Broncos enter bye week with confidence restored after win over Washington

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Sunday afternoon, blink, and it was a different game — a different team, even.

Seemed to me like in the time it took to look down at my laptop and type a sentence, the game went from a collapse to a bloodbath, from Peyton Manning's inaccuracy giving Washington a two-touchdown lead to the Broncos galloping ahead and never looking back.

For fans, I assume it was stressful. For the Redskins, demoralizing. For the Broncos, though, it was the perfect game after which to coast into their bye.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/lunchspecial/ci_24403102/broncos-enter-bye-week-confidence-restored-after-win-over-redskins

[Joel]

Seems a stretch; it was a great comeback, and the D phenomenal against a good offense, but SB contenders should NEVER be down 2 TDs at home against a team that's only won 2 games despite a weak division.

Except for a short but critical spate at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter the blocking—both run and pass—was terrible, and with Clady gone for the year and Walton apparently with him there are few obvious options to improve that: We go with what we've got for the rest of the year. Four turnovers for the second straight week; if not for our D producing 5 of their own that game might have ended as horribly for us as it did for Washington (i.e. the way it actually WAS for all about the middle 10:00 of the second half.) The list of SB champs who lost the turnover battle is vanishingly small; turnovers killed a good Broncos team in the '05 AFCCG, and again in the 2012 Divisional Round: We must fix that if we want to go all the way.

We go into the bye having played just one winning team—which beat us by 6 thanks to:

Poor protection for Manning producing two turnovers (and a safety,)
No line surge turning 3rd and 1 into three-and-out twice in the first quarter alone, as well as producing a fumble when we were at the goal line trying to climb back within one score and
Hollidays fumbled return handing Indy an 11 yd TD pass.

We don't have to wonder what happens if we do that against a playoff team: We saw last week.

It's weird to realize that, half way through Mannings second Denver season, and despite the AFCs #1 seed last year and a record setting offense this year, we've only beaten TWO winning teams (Cincy and Baltimore.) In a year and half. And one of them paid us back with interest in the playoffs. Last year we were weighed and found wanting against Houston, Atlanta and NE; this year it's KC, NE and KC again, with a 4-3 (probably 5-3 next week) Chargers team on both ends. Enjoy your bye, Broncos: The REAL season starts in thirteen days....