to open its season series with the Chiefs, who are coming off a 43-14 loss at San Diego last week.
• The Broncos are 6-0 this year with a positive turnover ratio, posting a 4-0 mark with a +2 ratio and a 2-0 mark with a +1 ratio.

OFFENSE:

• During the last three weeks, rookie RB Knowshon Moreno has totaled the sixth-most rushing yards (265 / 88.3 ypg.) and the third-best yards per rush average (5.6) in the NFL. He leads all league rookies in rushing yards (688) and yards from scrimmage (784) this year.
• C Casey Wiegmann, who spent seven years (2001-07) with Kansas City, owns a consecutive snaps played streak of 8,724 dating back to 2001 that is the longest in the NFL.
• QB Kyle Orton is 10-4 in his last 14 starts dating back to December 2008.

DEFENSE:

• Led by long-time NFL defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the Broncos are the only team to rank among the league’s top six clubs defensively in sacks (3rd, 32), yards per play (4th, 4.8), yards per game (5th, 295.0), passing yards per game (5th, 185.0) and points per game (6th, 17.2).
• OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil notched his sixth multiple-sack game of the season last week with two sacks against the Giants. He leads the NFL with a personal-best 14 sacks and is looking to become the first league sack champion in Broncos history.
• S Brian Dawkins is tied for the NFL lead with three fumble recoveries, including one posted last week against the Giants. The seven-time Pro Bowl choice ranks third among current players (1st among DBs) with 16 career fumble recoveries.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• Last week against the Giants, K Matt Prater made all four field-goal attempts and registered touchbacks on 5-of-7 kickoffs. His five touchbacks ranked as the second most by a Bronco in a game during the last 15 years.
• Since signing veteran P Mitch Berger on Oct. 26, the Broncos’ net punting average has shown the fourth-most improvement (+3.7 yds. / 34.5 to 38.2) in the NFL.