The Denver Broncos have now dropped two straight games after a perfect start and they are looking to get back on the right track against on the road against the Washington Redskins Sunday.  The Broncos will need a better game out of Kyle Orton, who threw three interceptions and no touchdowns last week.  It was Orton’s first real bad game of the season and it was against one of the best team’s in the league in the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Don’t expect another terrible game for Orton against the Redskins, since they aren’t anywhere near the caliber of the Steelers.  They give up 126 rushing yards per contest, so Knowshown Moreno and Correll Buckhalter should have much better outings than the 27 yards combined they put up last week.

The Broncos defense has given up 58 points in their last two games, but they should be able to contain a Redskins offense that averages less than 300 total yards per game.  Their quarterback Jason Campbell is battling an ankle injury, so he wont be as mobile as usual.  Clinton Portis will be out (concussion) for the Redskins and his backup Ladell Betts is also battling an ankle injury, so the Broncos have no excuse if they lose this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Denver Broncos 27, Washington Redskins 17

The Denver Broncos offense was nearly non-existent in their loss to the Steelers on Monday night and it cost them the game.  Kyle Orton had his first bad game of the year and threw three interceptions.  The running game was only able to get 27 yards and the Broncos defense could not hold up the entire game.  They did a great job in the first half though, keeping the Steelers offense off the of the scoreboard.  The Steelers did have a 7-3 halftime lead though, as Tyrone Carter took one of his two interceptions off of Orton 48 yards for a touchdown.

The Broncos defense got zero help from their offense and it wore them down in the second half.  Brandon Marshall was the only player on the Broncos offense who made an impact.  Marshall had 112 of the Broncos’ 242 total yards.  He gained that 112 yards on 11 catches, but obviously failed to reach the endzone.  The Broncos defense was not able to continue their strong first half play and the Steelers offense reeled off 21 points in the second half.  Roethlisberger had three touchdown passes in the second half, but the Broncos did intercept him once earlier in the game.  The Broncos better hope that Orton’s early success was not a fluke, as he looked more like the Kyle Orton from the Chicago Bear.  The offense needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to put some points on the board, as their defense cannot do everything.

Brandon Marshall is once again the #1 WR for the Broncos.  He has quit picking fights with management and he is focusing on playing the game.  Marshall has caught 33 passes for 356 yards (10.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 3 times for 25 yards (8.3 ypc).  Look for the Broncos to really start getting the ball in Marshall’s hands more starting tonight in Pittsburgh.

It appears to me the RB Knowshon Moreno (1st round, #12 overall) will be a workhorse back in the very near future.  He has carried the ball 109 times for 420 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 11 passes for 64 yards (5.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Moreno is just scratching the surface of his potential as he is sharing the football with veteran Correll Buckhalter right now.  DE Robert Ayers (1st round, #18 overall) has not played well yet for the Broncos as he has 9 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  CB Alphonso Smith (2nd round, #37 overall) was drafted with the future in mind as the Broncos are stacked at CB.  He has made 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he has defensed 2 passes this season.  Safety Darcel McBath (2nd round, #48 overall) has 12 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception this season.  TE Richard Quinn (2nd round, #64 overall) has not caught any passes this season and he has 1 tackle.  FS David Bruton (4th round, #114 overall) has 5 tackles this season so far.  OG Seth Olsen (4th round, #132 overall) has played in 2 games (0 starts) this season for the Broncos.  WR/KR Kenny McKinley (5th round, #141 overall) has not caught any passes this season for the Broncos but he has returned 3 kickoffs for 74 yards (24.7 avg) this year.  QB Tom Brandstater (6th round, #174 overall) is the #3 QB for the Broncos but he hasn’t played this season yet.  C Blake Schlueter (7th round, #225 overall) has been cut.  The early returns on this draft have not looked good outside of Moreno but the potential for this draft is pretty high down the road.

The Denver Broncos (6-1) are coming off a tough loss to the Baltimore Ravens where they could not get anything going offensively.  They will need a better effort from the offense in this one, as the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) are a very good football team.  They have a good defense themselves, but I don’t think it is as good as the Ravens D was last week.  Kyle Orton needs to continue to take care of the ball and take what the defense gives him.  If he can do that and get some things going for the offense, then the Broncos defense should be able to contain the Steelers offense.

Ben Roethlisberger wont have a big passing day, but he doesn’t need one for the Steelers to be effective.  He does throw some interceptions from time to time though, so the Broncos should try and force him into some bad throws.  If they can get some turnovers they will win the game, as Orton and the Broncos offense do a great job eating up the clock and holding on to the ball.  The Steelers running attack with Mendenhall and Parker can do the same thing for the Steelers, so the Broncos need to be ready to contain their running game.  This should be a close defensive battle, but I think the Broncos are going to bounce back and win a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Denver Broncos 28

The Broncos have released 24-year old cornerback Jack Williams to make room on the roster for Ty Law.  Williams played in 7 games for the Broncos this season and he had 14 tackles and he defensed 3 passes.  In two years with the Broncos, Williams played in 21 games in which he made 27 tackles and he defensed 3 passes.  The Broncos have pretty much admitted that Williams has been a bust by cutting him so early in his NFL career.

The Broncos have signed 35-year old cornerback Ty Law and he will be active on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Law played in 7 games for the Jets last season and he made 19 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  Law has now played in 196 games in his NFL career and he has made 829 tackles, defensed 168 passes, has 5 sacks, forced 7 fumbles and he has 52 interceptions (7 of which he returned for TDs).  If Law has anything left at all this was an outstanding move for the Broncos.

The Broncos will be without starting RT Ryan Harris for at least the next three weeks due to two dislocated toes on his right foot.  This is bad news for the Broncos with a date with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming up this Monday Night.  Tyler Polumbus will get the start which will be the first of his NFL career.  He has played in 6 games this season for the Broncos and 22 overall in this two years in the NFL.  This is a big loss for the Broncos but the team seems confident that Polumbus can do a decent job so we will see if they are right on Monday Night.

The Denver Broncos (6-1) did not look like an undefeated team in their loss to the Ravens Sunday.  They kept it close in the first half, as it was a battle of the defenses and neither offense could get much going.  The Ravens were able to get two Steven Hauschka field goals to put themselves up 6-0 heading into halftime.  The Ravens took a quick 13-0 lead in the second half, grabbing all the momentum on a Lardarius Webb 95-yard kickoff return to open the half.  Webb’s return seemed to finally wake the Broncos offense up and they came back with an 86-yard drive and score to put the game at 13-7.  They were helped a lot by the Ravens on that drive though, getting three penalties totaling 44 yards.

The Broncos offense really struggled in this one, with Kyle Orton failing to make anything happen and the running game nearly non-existent.  Orton finished with 152 yards on 23/37 passes and had no TDs or INTs.  Knowshown Moreno and Correll Buckhalter combined for only 55 yards on 18 carries, although Moreno did find the endzone for the Broncos only score.  Moreno also had a fumble though, which led to one of the Hauschka’s field goals for the Ravens.  The Ravens took a 16-7 lead going into the 4th quarter, so the Broncos were still very much in the game.  The defense was too worn down in the 4th though and they gave up a 20 yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Derrick Mason early in the quarter.  They gave another touchdown late in the game to seal it when Ray Rice ran it in from 7 yards.