After starting 6-0, the Denver Broncos (8-8) looked like they were headed for a number one or two seed come playoff time.  Things sure did change for the Broncos, and a loss to the dismal Kansas City Chiefs (4-12) on Sunday summed up the second half of their season perfectly.  The Broncos needed to win this game to make the playoffs, and it should have been easy against a Chiefs team that was bad all season.  They may have been missing some key receivers, but that is no excuse to lose by 20 points to a bad team in such a key game.  The Broncos really let their fans down in this game and the whole second half of the 2009 season.

Kyle Orton got a ton of passing yards, but he turned the ball over too much and that was a key reason they lost.  Orton went 32/56 for 431 yards and 1 touchdown, but he also threw 3 interceptions with 2 of them returned for touchdowns.  Both of those interception returns were 45+ yards and both were by the Chiefs’ linebacker Derrick Johnson.  The Broncos have been a run first team all season, but not in this game.  They only got 84 rushing yards and were outscored 17-0 in the 4th quarter after having a close game through the first three.  A very disappointing end to the Broncos 2009 season.

The Broncos fell a tad short in this game as Eagles’ kicker David Akers hit a 28-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.  Kyle Orton did a solid job in this game completing 27 of 41 passes for 189 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Correll Buckhalter led the way on the ground for the Broncos yesterday with 5 carries for 42 yards (8.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  Knowshon Moreno pitched in with 18 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Jabar Gaffney led the way in the passing game for the Broncos in this game with 7 grabs for 69 yards (9.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Broncos finished up with only 241 total yards on offense (70 rushing, 171 passing) in this game.

Safety Brian Dawkins (8 tackles) and CB Champ Bailey (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Broncos on D in this game.  The Eagles finished up with 394 total yards in this game (105 rushing, 289 passing).  The Broncos are now 8-7 and they will need help in order to make the playoffs now.

The Denver Broncos (8-6) defense gave up way too many rushing yards leading to an upset loss to the Oakland Raiders (5-9).  They gave up 241 rushing yards, with Michael Bush doing most of the damage with 133 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries.  Although they gave up a ton of yards on the ground, it was JaMarcus Russell’s arm that ended up beating them.  Russell has been awful all season for the Raiders, came in during the 4th quarter for an injured Charlie Frye and finished with a game-winning touchdown pass and 47 yards on 5/11 passes.

The Broncos should have won this game and had a perfect opportunity to seal it when Brandon Stokley caught a quick pass and ran 63 yards towards the endzone.  Stokley was caught at the 4-yard line by Stanford Routt, who took him down with a horse-collar putting the Broncos at the 2-yard line.  They couldn’t get the two yards though, and settled for a field goal that kept the Raiders in the game.  Orton played well, throwing for 278 yards and 1 touchdown on 19/34 passes, but he didn’t get enough from the running game.  The Broncos only rushed for 80 yards on 28 carries, which is 161 yards less than what the Raiders rushed for.  This was not a good sign for the Broncos.

The Denver Broncos (8-5) rallied back from a 21-0 deficit, but their rally fell short despite a record breaking day by receiver Brandon Marshall and they lost the Indianapolis Colts (13-0) on Sunday.  Marshall caught 21 passes, breaking the single game receptions mark set by Terrell Owens in the 2000 season.  Those 21 catches amounted for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns, as Marshall was quarterback Kyle Orton’s obvious favorite target.  Orton completed 29/41 passes for 277 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  That means 73% of Orton’s completions went to Marshall, which is good and bad.  You would like to see Orton spread it around a little more, but if Marshall is that effective you have to keep giving him the ball.  Knowshon Moreno gave them 63 rushing yards on 23 carries, while Correll Buckhalter chipped in an efficient 19 yards on 4 carries.  The Colts early lead deemed too much for the Broncos to come back from.

The Broncos defense came out a little flat and Peyton Manning and the Colts’ offense took advantage.  Manning and the Colts’ found the endzone on three of their first four possessions, giving them a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.  The Broncos defense woke up after that though and made some great plays in the secondary while also be the beneficiary of some lucky bounces.  After Manning had the three early touchdowns, the Broncos picked him off three times.  They held Manning to a season-low 220 yards on 20/42 passes.  They could not stop him when they needed to most though, as Manning found Dallas Clark in the endzone with only 2:25 left to give the Colts a 28-16 lead, where it would stay.

The Denver Broncos (8-4) went back to their bread and butter, running the ball, and it helped them cruise to any easy win over the Kansas City Chiefs (3-9).  The Broncos had 245 rushing yards as a team, with Correll Buckhalter leading the way with 113 yards on 12 carries.  Knowshon Moreno added 86 yards on 21 carries while rushing for 2 touchdowns.  Kyle Orton had a solid game, going 15/25 for 180 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  Orton did lose two fumbles along with the interception, so the Broncos would like to see him take care of the ball better.  This is the type of game-plan that helped the Broncos start 6-0, and after losing four straight after the great start they have now won two in a row.

The Broncos defense had very little problems with the lowly Chiefs.  They went for only 222 total yards and turned the ball over three times.  Matt Cassel had a terrible game, finishing with only 84 yards and 2 interceptions on 10/29 passes.  They held Jamaal Charles to 56 yards on 18 carries, but he did find the endzone.  If the Broncos can get an all around effort like this from both the offense and defense, they will be a dangerous team come playoff time.  I wouldn’t get too excited about this game though, as the Chiefs are very weak opponent.