octobre
Broncos turn unimaginable into reality
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DENVER – To those of us who concluded that the Denver Broncos’ tumultuous offseason foreshadowed a meltdown of mile-high proportions, the final two minutes of Sunday’s game at Invesco Field provided some of the most surreal scenes imaginable.
Marshall goes over Newman for the game-winning grab.
With the score tied late in the fourth quarter and 76,440 fans screaming, quarterback Kyle Orton(notes) dropped back in the pocket, cocked his lightly regarded right arm and delivered a brisk pass more than 20 yards downfield to the right sideline. Reaching above Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman(notes), Denver wideout Brandon Marshall(notes) – the trouble-prone player whose childish behavior on the practice field in late August got him a nine-day suspension for insubordination – made a terrific catch, cut to the middle of the field and darted back to his right, spinning away five defenders to complete a spectacular 51-yard touchdown reception.
And then, naturally, Marshall and rookie coach Josh McDaniels hugged on the sidelines, a scene that a month ago seemed as likely as Brett Favre(notes) and Packers general manager Ted Thompson taking simultaneous sips out of the same milkshake glass.
Slurppppppppppp.
Weirder still was the sight of the Broncos, by far the NFL’s most surprising team through the first quarter of the season, relying on the league’s stingiest defense to close out the game. First safety Brian Dawkins(notes), a Philadelphia Eagles castoff eight days shy of his 36th birthday, ran down 24-year-old Cowboys wideout Sam Hurd(notes) after a 53-yard fourth-down catch-and-run to save a touchdown. Then, with the ball at the Denver 2-yard line and nine seconds remaining, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo(notes) twice tested Champ Bailey(notes), the Broncos’ perennial All-Pro cornerback, by firing crisp passes to Hurd in the end zone.
Not since Romo’s infamous trip to Mexico before the Cowboys’ 2007 playoff defeat to the New York Giants had the quarterback made such a regrettable decision: Bailey broke up both throws, and the Broncos celebrated one of the most inconceivable 4-0 starts in recent NFL memory.
“We’re not supposed to win,” said veteran defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday(notes), who had one of Denver’s five sacks Sunday. “People probably still don’t believe in us. It doesn’t matter. We believe in ourselves.”
The most unbelievable statistic of all: The Broncos have allowed 26 points in four games. To put that in perspective, think back to Denver’s most celebrated victory before Sunday’s, a last-minute win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 2 of the ’08 season – the infamous Ed Hochuli game.
On that day alone, the Broncos gave up 38 points.
