2013 Broncos Season: Week One

And now the regular season begins!

Week 1: Broncos 49, Ravens 27
Season Record: 1-0 (1-0 Home)
Key Play: In the third quarter, on third down, Peyton Manning threw to Wes Welker who appeared to make a sliding catch to extend the drive. Replays showed that Welker dropped the pass, but the Ravens failed to challenge the play before Manning snapped the ball. The Broncos went on to score a touchdown to take the lead, rattling off 21 points in the third quarter on the way to a huge win.

Recap: After an uneven, and often uninspiring, preseason, it was fair to wonder how the Broncos would do on opening night. They faced a Ravens team that ended their season in heart-breaking fashion last January, they were in prime time, and oddly they were favored by more than a touchdown over the defending champs. Through the first half, that looked like too many points. After the third quarter, it looked like Las Vegas sold the Broncos way short. Now it's one week. The Broncos were motivated. But you have to start hoping this is a sign of things to come. It's a long season and injuries are always a real concern/possibility, but if the Broncos can keep cooking like this, the single season touchdown record and scoring records could be a reasonable target. But we'll see how the next few weeks go. Last season Manning never had a game where he threw more than three touchdown passes. Last night he had seven. That hasn't been done in 50 years, so it's not an every week occurrence, at least I don't think it will be. Also impressive was the Broncos' defense. With Von Miller suspended and Champ Bailey in street clothes, this team was supposed to scuffle. However, the Broncos were able to register four sacks and force two interceptions. Granted, Michael Oher, the Ravens' outstanding tackle, got injured. But still, the Broncos defense was able to get pressure, bottle up the running game, and force Flacco into some bad throws. The secondary also stood up well against the Ravens receivers. It's week one, so we can't get too excited. Next week in New York against the Giants will be a good test. Still, with all the pressure on the team heading into week one, the Broncos performed well. And as Bailey and Miller return, we could be better.

Game Balls:
* Peyton Manning. Manning came out on fire in the second half. The guy threw for 462 yards and seven touchdowns. He looked poised, in control, and was on fire. Setting aside my joy at the 46 fantasy points he gave all three of my teams, that was an incredible performance. He looks like he could be on pace to top last year, which seemed impossible a week ago.

* Julius Thomas. All preseason I liked what Thomas was doing. Last night was his coming out party. He had five receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He looks like an impressive threat in an already loaded passing attack. Staying healthy has always been his challenge, so we'll have to monitor that. But it looks like the Broncos have yet another weapon.

* Demariyius Thomas and Wes Welker. Julius Thomas wasn't the only one catching a lot of passes. Welker had nine receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns in his first game as a Bronco. Despite a fumble on special teams, he had a great night. D. Thomas, meanwhile, had five catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He looked explosive.

* Denver's Defense. As I said in the recap, they showed a lot of improvement. Missing the two best players in the unit, and still adjusting to the defection of Elvis Dumervil, the squad looked tight. They held the Ravens in check much of the night (one of the touchdowns was the result of a special teams blunder), got decent pressure on Joe Flacco and registered two interceptions. Not too bad against a tough Ravens team.

Areas of Concern:
* The Broncos' running game. Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman, and Montee Ball all got time in the backfield Thursday night, but none of the three looked great. It will likely be a platoon all year, but there needs to be some improvement. I am not sold on Ball, in particular. He had eight carries and mustered just 24 yards. Moreno and Hillman have more burst and, if Hillman can hang onto the ball, can do more in this offense. Despite a huge win, the Broncos posted just 65 yards rushing.

* Eric Decker. It was one game, but Decker didn't look great. He was targeted seven times but had just two catches for 32 yards. He also had a couple big drops — one on a third down conversion and one in the end zone. On a huge night for the passing game, he was the odd man out.

* Special Teams. It was an up and down night for this group. After a rough preseason, the Broncos did some nice things. They blocked a punt and managed to down a few inside the 20. But the team also had a crucial turnover on special teams — a muffed punt — that led to a Ravens' touchdown. This unit still needs a little work.

* Youth and inexperience. Danny Trevathan is young and made his first start at linebacker. He looked good in making some tackles and had a nice interception. But celebrating too early led to a fumble, a turnover, momentum for the Ravens, and an injury to teammate Wesley Woodyard. These young Broncos defenders need to learn a bit more poise to avoid those kind of mistakes in the future.