2nd year WR Eddie Royal isn’t putting up the kind of numbers he did at WR as a rookie last season as he has only caught 18 passes for 148 yards (8.2 avg) this year.  But, he has found a home as the main return man for the Broncos.  He has returned 8 kickoffs for 222 yards (27.8 avg) with a TD and he has also returned 13 punts for 172 yards (13.2 avg) with a TD this year.  Royal was the main reason that the Broncos beat the Chargers recently as he returned both a kickoff and a punt for a TD against them.  Royal has a wide array of moves to go with his speed as he is a threat to go the distance any time he touches the football.

What an amazing turnaround WR Brandon Marshall has had for the Broncos this season.  They tried the trade him the whole off season and they suspended him right before the year started but he is acting his age and he is performing well lately.  Marshall has caught 29 passes for 332 yards (11.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 3 times for 25 yards (8.3 avg).  Look for him to have a huge game against the Ravens tomorrow who are having issues with big wide receivers like Marshall this season.

The Denver Broncos (6-0) are taking on the Baltimore Ravens (3-3) on the road Sunday, and it should be an exciting and hard fought game.  Although the Ravens have lost three in a row, the three losses have been very close and the Ravens are better than a .500 club.  The Broncos will have to deal with the tenacious Ray Lewis and the rest of the talented Baltimore defense.   The Broncos and Kyle Orton need to continue their turnover free play, as the Ravens have a very aggressive defense that does a good job of forcing turnovers.  They will need Knowshown Moreno to step it up from last week, where he only got 44 yards on 18 carries (2.4 avg).  Correll Buckhalter should continue to bring some relief to Moreno, as he has been great all season averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

The Ravens are no longer just a team with a good defense.  Their quarterback Joe Flacco has turned their offense around the past two seasons and has 11 touchdowns and only 5 picks so far this year.  He is a big quarterback with a big arm, so the Broncos need to be aware of the deep ball.  Like the Broncos, the Ravens have a two headed running attack, with Ray Rice getting the bulk of the carries and Willis McGahee getting some too.  McGahee has been struggling lately though and will probably get less carries because of it.  If the Broncos can play like they have been all year and not turn the ball over, they should win this game.  I think the Ravens are determined to end their losing streak and will be trying to make a statement, so I am picking them to upset the undefeated Broncos.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Denver Broncos 21, Baltimore Ravens 24

31-year old cornerback Champ Bailey has not lost a step this season as he has been outstanding.  Bailey has played in six games for the Broncos this season and he has 30 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception.  Teams are still scared to throw the ball to Bailey’s side of the field and that’s why he only has 1 pickoff this season.  Bailey has also been solid in run support this season.  There is no reason to think that Champ Bailey is going to slow down any time soon for the Broncos.

The Broncos have signed 37-year old punter Mitch Berger to replace Brett Kern who was released.  Berger played in 13 games for the Steelers last season and he punted the ball 66 times for 2,728 yards (41.3 avg).  Berger placed 19 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (28.8%) and he only had 4 touchbacks (6%).  Part of the reason for this move was that Kern often outkicked his coverage which resulted in a lot of long returns.  He punted the ball 27 times for the Broncos this season for 1,245 yards (46.1 avg).  Kern placed 9 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (33.3%) but he also had 6 touchbacks (22.2%) which is too many.  This was a move that had to be made by the Broncos.