Broncos Hump Day Hot Reads: Big Second Half Pushes Broncos Past Redskins

Broncos running back Montee Ball (28) runs the ball during the first half against the Washington Redskins at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)

The Broncos got back to their winning ways with a 45-21 win over Washington. Washington led the game 21-7 at one point but the Broncos stormed back by scoring 38 straight points to end the game. Peyton Manning threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions. With Ronnie Hillman inactive, C.J. Anderson got the first NFL carries of his career and Montee Ball scored the first NFL touchdown of his career. The Broncos improved to 7-1 and here is what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what’s next for the Broncos.

What I Liked

Woodyard Returning/Defense Playing Well

Wesley Woodyard returned to action this weekend after missing the last few games due to injury. It is not a coincidence that the week Woodyard came back the defense played a lot better. Von Miller played very well also, which helps a lot, but having Woodyard back was the key to getting the defense back on track. Without Woodyard, the Broncos’ defense just looked lost and without a leader. Woodyard is the leader of the defense and the other players feed off of his energy. Getting Miller back was great, but this defense needs Woodyard to play well and it was great seeing him back on the field.

What I Didn’t Like

Turnovers

Turnovers are never a good thing when you want to win football games. The Broncos were lucky that they were able to overcome four turnovers, by Manning alone, to win on Sunday. Most teams will capitalize on turnovers and the Broncos cannot continue to have problems with turnovers if they want to continue to win. With Hillman out, the running backs did a good job of holding on to the ball and running hard. For the first time in weeks running backs fumbling was not an issue which is a positive.

What’s Next

Bye Week

The Broncos have their bye week this week and it could not have come at a better time. Duke Ihenacho and Julius Thomas both left Sundays game early due to injury. The bye week can allow them to heal up and held get Orlando Franklin and Champ Bailey back to 100 percent before they travel to San Diego the following week.

I will be doing my mid-season predictions next week. You can see my beginning of the season predictions here.  My Saints and Chiefs predictions are looking good but my Steelers and Falcons predictions aren’t so far. I will be predicting how I think the rest of the season will play out. So check back next week!

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