Prior to yesterday, the Denver Broncos had gone 5-0 four times in team history, and all four times they made it to the Super Bowl.  With their 20-17 overtime win against the New England Patriots, fans have reason to hope this team can accomplish what was thought to be impossible.

The fifth win for the Broncos may have been the most unlikely of them all. 

Tom Brady had started 75 games in which the Patriots led after three quarters, and lost only one.

Brady had never lost an overtime game.

The Patriots had only lost one game in which Brady, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss play.

Still, on the coldest week five game in NFL history, the Denver Broncos proved doubters and haters wrong once again, and for once it was the New England Patriots getting a taste of their own medicine.

 

Game Recap

The first half was all Patriots.  New England controlled the clock, and for the most part, they made the No. 1 defense in the NFL look out of sorts. 

Denver had a decent drive going on their opening possession, but kicker Matt Prater was unable to capitalize on his first field goal attempt of the day, leaving the Patriots with good field position.

Tom Brady made the Broncos pay. 

A big screen pass to Sammy Morris set the Patriots up for a quick strike touchdown from Brady to Wes Welker to get New England a 7-0 lead.

Rookie tailback Knowshon Moreno fumbled on the ensuing drive for the second straight game, and the Patriots took advantage of the turnover with a career-long 53-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, increasing their lead to 10-0.

The Broncos started the scoring in the second quarter, capping off a 10 play, 90-yard drive with an 11 yard fade pass from Kyle Orton to none other than Brandon Marshall, who scored for the third straight game.

New England fired back later in the quarter when Brady hit tight end Benjamin Watson on a seven yard pass, capping off a 10 play drive of their own to essentially end the half.

The Broncos had a very impressive 12-play, 66 yard drive going when they were unable to convert on third and short, and they settled for a 24-yard Prater field goal to decrease the margin to 17-10.

In the fourth quarter, the Broncos were pinned on their own two-yard line and Kyle Orton orchestrated the Broncos’ most impressive drive of the season.

Denver went 98 yards in 12 plays, and Brandon Marshall once again capped off the huge drive with an 11-yard touchdown reception, his second of the day, tying the game at 17 apiece.

Now the Broncos had to stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, who started their final drive at their own 30-yard line.

The first play of the drive, Sammy Morris scampered 19 yards to the 49, putting the Patriots in an optimum situation to win the game with another 15 yards of offense.

It appeared Brady and New England would do it again.

On the following play, Morris took the ball up the middle and Wesley Woodyard forced the ball out, but the Broncos were unable to capitalize and the Patriots recovered.

The very next play, Tom Brady dropped back to pass, and Denver defensive end Vonnie Holliday came up with the team’s first sack of the game and forced a fumble of Tom Brady.

This time, the Broncos took advantage. 

Elvis Dumervil fell on the ball, setting the Broncos up in Patriot territory with over a minute to play.

The Patriots’ defense also came to play, and they shut down any chance the Broncos would have of scoring a game-winning field goal in regulation.

We had overtime.

The Broncos won the coin toss in bonus play, and started with the ball on their own 20-yard line.

After ten plays, kicker Matt Prater took the field to attempt a 41-yard field goal to win the game for Denver.  His kick could not have been more perfect, and the Broncos took the game 20-17 in overtime.

 

Random Game Thoughts

Quarterback Kyle Orton played his best game as a Bronco, completing 35-of-48 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns.  He also threw his first interception of the season, but it came on a “Hail Mary” play at the end of the first half.

Orton was pin-point with his passes, and he got everyone involved. 

Eddie Royal tripled his season total in receptions, catching ten on the game for 90 yards.  Brandon Marshall had 8 receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns.  Jabar Gaffney caught six passes for 61 yards.

I was actually extremely surprised that Denver did not score more than they did.  They had 424 yards of total offense, and other than the fumble by Knowshon Moreno, they did not turn the ball over.

The Broncos’ defense continued its impressive play, but this time they did not have any sacks until the fourth quarter.  One of my “Keys to Victory” for them was putting heat on Tom Brady, and they did not do that very well.

For the most part, Brady had time to knit a sweater and call home while he waited for a receiver to get open, or that’s what it seemed like at least.

The Broncos got their stops though, and they did not allow the Patriots to score the entire second half.

For the first time this season, the Broncos lost the turnover margin, and the Patriots were 53-of-53 in their previous games when they won the turnover margin.

As high as I am on Knowshon Moreno, the Broncos missed Correll Buckhalter.  They did not incorporate Peyton Hillis like I thought they would, but Moreno did a very nice job.  He ran the ball 21 times for 88 yards, 11 of which came at a crucial point of their overtime drive.

A defensive player who has been hot the last two weeks, other than Champ Bailey, is fellow cornerback Jack Williams who made some great plays.  The Broncos have a very formidable secondary, and Williams is great depth.

One stat that really stood out to me was that Denver had 27 first downs to the Patriots’ 18, which is a substantial difference.

Another one of my “Keys to Victory” was getting off the field on third down defensively, and the Broncos were able to hold the Patriots to a 35 percent conversion rate, which is over 11 percent lower than their season average heading into this game.

Inversely, Denver converted 42 percent of their third down plays, and that was critical in them winning this game.

 

Final Rant

This game was a statement game for the Broncos, although it shouldn’t have been.  Denver has proven they are an elite team thus far, and they did it prior to this game.

The bandwagon is sure to be overflowing after this win, and the Broncos are set up for a prime time matchup with San Diego next Monday night.

This team still has a lot to prove and a lot  to work on, which is encouraging for the fans.  Denver is 5-0 and has a long way to reach its full potential.

A magical win in what so far has been a magical season.  Denver is not just a surprise anymore, they are legitimate AFC contenders.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

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