It is safe to say the Broncos have walked a fine line to get to 6-0 this season. Sunday they continued to live on the edge and took their unbeaten record into overtime at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday. The Broncos and Browns combined for six turnovers, which added to the wild 26-23 Denver overtime win.
While Peyton Manning and the offense again drove up and down the field, they could not get in the end zone often enough to put the Browns away. Josh McCown found his new favorite target twice in the second half to race and catch the Broncos for a 16 point fourth quarter. In the end, the game was a microcosm of Denver’s season thus far; the defense made big time plays at the biggest moments and a Brandon McManus field goal gave the team just enough points to stay perfect.
The first quarter ended with a underwhelming score of 3-0. The Broncos overcame a Manning interception on the opening drive and held the Browns on a failed fourth down but could not punch the ball in for a touchdown. They settled for a McManus 29-yard field goal and the early lead.
Just 41 seconds into the second quarter the Broncos defense made a game-changing play that has become almost expected each week. Aqib Talib read McCown’s eyes and intercepted a short pass intended for Travis Benjamin. He took off the other way and was untouched for a 63-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead. The half ended with both teams trading several punts and McManus’ first missed field goal of the season, a 51-yard attempt.
The second half began with the Browns taking a seven point chunk out of the Broncos lead. McCown led them on their opening possession, an eight-play, 74-yard drive, that was capped off by Gary Barnidge going up and over Danny Trevathan in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. A spectacular sack and forced fumble by Shaquil Barrett later in the quarter lead to the Broncos tacking on three more points, via a 25-yard McManus field goal.
The Broncos quickly increased their lead to 16-7 in the fourth quarter but the Browns would not quit. McCown led a long drive, built on a deep pass to Benjamin and then found Barnidge again, this time wide open in the middle of the end zone. The 16-14 Broncos lead would not stand long. Three plays into the ensuing drive Manning threw a pass just behind Hillman that was tipped into the waiting arms of Karlos Dansby. The veteran linebacker took the interception back for a touchdown and the Browns first lead of the day, 20-16.
The Broncos answered quickly. The first play from scrimmage on the next possession went to Emmanuel Sanders. The streaking wide receiver hauled in a perfectly placed pass by Manning for a 75-yard touchdown and the 23-20 lead.
The Browns tied it up with a 26-yard Travis Coons field goal and then had a chance to win the game with less than a minute left on their next possession. Several Broncos pressured McCown on the critical play and he threw the ball up for Barnidge on the left sideline. Unfortunately for him, David Bruton Jr. was waiting and he hauled in the interception.
A deep pass down the sideline to Sanders, initially called a completed pass but later overturned, was the Broncos last chance at the win in regulation.
The Broncos began overtime with the ball, but after two failed passes to Sanders and Thomas, Manning, again made a poor decision. He tried to float a pass to Thomas but the 6-foot-4 Barkevious Mingo leaped into the air and brought down the pass.
Luckily for Manning he had the defense to fall back on. Barrett and then Jackson sacked McCown, forcing another punt.
The offense saved its best drive for last. They traveled 72 yards in 13 plays for the final score. They rushed eight times for 33 yards and had one big completion to Owen Daniels on a critical third down. After Browns head coach Mike Pettine tried to “ice” McManus with a time out, the second-year kicker nailed the 34-yard field goal for the win.
