Leftover Loss

The choppy, sloppy New York Giants were stuffed on Thanksgiving night in Denver. Luckily for the fans, the unappetizing 26-6 loss occurred after the Turkey Day meal. The Broncos improved to 7-4 by carving up the Giants in rushing yards, turnovers and time of possession. New York lost their fifth game in six tries after beginning a promising 5-0. The Giants failed to score before the third quarter. In fact, Big Blue didn’t even cross into opposing territory in the opening thirty minutes of the game. It was the first time since 2006 New York was held scoreless before halftime.
Denver settled for three field goals in the first half. Matt Prater kicked three of his four during the first two quarters and running back, Knowshon Moreno scored a one yard touchdown to give the Broncos a 16-0 lead at the half. Denver’s pass rush harassed Eli Manning and the Giants offense the entire night. Manning went without a touchdown pass and was sacked three times. The Big Blue signal caller threw an interception, one of three Denver takeaways. New York’s offense generated just two second-half field goals as the team dropped to 6-5. The Broncos, propelled by Purdue product, Kyle Orton’s six scoring drives, pulled within a half game of AFC West leader, San Diego. The Giants defense, looked upon as depleted all season, played effectually so last night. They were aggravated by the Broncos and were exceedingly sluggish. Denver heated up New York as if they were Thanksgiving leftovers.
Orton was 18 for 28 with 245 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Stokley basted Big Blue in the fourth quarter on a 17 yard pass from Orton. Prater connected from 24 yards out with five minutes in the game to seal the win for Denver. New York managed 38 yards on offense in the first half, thanks in part to a riveting and physical Denver defense. Backup runner, Danny Ware, filled in for the injured, Ahmad Bradshaw. The shaky Giants rusher fumbled on his third carry of the game in the second quarter following an offsides penalty. Safety, Brian Dawkins tumbled on the football to recover the fumble for Denver. Broncos maligned receiver, Brandon Marshall, caught a 28 yard pass from Orton to set up Moreno’s touchdown run. Dawkins stymied New York’s offense with eight tackles. Elvis Dumervil, NFL sack leader, had his way with Manning. Dumervil sacked Manning in the fourth quarter and dislodged the ball for another Giants turnover. Dumervil dumped Manning twice during the Thursday trouncing.
Cornerback, Terrell Thomas, picked off Orton in the third quarter to give the Giants an opportunity to surmount their first half struggles. The Giants could only turn the interception into a field goal as running back, Brandon Jacobs, was tackled for two losses. Jacobs was slow-footed and did little to help the Giants on Thursday night. Jacobs was feeble in picking up blitzes, and the New York receivers barely escaped the clutches of Denver’s defensive backs to get open. Lawrence Tynes nailed a 39 yard field goal eight minutes into the third quarter to finally put New York on the scoreboard. Tynes drilled a 52 yarder on the next New York possession to trim the Denver lead to ten. That was all the trimming New York would do on this Turkey Day. The defensive line continues to show their weaknesses with virtually no pass rush. The secondary had trouble in coverage, and allowed Stokley to put the game away in the final quarter. Marshall finished with 6 receptions for 86 yards. Moreno racked up 88 on the ground and 19 through the air for Denver. The Broncos snapped a four game slide after sailing through the gates 6-0. Manning passed for 230 yards, but the offense produced just 181 yards before an 86 yard drive in the final two minutes. The Giants played with little energy and failed to execute all night. They didn’t reach the Broncos side of the field until Manning found Mario Manningham following Thomas’ interception. Manningham ended with five grabs for 48 yards, and Hakeem Nicks set a Giants rookie record with a reception in his sixth straight game. Nicks hauled in four passes for 66 yards. Mediocre New York fell two games behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. The 8-3 Cowboys won out 24-7 as Tony Romo gobbled up his fourth consecutive Thanksgiving victory in Big D.

Parting Points: Colt McCoy shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Texas quarterback is a gifted athlete who has made a college career out of remarkable plays.

Blitzing Barricade Batters Broncos

The two best teams in the AFC collided in the Rocky Mountains Monday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ scruffy defense did most of the late scoring in lifting them over the 6-1 Denver Broncos 28-10. The defending Superbowl champions won their fifth straight game and were lead by replacement safety, Tyrone Carter. Carter’s 48 yard interception return to the Denver end zone was intended for Knowshon Moreno. It was one of three picks thrown by the suddenly sliding Purdue product, Kyle Orton. The Broncos have lost back-to-back games after rushing hurriedly off to a 6-0 start. The regressing Denver club outgained and outpassed the Steelers during the first half. Yet, Pittsburgh’s defense made the principal prevailing plays to escape the high altitudes of Colorado with an impressive 6-2 record.
Ben Roethlisberger was stripped of the football on his first possession in the second quarter. First year linebacker, Robert Ayers, carted the pigskin 54 yards the other way to give Denver a 10-7 lead. The rumbling didn’t last long for the roused Broncos. Roethlisberger drove the Steelers 80 yards to set up Hines Ward’s three yard touchdown reception. The strike to Ward put the visitors back on top by four. Despite Dick LeBeau’s depleted defense, the Invesco Field crowd was still forced to commit to memory superstars like Troy Polamalu, Brett Keisel, James Harrison and Carter. Polamalu snared an Orton pass in the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh clinging to a 14-10 lead. The safety’s pick set up Roethlisberger’s touchdown toss to rookie, Mike Wallace. Big Ben was 21 for 29 for 233 yards. He fled the pocket to hit Wallace from 25 yards and found Ward again for another Pittsburgh seven with 1:22 remaining in regulation. The Broncos offense was held without a touchdown. Save for the interception return in the early minutes of the third quarter, Denver never scored again after they were “Polamalued”.
The defense flogged a very prominent opponent on the road. Orton completed 23 of his 38 passes through the air. Eddie Royal collected three receptions for 47 yards for the ailing Broncos. Running back, Brandon Marshall, turned in a 112 yard day but rookie head coach, Josh McDaniels, lost his second game because of a porous offensive line. Denver rushed for one yard during the second half thanks in part to the blitzing of a pounding Pittsburgh defense. Polamalu intersected and interrupted Orton’s lane to Marshall throughout the game. He is one of the most electrifying players in the NFL, and the glue holding together the Steelers’ defense. William Gay disputed any attempt of Orton hitting an open Royal. The relentless Steelers capped their night off with a third interception. Carter caught his second turnover with fifteen seconds remaining. Rashard Mendenhall rushed over the Broncos for 155 yards. The Steelers dominated the second half with a no-huddle offense and three wideout set. The Broncos owe self-destruction helped the Steelers pummel the number one defense in the NFL. Pittsburgh’s health problems weren’t a concern as the team game together to stop the impotent Broncos ground game. The Steelers return to Heinz Field next Sunday to play the team they are tied with in the NFC North—the Cincinnati Bengals.

Parting Points: It looks like Charlie Weis is on the hot seat again.
Interesting read I picked up today- “Ten Minutes From Normal” by Karen Hughes