Trindon Holliday (11) runs after catching a pass before getting tackled by Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 36-14. (Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos are one of the hottest teams going in the NFL. They won their fourth game in a row and second consecutive game on the road with a 36-14 pounding of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Denver is learning how to impose their will on their opponents and take care of business week in and week out. That’s what good football teams do. The Broncos have proven that they will be serious contenders in the AFC down the stretch.

Typically a double digit road win wouldn’t leave much room for criticism, but the Denver offense played a sloppy game and missed several opportunities to put the game away early. It was the Denver defense that carried the day and dominated the Panthers with an interception return for a touchdown, 7 sacks and 2 total turnovers. Despite the final score, the Broncos have room for improvement, and that is a scary proposition for Denver’s future opponents.

Here are some thoughts on the Denver Broncos victory over the Carolina Panthers:

• You have to be impressed with what the Broncos defense accomplished. They held Carolina to 250 total yards, a 0-for-12 conversion rate on third downs, and Cam Newton finished with a measly 74.0 quarterback rating. Kevin Vickerson had a monster game with 2 sacks and 2 quarterback hits. Chris Harris led the team with 7 tackles and Tony Carter had a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown that ended the competitive phase of the game. Last but not least, Von Miller was a one man wrecking crew. He had 6 tackles, 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss and 1 quarterback hit. These players produced the big numbers, but every single guy on the defense deserves credit for a job well done. Without their effort the Broncos would have been in a dog fight yesterday.
• The conservative nature of John Fox hasn’t really cost the Broncos this season, but it nearly created a big swing against Carolina right before halftime. Denver faced a 4th-and-1 on the Panthers 25-yard line after a horrible spot by the referee. The offense lined up to go for it after Fox decided not to challenge the spot. He would have won the challenge because the spot was clearly off by a yard, but it’s hard to say if the new spot would have been enough for a first down. After a stoppage of play the Broncos had their field goal unit on the field. You could feel the impending miss coming through the television. After Prater pushed the kick to the right Carolina had a bunch of momentum and naturally started driving the field with ease. Luckily, Denver was bailed out when the Panthers missed their field goal try with 40 seconds to go before the break. John Fox: you have Peyton Manning! Your defense had been playing great! If you keep Manning on the field and score a touchdown before halftime the game would have been over early. Fox needs to be more aggressive and play to win in that situation.
• It’s long overdue but the offensive line needs recognition for how well they’ve protected the quarterback this year. They gave up a sack yesterday for the first time since the New England game and have played a big part of the 4-game winning streak.
• For whatever reason, the Broncos cannot go a game without fumbling the ball. Willis McGahee is a key component of the offense but his fumble problem is killing the team. He fumbled twice yesterday and it seems like it is becoming a regular occurrence with him. The Broncos also never seem to fall on a fumble once it’s on the ground. It is uncanny how the football finds a way to evade the Denver players when there’s a scramble on the field. I have hammered this topic repeatedly, but the fumbling issue is this team’s Achilles heel. If they don’t find a way to reverse the trend it’s going to cost them when they play good teams.
• Peyton Manning once again went over the 300 yard mark passing. Even on a day when he wasn’t dominant his quarterback rating was 103.1 and he didn’t throw an interception. It’s amazing how Manning has changed the culture in Denver and he has everyone on the team playing better. They didn’t have their best day, but Manning and the offense will be just fine.
• For the second week in a row Trindon Holliday made the special teams play of the day. This time he took a punt 76 yards to the house. However, he needs to make sure he carries the ball all the way across the goal line! It looked like he might have flipped the ball up in celebration before he got into the end zone. He has done that on both of his kick return touchdowns this season and he needs to quit messing with fire. Hopefully the coaches get in his ear this week and he simply hands the ball to the ref next time he scores.
• Next up is a massive home game against the San Diego Chargers. A Denver victory will complete a sweep of San Diego for the first time since 2005 and essentially wrap up the division title. Go Broncos!

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Von Miller (58) watches the quarterback before the snap during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers. (Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE)

John Fox’s return to Carolina reunited the past with the present. It wasn’t so much about the former Carolina Panthers’ head coach returning to the city where he coached for nine years. It was more about the Denver Broncos’ defense returning to ‘Orange Crush’ form in the team’s 36-14 win over the Panthers.

The Broncos’ defense took the North Carolina state nickname to heart, and made 2011 No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton look like his heels were actually stuck in tar. The No. 2 overall pick that same year, Von Miller, led the charge. Four of Miller’s six tackles went for a loss, he had one sack, and one quarterback hit. Less than three minutes into the game, Miller got his first sack and pulled out Newton’s Superman dance. With that sack, Miller became just the 13th player in NFL history to have 10 or more sacks in this first two seasons in the league.

Miller was also the one that hit Newton’s arm, resulting in a Tony Carter pick-6 with 9:59 to go in the second quarter. Carter sprinted 40 yards for the score, and became the fifth player in team history to have an interception return for a touchdown and a fumble return for the touchdown in the same season.

The Broncos’ offense put up just 14 points. Special teams and the defense backed up the stalled passing game, and the fumble-proned running game.

It was Trindon Holliday who had his second touchdown return in two weeks when he took a punt up the right side of the field for 76 yards to begin the second quarter, and put the Broncos up for the first time in the game. Holliday became just the third Bronco to have a punt return and kickoff return touchdown in the same season. How the Houston Texans let him go will be one of this season’s great mysteries.

Matt Prater belted a 53-yard field goal and a 27-yard field goal to contribute six points.

Safety Mike Adams sacked Newton for a safety at the beginning of the fourth quarter to put a couple more non-offensive points up on the board.

Rookie running back Ronnie Hillman had the first touchdown of his career, and second-year safety Rahim Moore had the first interception of his career.

Peyton Manning went 27-for-38 for 301 yards and one touchdown. His go-to guy once again was Demaryius Thomas who had 9 catches for 135 yards.

It wasn’t so much the passing game that kept points off the board. Willis McGahee fumbled the ball twice, losing it once, and had just 56 yards on 14 carries. He will surely be walking around Dove Valley with a football in his arms throughout the week. The Broncos only got two first downs from rushing the ball.

Turnovers and rushing woes aside, the Broncos have won four straight, and they have arguably one of the best defenses in the league. The team sacked Newton seven times which is the most sacks the Broncos have had in one game since 2003. They also forced the Panthers to go 0-for-12 on third down.

Not only have the Broncos won four consecutive games, but they’ve won two straight on the road.

This win was sweeter than any Carolina BBQ sauce. John Fox can attest to that.

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Chris Kuper (73) is carted off the field after suffering a third quarter injury against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.(Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE)

CB Tracy Porter is out again this week as is G Chris Kuper who went down with an ankle injury against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. Manny Ramirez will fill in for him at guard. The Carolina Panthers have already lost starting CB Chris Gamble and LB Jon Beason for the season, but other than that, they enter Sunday’s contest relatively healthy.

Broncos:

CB Tracy Porter (Illness) – Out

G Chris Kuper (Ankle) – Out

WR Eric Decker (Thigh) – Probable

TE Virgil Green (Hamstring) – Probable

WR Brandon Stokley (Knee) – Probable

RB Willis McGahee (Knee) – Probable

WR Demaryius Thomas (Knee) – Probable

S Jim Leonhard (Calf) – Probable

Panthers:

DE Antwan Applewhite (Hamstring) – Doubtful

DE Thomas Keiser (Elbow) – Questionable

DE Frank Alexander (Knee) – Probable

LB Thomas Davis (Knee) – Probable

C Geoff Hangartner (Knee) – Probable

DE Charles Johnson (Hip) – Probable

RB Mike Tolbert (Head) – Probable

DT Dwan Edwards (Ankle) – Probable

T Jordan Gross (Not injury related) – Probable

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.This report was brought to you by NFL.com.