Denver Broncos Improve to 6-1 and AFC West Preview
By Craig Hurst
Oct 23, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (10) catches a touchdown pass in front of San Diego Chargers cornerback Richard Marshall (31) during the first half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The short week reared it’s ugly head and prevented me from completing my “AFC West Preview” prior to the Denver Broncos and San Diego Charger game on Thursday night. Please continue reading for my thoughts on the Broncos Thursday night performance, as well as my general thoughts on the upcoming week eight games featuring the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos: Given the fact that the Broncos played on Sunday night in week seven, they had a very short week to prepare for the Chargers. I was thoroughly impressed with their performance, and the outcome obviously. In rapid-fire style, I have listed my general thoughts about the Thursday night game.
- Emmanuel Sanders definitely had a breakout performance with nine receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Demaryius Thomas, while he had no touchdowns, had eight catches for 105 yards. These two, combined with Wes Welker and Julius Thomas, definitely provide a lot of fire power for Manning and the overall passing offense!
- Watching Ronnie Hillman run the ball actually gave me a thought that Montee Ball may not get his starting spot back when he returns from his injury
- It appears that Peyton Manning has added “Elway” to his pre-snap cadence plus a few others; too bad we don’t know what any of it means
- I wonder if John Elway has any concern about releasing Matt Prater and going with Brandon McManus. While a 53-yarder is no chip shot by any means, the Broncos need a kicker that can nail kicks of that length. I would hate to see a late season game or a playoff game come down to a long field goal. Let’s just say that my confidence in the Broncos new field goal kicker is very low at this point.
- I am anxiously awaiting to see how the Broncos change up their in-game entertainment considering that Manning voiced his concern over some of the choices made by the scoreboard operator. My thought is that when “Manning talks, people listen”.
Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns: The Raiders are the last team in the NFL to get a win this season but there could be hope in week eight – last week the Cleveland Browns lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-6. The week seven win for the Jaguars was their first win of the season; could the Browns allow a winless team to get their first win of the season two weeks in a row? I think yes! While the Raiders are a dismal 0-6, they have been close to winning a number of times. I think after this week the Raiders will be 1-6.
St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs: Typically these teams play for the Governor’s Cup in preseason but this year they get to go head-to-head in the regular season. Both teams are coming off big divisional wins – the Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-26 and the Chiefs beat the Chargers 23-20. My assumption is that most Chief fans will tune into the 12:00pm CST kickoff and will then shift their attention to the World Series, where the Kansas City Royals have a 2-1 lead over the San Francisco Giants (as of this posting). While it would be an advantage for the Broncos if St. Louis could win at Arrowhead, I think Kansas City will come out victorious.
Go Broncos!
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