Week 1 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 10, St. Louis Rams 18

What you need to know

Denver Broncos

QB Jake Plummer and the Denver passing game struggled against an aggressive Rams’ defense that forced five turnovers, four of them by Plummer. Plummer had a bad day as he completed only half of his 26 passing attempts for 138 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. This was an ugly loss for Plummer and the Denver offense since the defense played well enough to win the game, and kept the Rams’ offense out of the end zone even. Plummer was pressured early and often as the Rams’ pass rushers sacked him four times. St. Louis kept a consistent pass rush on him through most of the game, forcing him to make many mistakes and never allowing them to never get into a rhythm on offense.

HC Mike Shanahan kept everyone guessing who would start at running back and did not disclose who the starter was until the game started. RB Tatum Bell started the game, but he and RB Mike Bell took turns rotating in on each offensive series the entire game. Tatum Bell finished as the Broncos’ leading rusher as he had 103 yards on 15 carries. He also had a fumble at the end of the first quarter for another lost possession for Denver.

Mike Bell scored Denver’s only touchdown on a one yard run that ended a 79 yard Broncos’ drive that featured him at running back the entire drive. He finished with 58 yards rushing on ten carries and also had four receptions for 30 yards. Unlike their passing game, the Broncos’ rushing offense looked good racking up 161 yards between both Mike Bell and Tatum Bell.

Both starting receivers for Denver, Rod Smith and Javon Walker, had a quiet day and combined for only 75 yards receiving as the Rams’ defense kept the Broncos’ passing attack in check all game. Walker was all but invisible in the first half as he was targeted only once on an 11 yard reception, but he was targeted seven times in the second half and finished the game with three receptions for 41 yards. Walker dropped a pass inside the St. Louis’ 40 yard line in the third quarter; it could have been a big play as the Rams’ pass defenders overran the ball. Had he come down with the ball he would have had an open path to the end zone. The Broncos’ offense was unable to capitalize on the few opportunities they had.

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis defense and PK Jeff Wilkins were the stars of the game for the Rams, as the defense forced five turnovers and Wilkins hit a franchise record six field goals in the 18-10 win over Denver. Wilkins was forced to handle all of the scoring for the Rams because the offense was unable to score a touchdown in five trips to the red zone.

QB Marc Bulger had an uninspiring day statistically finishing with 217 yards passing and no touchdowns. While Bulger did not play poorly, he was unable to lead the offense to a touchdown even when the defense gave them excellent field position on several occasions. St. Louis only converted on three of 15 third down conversions in the game and Bulger only completed slightly over fifty percent of his passes.

RB Steven Jackson had a good game as the Rams had a balanced attack on offense by rushing the ball 28 times and passing on 34 plays. Jackson had 121 yards against a tough Broncos’ rush defense, with 50 of Jackson’s yards coming on two plays at the end of the game as the Rams tried to run out the clock. He also added four receptions for 19 yards.

WR Torry Holt had a solid game catching half of the 14 passes targeted his way for 80 yards. He did have a 20 yard reception reversed in the third quarter when the play was challenged and the replay showed he didn’t have his feet in bounds. Holt’s only real scoring opportunity came in the first quarter when Bulger overthrew him in the back of the end zone.

What you ought to know

QB Jake Plummer, Pass: 13 - 26 - 138 - 0 TD / 3 INT

Plummer had the kind of day most quarterbacks would like to forget, he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble that was recovered on the Denver three yard line by the Rams. He finished the game with 13 completions out of 26 attempts for 138 yards and no touchdowns. The Rams did an excellent job with disguising their blitz packages and got good pressure from their front four defensive linemen to make Plummer look uncomfortable in the pocket and force him into making mistakes. The Broncos had only 67 yards passing at the end of the first half and most of those came from their touchdown drive that ended the second quarter. Denver’s passing game never really got on track in the second half as they faced many third and long situations that they were unable to convert into first downs. Plummer also had two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one that ended a drive that had taken them to the St. Louis 28 yard line with 2:40 left in the game.

RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 15 - 103 - 0 (2 targets)

Tatum Bell did start the game but shared carries with Mike Bell the entire contest as they rotated in-and-out on offensive possessions. He had 15 carries for 103 yards, including a 39 yard run on Denver’s first play of the second half. Bell lost a fumble at the end of the first quarter, but this did not affect the rotation of him and Mike Bell. He had no receptions, but did have two targets in the game.

RB Mike Bell, Rush: 10 - 58 - 1, Rec: 4 - 30 - 0 (4 targets)

Bell did not start the game like many had speculated, but he did share carries with fellow running back Tatum Bell throughout the game. He had ten carries for 58 yards which was less then Tatum Bell’s rushing total, but he did add four receptions for 30 yards. Bell also had the only touchdown of the day for the Broncos, a one yard run that capped a 79 yard drive. He made a key fourth down conversion on that touchdown drive with a two yard carry from the Denver 31 yard line. Bell had a nice 36 yard run in the fourth quarter but Plummer threw an interception on the very next play. He and Tatum Bell were rotated in for each offensive series. Mike Bell played five offensive series and Tatum Bell played in six series.

RB Cedric Cobbs

Cobbs did not play in this game, in fact he was deactivated before the start of this game and did not even dress for the game. Cobbs was not on Denver’s injury report this week.

WR Rod Smith, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (7 targets)

Smith had three receptions out of seven targets and finished with 34 receiving yards. His longest catch was a 19 yard reception for a first down on Denver’s only touchdown drive. Plummer did take a shot deep down the field to Smith late in the fourth quarter on their last drive of the game as they were attempting to tie the score, but the pass fell incomplete.

WR Javon Walker, Rec: 3 - 41 - 0 (8 targets)

Walker did not see a lot of balls thrown in his direction in the first half, and caught the only ball thrown his way for 11 yards. Things picked up for him in the second half when he was targeted seven times. Walker had two consecutive drops in the third quarter, one which probably would have been a touchdown had he held on to it, and a second one which would have been good for a first down and would have kept the Denver drive alive. He finished the game with three receptions for 41 yards. In the third quarter, he appeared to injure one of his fingers on a dropped pass and left the game briefly, but returned later. Walker did draw an 18 yard defensive pass interference penalty late in the fourth quarter.

WR David Kircus

Kircus did not have any receptions or targets, but did have two kick returns for 38 yards.

TE Stephen Alexander, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (3 targets)

Alexander had two receptions for 24 yards. He had a five yard reception on the first play of the game and 19 yard reception in the second quarter for a first down.

TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Scheffler had only one catch for nine yards on the Broncos’ only touchdown drive.

PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Elam had one extra point and made a 49 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

DEN Rush Defense

The Denver defense gave up 125 yards on the ground including 122 yards to Steven Jackson, but they were able to stop the Rams when they had to. The defense kept the Rams from scoring a touchdown even though they were put in tough field position situations all game by the Broncos’ offense. The highlight for the defense came in the first quarter as they stopped the Rams from scoring after they recovered a Plummer fumble on their three yard line.

DEN Pass Defense

The Broncos’ defense could not force any turnovers but they did have three sacks on Bulger. The defense kept them in the game and gave them a chance to win the game up until the final minutes.

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 18 - 34 - 217 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -3 - 0

Bulger didn’t make any mistakes to cost St. Louis the game, but neither did he make a lot of plays to win the game for them. The Rams had the ball in Denver territory several times in the first half thanks to three Broncos’ turnovers, but the offense was only able to get six points from those turnovers. He completed 18 passes out of 34 attempts for 217 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Bulger also targeted Holt and Bruce a total of 24 times combined. Bulger and the Rams’ offense really struggled at converting third downs and keeping drives going. He wasn’t as accurate throwing the ball and had trouble finding open receivers at times.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 22 - 121 - 0, Rec: 4 - 19 - 0 (5 targets)

Jackson looked fine rushing the ball against a Broncos’ rush defense that finished near the top of the league last year. He finished with 121 yards on 22 carries but those numbers may look a little deceiving since 50 of his yards came on his last two carries of the game for when the Rams were trying to run down the clock. He was only averaging about three and half yards a carry until those last two carries. His longest carry was a 37 yard run that came right after the two minute warning in the second half that sealed the victory for St. Louis. Jackson also added 19 yards receiving on four receptions.

RB Tony Fisher, Rush: 3 - 7 - 0, Rec: 2 - 54 - 0 (2 targets)

Fisher had seven yards on three carries and two receptions for 54 yards, including a 49 yard reception in the fourth quarter that helped set up the Rams’ sixth field goal of the game.

RB Stephen Davis

Davis did not have any rushes, catches, or targets, although he did get on the field for one play that resulted in a sack in the third quarter.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 7 - 80 - 0 (14 targets)

Holt had another steady performance and was targeted early and often by Bulger throughout the game. He had decent numbers considering the Rams’ passing game struggled at times, especially in the red zone. Holt’s 14 targets and 80 yards receiving led all receivers in the game, in what turned out to be a defensive struggle. His longest catch was a 23 yard reception midway through the second quarter that led to a Wilkins’ field goal. He also had a 20 yard reception in the third quarter nullified on a challenged play that showed he did not have possession in-bounds.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 5 - 64 - 0 (10 targets)

Bruce had ten targets in the game and caught five of them for 64 yards. His biggest reception came midway through the third quarter when he caught a ball on a crossing route for 34 yards. Other than Bruce and Torry Holt, no other Rams’ receiver had more then two targets in the game.

WR Shaun McDonald (1 targets)

McDonald was targeted for one pass but had no receptions in the game.

WR Kevin Curtis (2 targets)

Curtis had two targets but did not have a reception in the game.

TE Joe Klopfenstein

Klopfenstein was not targeted during the game.

PK Jeff Wilkins 6 - 7 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 18 points

Wilkins had a franchise record six field goals thanks to a dominant Rams’ defense that forced five turnovers and a St. Louis offense that couldn’t score a touchdown. Wilkins was six for seven in the game, including two long fields’ goals of 51 and 48 yards. He also connected on distances of 26, 38, 29, and 24 yards.

STL Rush Defense

The Rams did give up a total of 161 yards to Tatum Bell and Mike Bell for the game and most of those yards came in the second half. They only gave up 42 rushing yards in the first half, but did give up 119 in the second half, including a 39 yard run to Tatum Bell, and a 36 yard run to Mike Bell. But the defense came up with two key turnovers in the fourth quarter and held the Broncos’ offense to three points in the second half.

STL Pass Defense

The St. Louis defense played aggressive and caused five turnovers in the game, three interceptions and two fumbles. They also sacked Plummer four times and kept a consistent pass rush on him the entire game. Fakhir Brown, Corey Chavous, and rookie Tye Hill all recorded an interception. Leonard Little had two of St. Louis’ three sacks and forced the Plummer fumble that they recovered on the Denver three yard line.