Mile High Sports

Turnovers costly early for Broncos, trailing Patriots 10-3 at half

Casey Light

A pair of first-half turnovers led to 10 New England Patriots points and the Denver Broncos trailed 10-3 at halftime of a crucial Week 15 matchup in Denver.

New England struck first despite going three-and-out on each of their first drives because of a muffed punt by Jordan Norwood. The wide receiver / returner had regained the job after losing it because of a pair of muffed punts against Kansas City. Kalif Raymond, his replacement over the last two weeks, was listed as inactive for the game.

Denver played the field position game with their first offensive possession, earning a first down and eventually pinning Tom Brady and the Patriots inside their own 20. Brady did not complete a pass on any of New England’s first four drives, going three-and-out on the first three (including the go-ahead field goal).

A balanced drive of 47 yards put Brandon McManus within range to tie the game with a 33-yard field goal. Justin Forsett proved to be an effective change at running back, contributing 15 yards on four touches on the drive. Trevor Siemian and Demaryius Thomas also connected on a 20-yard pass to get inside McManus’s range.

Brady’s slow start continued, while Trevor Siemian put together another solid drive to turn the page on the first quarter. Things were knotted at three when Denver took a long walk to the other side of the field after going 79 yards to get the Broncos into the red zone. That’s when Siemian made his first big mistake in weeks, letting Logan Ryan jump the route and return an interception 42 yards to swing momentum completely back in New England’s favor.

The Patriots offense finally started to wake up on the next drive when Brady hit Julian Edelman three times and LeGarrette Blount set a new franchise record with his 15th touchdown of the season. It was almost not to be, as Dion Lewis fumbled at the goal line on first-and-goal, but Denver could not corral it. Instead of a possible 10-3 lead, Denver trailed by that margin with 10:00 to play.

Thomas prevented another possible interception with a huge third-down conversion on Denver’s next drive, and Jordan Taylor followed suit with a leaping grab on a critical third-and-12 from the New England 48. A loss of six on the next third down when Siemian threw to a blanketed Forsett, however, knocked Denver out of field goal range and they were forced to punt.

Brady and Edelman connected on a third down to run the clock to the two-minute warning on their ensuing possession. Brady, who missed on his first six pass attempts went 6-for-6 on his next six, including that pass to Edelman, before they could not connect on the very next play. Brady’s next completion was short of the sticks on a third-and-5, but Gary Kubiak did not elect to stop the clock and the Broncos took over after a touchback with 32 seconds on the clock.

A Justin Forsett run put a wrap on the half and Denver went to the locker room trailing by seven. A win to keeps Denver in control of the No. 6 seed in the AFC. The Patriots could win the AFC East with a win.

Here’s how things unfolded in the first half, per the team at MHS and some of our favorite follows in the Denver media.

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/810600711473995777

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/810609454358167553

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