Denver Broncos' Willis McGahee (23) celebrates with teammates Orlando Franklin (L)and Ryan Clady (R) after scoring a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during their NFL football game in Denver, Colorado September 18, 2011. (REUTERS/Mark Leffingwell)

Ladies and gentlemen, your newest Denver Broncos wide receiver: Tim Tebow.

Seriously. The backup QB took several snaps lined up wide Sunday as the Broncos were forced to get creative to deal with a seemingly insurmountable number of injuries.

But they surmounted it (is that a word?).

Brandon Lloyd and Demaryius Thomas were ruled out before kickoff (along with three other Broncos starters), and Eddie Royal went down in the first quarter, leaving the Broncos with only Eric Decker and Matthew Willis at receiver.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The running game carried the offense, with Willis McGahee eclipsing 100 yards rushing. But the defense won the game. The Cincinnati Bengals had two late fourth quarter drives to make their needed game-winning field goal.

The defense held when it mattered. Jonathan Wilhite and Robert Ayers registered the crucial sack and QB pressure respectively, and the Broncos fought through adversity. The Broncos won. They move to 1-1.

Think about it — months removed from the Josh McDaniels‘ pass-happy era, a running game and defense carried the Broncos to victory. Nice gritty win by the Broncos. Now get healthy and get ready for Tennessee!

The Denver Broncos look to bounce back in Week 2 as they face the Cincinnati Bengals. Kickoff at 2:15 p.m. MT; GameBlog begins at 2. For more information including inactives, check out Broncos vs. Bengals: Pregame.

Kickoff: 2:15 p.m. MT
BT GameBlog: 2:00 p.m. MT
Television: CBS (coverage)
Announcers: Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein
The Line: Broncos by 4

Shannon Sharpe to be honored — Call the national guard!! The greatest tight end to wear an NFL uniform (yes, I’m biased) will receive his Hall of Fame ring during halftime today. Congratulations #84!!!

Bengals defense, running game fearsome — In a lot of ways, the Bengals are built very similarly to the underdog that beat the Broncos last week. They have a disruptive front four defensively, a good running game, and an unknown, perhaps underrated commodity at quarterback. The Broncos will need to stop the run, open up their passing attack and gain an early lead to pull off a convincing win.

Game Breakdowns: MaxDenver | It’s All Over Fat Man! | Cincinnati Enquirer

Inactives —

Broncos — CB Champ Bailey, DE Elvis Dumervil, WR Brandon Lloyd, RB Knowshon Moreno, WR Demaryius Thomas, DT Marcus Thomas, LB D.J. Williams
Bengals — S Taylor Mays, S Robert Sands, LB Dontay Moch, OL Otis Hudson, TE Donald Lee, WR Ryan Whalen; DE Robert Geathers.

Live Blog — We’re striving to improve our gameday coverage and welcome you to check out what we hope is our best live blog yet today! More polls, media, and reader interaction.

With the Denver Broncos‘ engine missing, oh, just a few key cogs, we’re taking a few minutes to get to know the players that will replace those out due to injury, game show style. First to correctly guess the backup in the comments based on the context-free, position-anonymous clues gets a cookie.

• I was undrafted, and this is my second year with the Broncos.
• I averaged 6.4 yards per _____ in my 2008 NFL debut with the Indianapolis Colts.
• Quoteable: “Wanted the win but we played hard. Put a lil dirt on it an let’s get ready to play our first home game. I love my team!!!!” (via Twitter following preseason week 4)
• Over the past two years, the Broncos have tried out other veteran backups at my position, including former first- and second-round draft picks. I’m still here.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

With the Denver Broncos‘ engine missing, oh, just a few key cogs, we’re taking a few minutes to get to know the players that will replace those out due to injury, game show style. First to correctly guess the backup in the comments based on the context-free, position-anonymous clues gets a cookie.

• I was drafted in the first round of an NFL draft, and this is my first year with the Broncos.
• I’ve played in every game but two in my NFL career.
• Quoteable: “I don’t really look at the criticism too much because we all really know behind closed doors what really happened. Same positions three years in a row, different coordinators, I’m taking this situation and taking advantage of it.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

With the Denver Broncos‘ engine missing, oh, just a few key cogs, we’re taking a few minutes to get to know the players that will replace those out due to injury, game show style. First to correctly guess the backup in the comments based on the context-free, position-anonymous clues gets a cookie.

• I went undrafted, and this is my third year with the Broncos.
• I led the AFC in _____ yards in the 2010 preseason. An injury shortened my regular season so I’m hoping to capitalize on my potential this year.
• Quoteable: “I gave it all up (a track scholarship) just for the opportunity to play football. At the time, it was a really hard decision. It was very stressful because it wasn’t just me, it was my mom, and now she has to pay for school. It was a very tough family decision.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

With the Denver Broncos‘ engine missing, oh, just a few key cogs, we’re taking a few minutes to get to know the players that will replace those out due to injury, game show style. First to correctly guess the backup in the comments based on the context-free, position-anonymous clues gets a cookie.

• I went undrafted, and this is my second year with the Broncos (a running theme).
• I had a unique 97-yard touchdown in 2010 that was the third-best such play in Broncos history.
• Quoteable: “Dawkins and Joe Mays, they played such a big role in my development into camp this summer. They gave me the confidence to come out and made me realize I have the ability to come out here and do it.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

With the Denver Broncos‘ engine missing, oh, just a few key cogs, we’re taking a few minutes to get to know the players that will replace those out due to injury, game show style. First to correctly guess the backup in the comments based on the context-free, position-anonymous clues gets a cookie.

• I went undrafted, and this is my second year with the Broncos.
• I had a unique 75-yard touchdown last year that marked the fourth-best such play in Broncos history.
• Quoteable: “If I have to work my way up from the bottom, then I’ll do it. I’ll do it every single year if I have to. That’s always been my way. You work hard, you try to learn and you try to be ready for the chance to show something so you can get more opportunities. That’s all you can do.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Broncos ended the waiting game on their highest-priced free agent of the 2011 offseason. Defensive tackle Ty Warren was placed on season-ending injured reserve Monday as the team promoted running back Jeremiah Johnson from the practice squad.

It’s interesting the Broncos didn’t simply make this move when they finalized the 53-man roster two weeks ago. According to the Denver Post‘s Mike Klis, Warren was placed on injured reserve now for two reasons: his roster spot was at a premium with the recent tumult of injuries, and he suffered a setback.

This was Warren’s second straight season being placed on injured reserve without playing a snap.

The Broncos signed the long-time Patriot to a two-year, $8 million deal, so Warren has 2012 to make the Broncos’ investment worthwhile. If he doesn’t, he likely won’t get a 2013; his career is in jeopardy.

The Denver Broncos are 4-point favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. Here are how the experts from ESPN, CBS, FOX, and Yahoo! pick the winner:

Golic Hoge Jaworski Mortensen Schefter Schlereth Wickersham Accuscore ESPN Users Prisco Judge Freeman Brinson Fowler Halpin Harmon Silver Cole Carpenter Yahoo! Users	Allen Richard Beall