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View Full Version : Manning's 147th Win Isn't What It Appeared To Be



Broncos Mtnman
11-11-2012, 07:51 PM
With the victory over the Carolina Panthers today, Peyton Manning moved in to a third-place tie with Dan Marino with his 147th win. However, that win isn't all that it appears to be. After Broncos fans witnessed Manning throw for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns in five of the previous six games--a streak where the Broncos won four out of six games--he only managed 301 yards and a single touchdown today. Yet the Broncos still scored 36 points and left Bank of America stadium with a win that improved their record to 6-3.

This means there has to be more to this win than there appears to be, and there is.

Today's victory was a total team effort. It's an old adage in football circles that winning teams perform in all three areas--offense, defense, and special teams. And this is exactly the way the Broncos won today.

After yielding a touchdown on the second Carolina drive, the Broncos defense displayed total domination the rest of the game. Cam Newton was sacked seven times, once for a safety. It's the highest number of sacks against the first round quarterback in a single game so far in his young career. When he wasn't being sacked, Newton was being harassed. On one near sack, Newton threw a pick six to Tony Carter--his second interception of the season. They also had three running play "sacks" with three tackles in the backfield for -13 yards. They surrendered ZERO first down conversions on third down (0 for 12).

For the second week in a row, Trindon Holliday scored on special teams. Last week it was a 105 yard kickoff return. Today, he returned a punt 76 yards, giving the Broncos a lead they would not relinquish. I'm not sure why the Houston Texans released him, but he has been an exciting addition to the Broncos.

Peyton Manning got his 147th win today, but it isn't what it appeared to be.


The good stuff:
Peyton Manning - While it required a meaningless 46 yard completion to Demaryius Thomas on the Broncos last scoring drive, he did manage to break the 300 yard barrier. His 147th win ties him for third place with Dan Marino. John Elway is second on the list with 148. His touchdown pass was the 420th of his career and tied him for second place in that category, also with Dan Marino.
Defense - Seven sacks, two interceptions (one for a touchdown), two forced fumbles, 0 for 12 on third down, 14 points (7 on a meaningless drive near the end of the game), and 250 total net yards.
Special Teams - Trindon Holliday's punt return for a touchdown, his second special teams score in the past two games. Thanks to the strong play on defense, Carolina had to punt 9 times. Eight were returned for a total of 125 yards.
Touchdown smorgasbord - Four touchdowns were scored today. One through the air--one on the ground--one on a punt return--one via an interception.


The not-so-good stuff:
Fumbles - this is not a new problem. The team had 11 coming in to today's game (losing 10) and added three more (losing two). So far this season, the team has been able to overcome them, but this is going to catch up to them eventually.
Third downs - The offense was only 3 for 13 today, which meant that Matt Prater and Britton Colquitt were busier today than they should be. Prater was two for three on field goals and Colquitt punted 6 times. That's nine offensive drives (the tenth one was a kneel-down to end the game) that stalled. When you add the fumbles, that's eleven opportunities for a touchdown unrealized.
Running game - For the sixth time in the first nine games, the Broncos running game failed to break the 100 yard mark in net yards. While many of those games were situations where passing was a requirement because the team was behind, the team had the lead today and was unable to sustain an effective running game to burn some clock and protect Manning.
Trindon Holliday - He had the touchdown return, but he almost didn't. I noticed last week on his kickoff return that he was BARELY over the goal line when he flipped the football out of the end zone. If you were watching the game today, it looked like he did it again before he was clearly over the line. The touchdown was ruled accurate, but there shouldn't be any doubt on such a play. GET IN THE END ZONE--THEN DO YOUR CELEBRATION.


Offensive player-of-the-game: A tough one this week, but I'm giving it to Demaryius Thomas - 9 receptions for 135 yards.

Defensive player-of-the-game: The entire defense. This is probably the closest they have come to a complete game this year. Great job!!

Simple Jaded
11-11-2012, 11:20 PM
Holliday didn't cross the goal line.......

SR
11-11-2012, 11:55 PM
Holliday didn't cross the goal line.......

According to the stat sheet and scoreboard he did.

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Broncos Mtnman
11-12-2012, 12:01 AM
Holliday didn't cross the goal line.......

Officially, he did.

But I agree with you on how it looked and that is my point. There's no excuse for making it even close.
If you want to "showboat" your touchdown, do it after you are IN the endzone.