Broncos find right balance
Offensive line responds to criticism with a big effort
DENVER — The Denver Broncos’ muchmaligned offensive line broke its silence last week. Then the linemen made an earsplitting statement Sunday.
Behind blockers angry over being scapegoated for the team’s myriad problems, the Broncos found the balance, ground game and pocket of protection that had eluded them during their recent slide.
Capitalizing on this newfound nastiness, Peyton Manning threw four TD passes, including three to Demaryius Thomas, and C.J. Anderson ran for 167 yards and the go-ahead score in Denver’s 39-36 win over Miami on Sunday.
“We all needed to be accountable to our teammates,” guard Orlando Franklin said. “We felt we’ve been letting our teammates down and not taking care of business.”
With perfect balance — 35 runs and 35 throws — the Broncos (8-3) overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to stay atop the highly competitive AFC West.
“They took so much (heat) during the week,” Anderson said of the O-line, which is building chemistry on the run after wholesale changes three weeks ago. “They’re still human and some of them got feelings. They’re not going to tell you, but some of them were hurt.”
They put the hurt on the Dolphins to the tune of 201 yards, but the Broncos’ first lead didn’t come until Anderson’s 6-yard run up the middle with 5:01 left put Denver ahead 32-28.
Then, Ryan Tannehill’s pass skipped off Jarvis Landry’s left hand to T.J. Ward, whose 37-yard return set up Wes Welker’s insurance TD catch.
The Broncos needed it after Tannehill drove the Dolphins (6-5) on another scoring drive, hitting Landry from a yard out with 1:34 left. Lamar Miller’s 2-point dive made it 39-36.
The Dolphins’ onside kick was recovered by — who else? — Anderson, who sealed the game with a 26-yard run that could have been longer had he not slid so the Broncos could get in victory formation.
“You just have to give it up to the big boys up front. They took so much heat from the outside and the media all week,” said Anderson, who added 28 yards on four catches.
Manning became the third player in NFL history with touchdown passes in 50 consecutive games, joining Drew Brees (54) and Tom Brady (52). He threw for 257 yards on 28-of-35 passing.
Emmanuel Sanders led the way with nine catches for 125 yards, and Thomas finished with 10 catches for 87 yards, failing to match Calvin “Megatron” Johnson’s NFL record of eight straight 100-yard games.
His consolation was three touchdowns.
“Nah,” Thomas said he asked if he was disappointed. “… I just wanted to win the game. I had a decent game, helped the team. The main thing is we won the game.”
Tannehill (26-for-36 for 227 yards with three TDs) kept the Dolphins a step ahead much of the afternoon.
Miami went ahead 28-17 on Tannehill’s 5-yard TD toss to Landry after Isaiah Burse fumbled a punt at his 12.
Manning drove the Broncos downfield and found Thomas from 5 yards out, then hit Sanders with the 2-point pass to pull Denver to 28-25 with 14:09 remaining.
“I thought the best thing our team did was we stayed pretty calm,” Manning said.