Lonestar
12-08-2009, 12:12 AM
Veteran rushes for 113 yards as Broncos get ground game going
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/07/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, left, tries to bring down the Broncos' Correll Buckhalter grabbing some face mask in the process in the second quarter of Sunday's game at Arrowhead Stadium. Buckhalter had 113 of Denver's 245 yards rushing. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )Related
Broncos vs. Chiefs
Dec 7:
Briefs: Orton's odd day: Red-zone pick, fumbles lost, winWhat the fans are saying: Ground game is winning formulaHali's big rush a big plusQuinn's deflection on K.C.'s trick play, Royal's returns elevating unitRoyal's all-purpose show stuns K.C.Dec 6:
Whitlock: Chiefs' season a disasterDec 7:
Broncos crunch Kansas City, improve to 8-4Armstrong: Broncos in driver's seat for playoff spotDec 6:
L.T., Chargers zap Browns 30-23Raiders stun Steelers 27-24 with 3 late TDsKANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a moment there, Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter was sure he had broken free.
Buckhalter dashed untouched through Kansas City's defensive linemen and linebackers early in the second quarter of Sunday's 44-13 victory at Arrowhead Stadium, but a push from safety Mike Brown knocked Buckhalter off-balance. Buckhalter had gotten past all of the Chiefs' defenders but couldn't stay on his feet and fell near midfield after a gain of 26 yards.
"I should have broken the first one for 80, but it didn't happen," Buckhalter said. "I'm mad at myself, but I had to let it go."
That fall was about all Buckhalter had to be sorry about after Denver's best overall running performance of the season.
In games earlier this season, and especially during their four-game losing streak in November, the Broncos seemed to bail on their running game. On Sunday, the running game was the offense.
Just look at the second-quarter drive that started with Buckhalter's 26-yard run. Seven of the eight plays on the 80-yard drive were rushes, three by Buckhalter (for 56 total yards) and four by rookie Knowshon Moreno, who capped the drive with a 4-yard run, right up the middle of the Chiefs' defense.
"That's what you want. Want to complement each other with the run and the pass, and that's what we did all day today," Moreno said.
By the end of the game, the Broncos had racked up 245 yards rushing — easily their highest total of the season. Buckhalter finished with 113 yards — a single-game season high for the Broncos. Moreno had 86 yards and two touchdowns, and Peyton Hillis added 47 more yards in the fourth quarter.
"The running backs are hitting the holes really well, and they're running so much harder," center Casey Wiegmann said. "Not that they weren't running hard before, but you can tell, when they hit the holes they're trying to break a big one."
For only the second time this season, the Broncos had more yards on the ground than in the air (180 yards passing for Kyle Orton).
"My entire career, we've had more running yards than passing yards coming from Chicago, so stats don't matter," Orton said. "I told Josh (McDaniels) we'd pass it 50 times or run it 50 times, it really doesn't matter to me."
It's a formula the Broncos might need to replicate in coming weeks.
Denver plays indoors at Indianapolis next Sunday, but their other three games all could be played in cold or inclement weather, two at home in Denver and one in Philadelphia.
"Especially in December, you've got to be able to run the ball," Buckhalter said. "It's real critical."
Hillis, who was the third tailback with LaMont Jordan inactive, received his first carries since the third game of the season.
"You want to go back out there and prove you can still do it," Hillis said. "I haven't had very many opportunities here lately, so I try to take advantage of them. Try to make my family proud, try to make myself most of all proud that I could still do it."
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13941642
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/07/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, left, tries to bring down the Broncos' Correll Buckhalter grabbing some face mask in the process in the second quarter of Sunday's game at Arrowhead Stadium. Buckhalter had 113 of Denver's 245 yards rushing. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )Related
Broncos vs. Chiefs
Dec 7:
Briefs: Orton's odd day: Red-zone pick, fumbles lost, winWhat the fans are saying: Ground game is winning formulaHali's big rush a big plusQuinn's deflection on K.C.'s trick play, Royal's returns elevating unitRoyal's all-purpose show stuns K.C.Dec 6:
Whitlock: Chiefs' season a disasterDec 7:
Broncos crunch Kansas City, improve to 8-4Armstrong: Broncos in driver's seat for playoff spotDec 6:
L.T., Chargers zap Browns 30-23Raiders stun Steelers 27-24 with 3 late TDsKANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a moment there, Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter was sure he had broken free.
Buckhalter dashed untouched through Kansas City's defensive linemen and linebackers early in the second quarter of Sunday's 44-13 victory at Arrowhead Stadium, but a push from safety Mike Brown knocked Buckhalter off-balance. Buckhalter had gotten past all of the Chiefs' defenders but couldn't stay on his feet and fell near midfield after a gain of 26 yards.
"I should have broken the first one for 80, but it didn't happen," Buckhalter said. "I'm mad at myself, but I had to let it go."
That fall was about all Buckhalter had to be sorry about after Denver's best overall running performance of the season.
In games earlier this season, and especially during their four-game losing streak in November, the Broncos seemed to bail on their running game. On Sunday, the running game was the offense.
Just look at the second-quarter drive that started with Buckhalter's 26-yard run. Seven of the eight plays on the 80-yard drive were rushes, three by Buckhalter (for 56 total yards) and four by rookie Knowshon Moreno, who capped the drive with a 4-yard run, right up the middle of the Chiefs' defense.
"That's what you want. Want to complement each other with the run and the pass, and that's what we did all day today," Moreno said.
By the end of the game, the Broncos had racked up 245 yards rushing — easily their highest total of the season. Buckhalter finished with 113 yards — a single-game season high for the Broncos. Moreno had 86 yards and two touchdowns, and Peyton Hillis added 47 more yards in the fourth quarter.
"The running backs are hitting the holes really well, and they're running so much harder," center Casey Wiegmann said. "Not that they weren't running hard before, but you can tell, when they hit the holes they're trying to break a big one."
For only the second time this season, the Broncos had more yards on the ground than in the air (180 yards passing for Kyle Orton).
"My entire career, we've had more running yards than passing yards coming from Chicago, so stats don't matter," Orton said. "I told Josh (McDaniels) we'd pass it 50 times or run it 50 times, it really doesn't matter to me."
It's a formula the Broncos might need to replicate in coming weeks.
Denver plays indoors at Indianapolis next Sunday, but their other three games all could be played in cold or inclement weather, two at home in Denver and one in Philadelphia.
"Especially in December, you've got to be able to run the ball," Buckhalter said. "It's real critical."
Hillis, who was the third tailback with LaMont Jordan inactive, received his first carries since the third game of the season.
"You want to go back out there and prove you can still do it," Hillis said. "I haven't had very many opportunities here lately, so I try to take advantage of them. Try to make my family proud, try to make myself most of all proud that I could still do it."
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13941642