Denver Broncos Defense Emerges As New Sheriff In Town

The Denver Broncos may have escaped with a win on Thursday Night Football. But the firestorm of controversy is still swirling. Amid rumors of Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning being benched, the team is scrambling to find ways to continue winning.

In front of a primetime crowd, the Denver Broncos galloped and occasionally choked their way to a second victory. The season is young and the Broncos have won both of their games. But the 2-0 start is filled with inconsistency and last minute heroics. Peyton Manning’s subpar play has caused a constant chorus of grumbles with the Denver Broncos faithful. Those grumbles went viral after Manning failed to toss any touchdowns in Denver’s week one win over the Ravens.

With the last second win over Kansas City on Thursday, the Denver Broncos may be learning something about this year’s edition of the team. They have to find ways to win despite Manning. The 39-year-old quarterback is likely fading. The Broncos star threw his second pick-six, in as many weeks. Broncos Nation probably won’t stand for many more of those.

In the first two weeks of a fledgling season, the Denver Broncos didn’t have heroics from Manning to generate wins. When the Broncos were down 13-9 against the Ravens, Aqib Talib returned a pick-six gift from Joe Flacco to put the Broncos on top. The Broncos thwarted a late Raven’s drive when safety Darian Stewart picked off an errant pass in the end zone. The save came with 36 seconds left to play.

The Denver Broncos defense is emerging as the new sheriff in town.

Thursday, it was the defense, again, pulling out a victory for the Broncos. With the game tied 24-24, cornerback Bradley Roby returned a Jamal Charles fumble, for the go ahead score with 27 seconds remaining. Neither of those cardiac moments included the Denver Broncos Hall-of-Fame bound Manning.

In a statement reported by NFL.com, Peyton Manning was testy with reporters.

“Everybody is looking for these summaries of our offense and our team after Week 1 and I just don’t think we’re going to be able to do that. It’s Week 1. We’re a work in progress. If you need a catchy headline for your little article or whatever it is you might be doing, we’re trying to get better every single week. What’s another cliché I can think of? We’re chipping away. Something along those lines.”

While Manning and the offense are chipping away and trying to get better, the Denver Broncos defense is cashing in victories.

[Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]