Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos carries the ball during the first half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 13, 2011 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

If at first you don’t succeed, run, run again.

That’s the Denver Broncos‘ new offensive philosophy with QB Tim Tebow at the helm.

The Denver Broncos are going to run the football on first down. They’re going to run it on second down. They’re going to run it on third down. They’re going to run it eight straight times to open the game with a touchdown, and they’re going to keep running it until they’re utterly convinced their opponent can stop them.

And if the last two games are any indication, teams haven’t been able to stop them.

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Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee (23) runs past Oakland Raiders linebacker Darryl Blackstock (56) on a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Speaking of Mile High Salutes… the Broncos issued the following press release. Way to go Willis McGahee!

WILLIS McGAHEE NAMED FedEx GROUND NFL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee was named FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week Friday for his performance in Denver’s 38-24 win against Oakland on Sunday.

McGahee rushed for 163 yards—four yards shy of his career-high—on 20 carries (8.2 avg.) with two touchdowns against the Raiders to help Denver generate 299 rushing yards to represent the fourth-highest single-game total in franchise history.

His 163 rushing yards, which led all NFL players in Week 9, marked the most by a Broncos player since running back Reuben Droughns had 166 yards at New Orleans on Nov. 21, 2004.

Since McGahee became Denver’s starting running back in Week 2, he leads all NFL players with 103.3 rushing yards per start and has posted 100 yards rushing in 4-of-6 games played.

McGahee is the sixth player in Broncos history to win the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week award and the first since running back Correll Buckhalter received the honor in 2009 (Week 13).

Former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis started the "Mile High Salute" out of respect for the U.S. Military, and the tradition is still going strong. (Graphic design courtesy of Chad M.)

This Veterans Day weekend on BroncoTalk, we will be honoring the brave men and women who have or currently are serving in the U.S. Military.  If you know a veteran or active member of the Military and would like them to be honored on the blog,  send us an E-mail with a picture and note of why he or she is a hero to you.

To kick things off, we would like to give a Mile High Salute to Spencer S. and his family.  Thank you for serving our country, GB²!

“My husband’s name is Spencer S.  He is a huge Broncos’ fan.  He currently serves in the U.S. Seabee Reserves and will be leaving the beginning of January for 10 months to an undisclosed area to do humanitarian work.

“We have a 3 year old daughter who will miss him very much and I will be finishing up my education at Regent University for elementary education.  I respect and honor my husband in every regard, he is an amazing person!  Even when he is working 12 hour shifts (and sometimes double duty on drill weekends), he still finds time to do things for others.”  — Holly S.

Please join us in thanking Spencer and his family for their service.  We truly do live in the greatest country in the world.

Denver Broncos power rankings from around the web. The Broncos generally had their highest jump of the season following their 38-24 win in Oakland. (Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis)

ESPN: 23rd (28)
They drew the Raiders at the right time and are only a game off the pace in the AFC West.

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We are but a mere sports blog, and roughly 0.00000000000000001% of the Internet (divided by 7), but web sites: if your article has an autoplaying embedded video, we’re not going to link to it. Now, fall in line.

• Nickel warrior Wesley Woodyard was in crutches Wednesday after suffering a knee injury Sunday. [Denver Post]
  
• Rahim Moore was back at practice three days after suffering a concussion. [Max Denver]
• Health and a crappy division have the Broncos in contention — oh, and Willis McGahee. [Washington Post]
• Broncos-Chiefs preview. [CBS Sports]
• Some sweet practice photos. [Max Denver]
• Tim Tebow says he is finding a comfort zone in this offense. [DenverBroncos.com]
• Bucky Brooks analyzes how the read option became a powerful tool in the red zone for the Broncos. [NFL.com]
• Todd Haley says the option makes the Broncos a “triple threat.” [Kansas City Star]
• Wednesday pressers: Tim Tebow and John Fox. [DenverBroncos.com]
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got Albert Haynesworth. The Broncos did not — nor did anyone else — put in a claim. [ESPN]
• Deadline has passed for contract extension negotiations: players must be signed to a new deal between now and the new league year. [National Football Post]
• We interrupt your nerdy sports blog fix to feed your nerdy video game fix: Skyrim comes out tomorrow. [PC Gamer]

Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, despite returning just one punt on Sunday afternoon.

Royal — who has over 2,000 return yards in his career — returned a punt 85-yards for a touchdown,  representing the go-ahead score in Denver’s 38-24 win against Oakland last week.  Adding a 26-yard receiving touchdown earlier in the game, Royal became just the second player in franchise history to catch and return a touchdown in the same game.

Kudos to Royal.  Hopefully the Broncos will make him the main returner moving forward.  Official press release after the jump.

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NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock recently talked with Mike Florio of PFT, discussing the Broncos’ read option play (read more about that here), quarterback Tim Tebow and the rest of the AFC West.

The interview can be seen below.  (Video may take a moment to load.)

You can watch running back Willis McGahee‘s interview with Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com.

Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee (23) runs past Oakland Raiders linebacker Darryl Blackstock (56) on a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Following his 163 yard, two touchdown performance against the Raiders on Sunday, Broncos running back Willis McGahee has been nominated for a weekly award on NFL.com.

McGahee, who is averaging an NFL-best 103.3 yards per start this season, has been nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week award.  Houston’s Arian Foster and Dallas’ DeMarco Murray have also been nominated for the award.

McGahee ran 20 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ 38-24 win over the Oakland Raiders. His rushing total was the highest of any player on Sunday.  — NFL.com

On pace for 1,246 yards this season, McGahee could become the first Broncos running back to rush for 1,000 yards or more in a single season since Tatum Bell accomplished the feat in 2006. Fans go vote for McGahee by going to NFL.com/GMC.

Denver was wise to sign McGahee  in the offseason.  He has been a solid addition to the Broncos backfield. 

Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey (24) intercepts a pass intended for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore (17) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. The Broncos won 38-24. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  That has to be the thinking of Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer.

While in Cincinnati, Palmer played the Denver Broncos and cornerback Champ Bailey three times (2004, 2006 and 2009).  In those three games, Bailey defended three passes (one of which he tipped and was intercepted) and intercepted two more passes himself.

Surely, Palmer has learned his lesson.  Right?

Nope.

Early in the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Oakland, Palmer hit receiver Jacoby Ford on a traditional curl route against Bailey.  Bailey was not able to break on the ball in time and whiffed on the tackle and Ford was able to run for a 34-yard gain before Bailey tracked him down and made the tackle (forcing a fumble in the process).

Later in the second quarter, Palmer hit receiver Denarius Moore for a six yard gain against Bailey.  On the next play, as if he had been toasting Bailey all day and had a favorable match-up in a fifth round draft pick, Palmer targeted Moore again on a fade route — with Bailey in coverage.

The result was Bailey’s first of two interceptions on the day, the other coming later in the game when rookie linebacker Von Miller pressured Palmer into throwing off balance.  Bailey walked away from the game with 50 career interceptions, four courtesy of Palmer.

One thing is certain, Palmer obviously didn’t watch NFL Network while he was locked out and holding out the past few months.