The Broncos just couldn’t stop the Colts enough to make this a game.  Kyle Orton did his part as he completed 37 of 57 passes for 476 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Laurence Maroney carried the ball 12 times for 24 yards and he caught 2 passes for 40 yards as he couldn’t get a whole lot going against the Colts yesterday.  Correll Buckhalter carried the ball 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 33 yards (5.5 avg) in this game.  Jabar Gaffney (12 rec, 140 yards) and Brandon Lloyd (6 rec, 169 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos in this game.  The Broncos finished up with 47 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 37 of 57 passes for 472 yards.

Denver’s D did not play well yesterday.  CB Nate Jones (7 tackles) and LB Mario Haggan (7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) led the way for the Broncos on defense in this game.  The Colts finished up with 40 yards rushing on 22 carries (1.8 ypc) and they also completed 37 of 57 passes for 472 yards.  The Broncos are now 1-2 on the year.

The Colts and Broncos are both coming off nice wins getting their seasons back on track.  The Broncos really are hoping that the altitude helps them this weekend as the Colts have a lot of advantages personnel wise in this game.  Here is a look at the matchups:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos should not want an all-out fire fight with the Colts because they would likely lose that kind of game.  But, the Colts are giving up 188.5 yards rushing and 5.6 yards per carry so far this year so Josh McDaniels will likely try out his new toy (Laurence Maroney) this Sunday.  If Maroney is successful that will slow the Colts’ pass rush giving Kyle Orton time to throw the ball down the field.  Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd give Orton a lot of quality options down the field this weekend.

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to try to mix in the run like they did last week.  It made things very difficult on the Giants’ D last week and it could cause similar problems to the Broncos on that side of the ball.  The Broncos are giving up 121.5 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Colts will also likely use Addai & Brown out of the backfield a lot in the passing game which will also cause problems for the Broncos D.  When Peyton Manning drops back to pass the ball the Broncos have to put pressure on him.  With CBs Champ Bailey and Andre’ Goodman gimpy this game could get really ugly if Manning has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 41, BRONCOS 31

Starting RB Knowshon Moreno injured his hamstring earlier today in practice and he will miss at least the next two weeks.  Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter and Andre Brown will have to pick up the slack with Moreno out of action.  Coach Josh McDaniels really wants to try out his new toy so look for Laurence Maroney to get the bulk of the carries this weekend against the Colts.

The Broncos are only averaging 77.0 yards rushing and 2.4 yards per carry so far this season and that just won’t get it done.  Teams will start ganging up to stop the Broncos’ passing game without ground support.  Knowshon Moreno has carried the ball 39 times for 111 yards (2.8 ypc) so far this year.  He has caught 5 passes for 71 yards (14.2 avg) this year so at least he’s helping out in the passing game.  Correll Buckhalter has carried the ball 17 times for 34 yards (2.0 ypc) so far this season so he isn’t helping the offense at all so far this year.  The Broncos hope that Laurence Maroney gets healthy soon because he could inject some spice to the Broncos’ running game.

23-year old WR/PR/KR Kenny McKinley has committed suicide.  He was on the Injured Reserve List this year due to chronic knee injury.  McKinley was a rookie last season for the Broncos and he helped them out on special teams.  He returned 3 punts for 32 yards (10.7 avg) and 7 kickoffs for 158 yards (22.6 avg) last year.  McKinley also made 3 tackles as a rookie last year.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the family & friends of Kenny McKinley. 

The Broncos dominated the Seahawks in the home opener yesterday.  Kyle Orton was very efficient in this game for the Broncos as he completed 25 of 35 passes for 307 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Knowshon Moreno was busy in this game with 24 carries for 51 yards (2.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 67 yards (16.8 avg).  Correll Buckhalter was very ineffective in this game with 19 yards rushing on 11 carries (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  WRs Damaryius Thomas (8 rec, 97 yards, TD) and Eddie Royal (5 rec, 65 yards, TD) led the way for the Broncos in the passing game.  The Broncos finished up with 65 yards rushing on 38 carries (1.7 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes for 304 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:07 in this game.

Safety Brian Dawkins led the way for the Broncos in this game with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  CBs Champ Bailey and rookie Perrish Cox also picked off 1 pass apiece in this game for the Broncos.   The Seahawks finished up with 109 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.5 ypc) and they completed 20 of 35 passes for 230 yards.  The Broncos are now 1-1 on the year.

To me this looks like one of the most evenly matched games of the coming weekend.  The Broncos’ D will have to play much better in this game if they are going to win it.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos will likely lean to the pass more than the run in this game.  Kyle Orton will likely be spreading the ball around to Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney and Eddie Royal in an attempt to loosen up the run defense.  If the Broncos are throwing the ball well it could open up some running lanes for Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter.  Look for the Broncos to be way more aggressive than the 49ers were against a Seahawks’ D that played way over their heads last week.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks play offense within the first 10-12 yards off the ball.  They have a lot of injuries along the O-Line so Matt Hasselbeck doesn’t often have time to throw the ball deep.  That means the Broncos’ D better be ready for John Carlson, Deion Branch and Mike Williams on the short stuff.  The Seahawks don’t have a main back so the Broncos will have to prepare for Justin Forsett, Leon Washington and Julius Jones who all have different skill sets. 

PREDICTION:  BRONCOS 20, SEAHAWKS 17

Brandon Lloyd caught 5 passes for 117 yards (23.4 avg) in the season opener last weekend against the Jaguars.  It’s possible that he could be a late bloomer.  He played in 2 games last season for the Broncos last season in which he caught 8 passes for 117 yards (14.6 avg) but his season ended early due to injury.  Coming into this year, Lloyd played in 81 games in 7 years in which he caught 164 passes for 2,370 yards (14.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  It will be interesting to see if Lloyd can stay healthy and productive for the Broncos this year as he has never put much together in his NFL career as of yet.

The Broncos have acquired 25-year old running back Laurence Maroney and a sixth round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft from the Patriots for a 4th round pick in 2011.  Maroney did not play in the season opener for the Patriots.  He played in 15 games for the Patriots last season and he carried the ball 194 times for 757 yards (3.9 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  Maroney also caught 14 passes for 99 yards (7.1 avg) last season.  Maroney has now played in 45 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 582 times for 2,430 yards (4.2 ypc) with 21 TD runs.  He has also caught 40 passes for 409 yards (10.3 avg) with a TD and he has also returned 41 kickoffs for 1,062 yards (25.9 avg).  Maroney has a nice upside so I really like this deal for the Broncos.

The Broncos just didn’t make enough big plays on either side of the ball to beat the Jaguars yesterday.  Kyle Orton had a decent game as he completed 21 of 33 passes for 295 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 12 yards (6.0 ypc) yesterday.  Knowshon Moreno pitched in with 60 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.0 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  WRs Brandon Lloyd (5 rec, 117 yards) and Eddie Royal (8 rec, 98 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos yesterday.  Jabar Gaffney pitched in with 3 catches for 34 yards with a TD.  The Broncos finished up with 89 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 33 passes for 274 yards. 

Linebacker D.J. Williams led a so-so effort by the D yesterday with 11 tackles.  OLB Robert Ayers had a heck of a game for the Broncos yesterday with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and he hit the QB 4 times.  Each of the Jaguars drives were at least 40 yards so the Broncos have some work to do still on defense.  The Jaguars finished up with 134 yards on 34 carries (3.9 ypc) and they completed 16 of 21 passes for 165 yards.  It’s too bad that the Broncos didn’t read my preview for the game or they might have known that Marcedes Lewis (2 TD receptions) was the Jags’ secret weapon.  The Broncos start the year 0-1.