The Broncos scored the last 14 points of this game as Tim Tebow pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat.  Tim Tebow completed 16 of 29 passes for 308 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 10 times for 27 yards (2.7 ypc) with a TD run.  Correll Buckhalter led the way on the ground for the Broncos with 42 yards rushing on 11 carries (3.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 50 yards (16.7 avg) with a TD grab.  RBs Lance Ball (5 carries for 38 yards) and Knowshon Moreno (7 carries for 19 yards) also pitched in on the ground for the Broncos in this game.  WRs Brandon Lloyd (5 rec, 111 yards) and Jabar Gaffney (4 rec, 90 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos yesterday.  The Broncos finished up with 126 yards on 33 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes for 305 yards in this game.

The Broncos’ D didn’t play too well but the offense bailed them out in this game.  LB Wesley Woodyard (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Brian Dawkins (9 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Broncos on D in this game.  Rookie CB Syd’Quan Thompson picked off a Matt Schaub pass with 1:12 left in this game to seal the victory.  The Texans finished up with 91 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 33 passes for 310 yards in this game.  The Broncos are now 4-11 on the year.

The Broncos have lost 9 of their last 10 games while the Texans have lost 7 of their last 8 games as both of these teams have been awful lately.  Tim Tebow makes his second NFL start and that is a reason to tune into this game.  The Texans’ defense has really hurt them this year and the Broncos’ D is nothing to write home about.  I see this being a high scoring game and here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos will likely loosen the shackles on Tim Tebow a little bit in his second NFL start.  That is because the Texans are giving up 275.1 yards passing per game so far this year and opposing QBs have a 103.1 rating against them.  That being said, I don’t see the Broncos lighting up the sky with passes to Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney all day long.  The Broncos are also going to run a lot in this game to try to control the clock with Knowshon Moreno, Lance Ball and Tim Tebow toting the rock.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Broncos need to get after Matt Schaub because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to slice and dice the Broncos’ secondary.  Andre Johnson, Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels give the Broncos’ secondary some matchup issues.  The Broncos will also have to be concerned with stopping Arian Foster & Derrick Ward who are going to be coming after them too.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 34, BRONCOS 24

The Broncos have placed 26-year old fullback Spencer Larsen on the Injured Reserve List with a ankle injury.  Larsen played in 11 games for the Broncos this year and he carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc).  Larsen also caught 5 passes for 51 yards (10.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also helped out on special teams with 3 kickoffs for 44 yards (14.7 avg) this year.  Larsen will be missed because he didn’t mind doing the dirty work.

The Broncos have placed 26-year old kicker Matt Prater on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a groin injury.  Prater played in 12 games for the Broncos this year and he made 16 of 18 (88.9%) field goals and 28 of 29 extra points good for 76 points.  The Broncos will need 25-year old Steve Hauschka to step up the last couple of weeks.  Hauschka has played in 2 games for the Broncos so far this year and he has made 5 of 6 field goals and 3 of 3 extra points good for 18 points.  The Broncos can’t afford to leave any points on the field the rest of the year.

The Broncos have claimed 25-year old cornerback Chevis Jackson off waivers from the Patriots.  Jackson played in 2 games for the Jaguars earlier this year but he didn’t get any tackles.  Jackson has now played in 33 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 60 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and a interception that he returned 95 yards for a TD.  The Broncos can use the help in the secondary so I like this move for them.  To make room for Jackson on the roster, the Broncos released 23-year old OLB Kevin Alexander.  Alexander played in 8 games for the Broncos this year and he had 4 tackles and he defensed 1 pass.  He is no loss.

The Broncos were only down 23-20 heading into the 4th quarter before getting blown out in the end by the Raiders.  Tim Tebow looked o.k. in his first NFL start.  He completed 8 of 16 passes for 138 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 8 times for 78 yards (9.8 ypc) with a very impressive 40-yard TD run.  The RBs of the Broncos carried the ball 25 times for 28 yards (1.1 ypc) in this game!  Brandon Lloyd led the way in the air for the Broncos in this game with 4 catches for 79 yards (19.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Broncos finished up with 106 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 8 of 16 passes for 129 yards as they only had the ball for 26:03.

LBs D.J. Williams (8 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit) and Mario Haggan (7 tackles) led the way for the Broncos on “D” in this game.  LB Jason Hunter (fumble recovery), safety Renaldo Hill (interception) and DE Kevin Vickerson (interception) also made big plays for the Broncos in this game.  The Raiders rushed for 264 yards on 41 carries (6.4 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 26 passes for 238 yards.  The Broncos are now 3-11 on the season.

The Broncos are reeling right now coming off a downright disgusting 43-13 loss against the Cardinals last week in Eric Studesville’s debut as a NFL head coach.  The Broncos have lost 8 of their last 9 games and 4 in a row.  In the first meeting between these two teams the Raiders pounded the Broncos 59-14.  The Raiders have only won 1 of their last 4 games but they are solid at the Black Hole this year where they are 4-2.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos will take aim at the Raiders’ run D which is allowing 132.8 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  That means that Knowshon Moreno is likely in line for a heavy workload this Sunday.  The Raiders have 38 sacks this year so Kyle Orton won’t likely have a lot of time to throw the ball.  That is not a good thing as his arm has been hurting.  If Orton has to leave the game, Tim Tebow will replace him and the Broncos would even be more run heavy. 

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders aren’t going to get cute in this game as they are going to feed the ball to Darren McFadden and Michael Bush against the Broncos’ D which is allowing 150.3 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry.  If the Broncos put extra guys in the box to stop the run, I see Jason Campbell throwing the ball deep off play-action to Louis Murphy and Jacoby Ford.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 38, BRONCOS 13

The Broncos have placed 24-year old rookie safety Kyle McCarthy on the Injured Reserve List with a knee injury.  He played in 8 games for the Broncos this year and he had 4 tackles.  McCarthy was a undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame so this injury is a bad break for him as he was helping out a little bit on special teams.

The Broncos ran into a buzzsaw yesterday in Phoenix.  Kyle Orton had his second pathetic game in a row as he completed 19 of 41 passes for 166 yards with 0 TD passes, 3 interceptions and a lost fumble.  Knowshon Moreno led the way on the ground for the Broncos in this game with 81 yards on 19 carries (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 5 passes for 32 yards (6.4 avg).  Lance Ball pitched in with 8 carries for 38 yards (4.8 ypc) in this game.  WRs Jabar Gaffney (3 rec, 48 yards), Eddie Royal (4 rec, 46 yards) and Brandon Lloyd (3 rec, 32 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos.  The Broncos finished up with 132 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 41 passes for 156 yards.

LB D.J. Williams (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) and safety David Bruton (7 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss) led the way for the Broncos’ D in this game.  The Cardinals finished up with 211 yards rushing on 34 carries (6.2 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 38 passes for 146 yards.  The Broncos are now 3-10 on the year.

The Broncos have signed 25-year old kicker Steven Hauschka and he will likely be the starting kicker today.  He last played with the Ravens in 2009.  Hauschka has played in 17 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has connected on 10 of 15 field goals (66.7%) and 27 of 28 extra points good for 57 points.  26-year old kicker Matt Prater has a groin injury which will likely keep him out at least this week.  Prater has played in 12 games for the Broncos so far this year and he has connected on 16 of 18 field goals (88.9%) and 28 of 29 extra points good for 76 points.  The Broncos are likely going to miss Prater as he’s a much better kicker than Hauschka.