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Week 10 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 17, Washington Redskins 27
Denver Broncos
| QB Kyle Orton, Pass: 11 - 18 - 193 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 |
Kyle Orton started out hot. His second pass of the game was a 40-yard touchdown to Brandon Marshall. Two passes later he re-connected with Marshall for a 75-yard score. After losing to the Ravens and the Steelers you could tell that this hot start meant a lot to the Broncos, the offense, and especially to Orton. He had plenty of time to throw, and Knowshon Moreno was running strong which helped keep the defense honest. Orton did a good job with pump fakes, and used his eyes to move the defenders where he wanted to open up passing lanes. Orton's worst play of the day was when he overthew Eddie Royal on a pass about 40-yards downfield that would have been a 79-yard touchdown catch. With time expiring in the second quarter Orton scrambled up the middle as the Broncos were 9-yards away from scoring again. He was tackled by Brian Orakpo, and in the process of the play had his ankle injured. He missed the rest of the game because of the injury, and left the locker room on crutches after the game.
| QB Chris Simms, Pass: 3 - 13 - 13 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Simms came in the second half of the game but did not look very good in relief of Kyle Orton. He hadn't played in nearly three years, and the rust was very evident from the first pass he attempted. Playing with the lead Simms seemed rattled by the Redskins, who stacked the line to stop the run and put the heat on the quarterback. Even when he did have time to throw most of his passes were high and off target. The one interception he threw was in the end zone and it was intended for Brandon Marshall. The play was there for Marshall to run a fade stop in the end zone. The play would have worked had Simms not thrown the ball into the middle of the end zone -- at least 5-yards away from Marshall -- where it was easily picked off by DeAngelo Hall. A backup quarterback should be mentally prepared because he can enter the game at any time. It looked like Simms was lost out on the field, and he didn't grasp the defensive looks the Redskins were showing.
| RB Knowshon Moreno, Rush: 18 - 97 - 0, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (5 targets) |
Moreno was running very hard against the Redskins to start the game, and opened up the contest with a big 28-yard run. On that play Moreno showed good patience and vision in the open field. Early in the game the holes were there for Moreno and he was taking advantage of them. He was also picking up yards after contact because he would spin, slide, and push past tacklers. The holes closed up in the second half with Chris Simms in the game. The Redskins were stacking the line of scrimmage and daring Simms to beat them. Moreno still had a couple of nice runs where he had to create his own space by juking defenders that had broken through into the backfield. Just like Brandon Marshall, a bigger day was there for Moreno but Orton's injury killed the offensive rhythm the Broncos had gotten into.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Buckhalter found his way into coach McDaniels doghouse with a fumble in the second quarter on his second (and final) carry of the game. Buckhalter broke his run to the outside, but saw a cutback lane after he was down the field about 8 yards. Unable to cut on a dime without losing much speed, Cbuck had to stop his momentum which allowed the pursuit to catch up to him. Defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander was able to hit Buckhalter and jar the ball loose from the veteran back.
| RB LaMont Jordan |
Jordan actually found his way back onto the field for a snap, but did not have any offensive production on Sunday.
| RB Peyton Hillis |
With fullback/linebacker Spencer Larsen back from his injury Hillis is having a hard time getting on the field for more than just special teams duty.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0, Rec: 5 - 134 - 2 (10 targets) |
Brandon Marshall took full advantage of mistakes in the Washington secondary, and started the game with 2 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. The first touchdown Marshall ran an option route where he stutter stepped to see what the defensive back would do. When Carlos Rogers bit on the short route, Marshall blew past him for the score. His second touchdown catch saw another breakdown in Washington's coverage. The Broncos lined up in a two tight end set where Marshall was the only wideout on the field. He started off his route slowly as if he was looking to block DeAngelo Hall. When Hall was peeking in the backfield for a run Marshall flew past him and was wide open for six. It was a huge game for Marshall, and could have been even better if Kyle Orton had stayed healthy. Chris Simms did target Brandon Marshall in the second half, including once in the end zone that was picked off because it was at least 5-yards away from the big receiver.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) |
Oh what might have been. That's what Royal's fantasy owners are saying today. Royal was involved early in this game with a few short passes underneath against the Redskins secondary. However, Kyle Orton did take a deep shot intended for Royal where he just overthrew his receiver by a couple of yards. If they had connected it would've been a 79-yard touchdown pass where Royal could have walked into the end zone. Instead, the Broncos had to punt the ball away. In the second half Chris Simms didn't target Royal with a single pass.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Stokley only had one catch on Sunday as Orton hit him on a short pass over the middle of the field. He was able to turn quickly upfield, lower his shoulders, and gain 15 yards on the play against man coverage where Justin Tryon was outmatched in coverage.
| WR Jabar Gaffney (1 targets) |
Gaffney is absent from the box score, but he was involved in a couple of plays on Sunday. Gaffney hauled in Chris Simms second pass of the day for an 8-yard gain, but the play was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty against Eddie Royal. Simms went back to Gaffney over the middle later in the drive, but the pass fell incomplete.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 4 - 29 - 0 (5 targets) |
The Broncos were picking on the Redskins secondary early in this game, but when deep passes weren't there Kyle Orton was hitting Scheffler underneath. Scheffler did a good job of maximizing his yards after the catch, and was running hard after securing the pass. He has also improved as a blocker over the course of the season. Scheffler will never be confused as a great blocker, but his technique is improving and the effort is there.
| TE Daniel Graham (3 targets) |
Graham won't show up in the box score, but did have a couple of passes thrown his way. Chris Simms final pass of the game was deep over the middle as time expired. Graham was unable to haul in the desperation pass.
Washington Redskins
| QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 17 - 26 - 193 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 15 - 0 |
Campbell was effective and efficient against the Broncos on Sunday. He showed good patience in the pocket, and didn't try to force the ball into coverage. Campbell was sacked a couple of times, but it was from him holding on to the ball too long as he didn't want to make a rash decision with the football. The Broncos also seemed to have trouble with Campbell's scrambling ability. He didn't rack up a bunch of yards on the ground, but he did slide and move around the pocket -- giving himself extra time to look downfield. Campbell was also able to take advantage of safety Brian Dawkins over-aggressive play, and that looked like something the Redskins went out of their way to exploit. Campbell's lone touchdown pass of the day came on a play where he scrambled to his right and was able to move Dawkins up which opened up a hole for Todd Yoder to catch the pass for six.
| RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 26 - 114 - 1, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Taking a page from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, the Redskins decided the best way to beat Denver was to play "big boy" football and just run right at them. By his own admission Betts was only at about 75% before the game, but it didn't show on the field. Betts was running hard, and plowing the ball between the tackles -- especially in the second half. The constant lean the Redskins were putting on the Broncos defense wore them down and created big plays for Washington as they pushed their way down field. The runs that were getting a few yards in the first half all of sudden became big runs and Betts was getting to the second level of the defense with ease.
| RB Rock Cartwright, Rush: 9 - 41 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
Cartwright did a good job of spelling Ladell Betts on Sunday, and also ran hard against a Denver defense that was just wore down at the end of the game. He came out of the gates hot, and had his biggest carry of the day in the first quarter. Going off the left end Cartwright was able to charge past the line of scrimmage, and was finally brought down by Brian Dawkins after a 17-yard gain. Cartwright was also a capable outlet receiver for Jason Campbell when he needed to check down the ball.
| RB Quinton Ganther, Rush: 3 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) |
Ganther came back to the Redskins after being cut, and was able to get some playing time because of the injury to Clinton Portis. Ganther wasn't that successful on the ground, but did a good job of moving his feet after contact. He was also able to take a short pass and turn it into a big gain as the Redskins were picking on Brian Dawkins in coverage.
| RB Mike Sellers, Rec: 1 - 35 - 1 |
Sellers only had one catch on the day, but it was a big one. The Redskins lined up in a field goal formation, but then switched to a pooch punt/shotgun formation. Sellers was lined up as an H-back on the right side of the line. When the ball was snapped he then ran to the left side (while Hunter Smith rolled right) and pretended to block for a split second. Confusion between Darrel Reid and Marcus Thomas ensued when Sellers ran a route down the left side of the field. Reid passed Sellers to Thomas in coverage, but Thomas failed to follow Sellers down the field. Smith was able to find open deep and threw a good pass (for a punter that is). Sellers had to slow down a little, but he cradled the ball in and plodded into the end zone for six.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Rec: 3 - 45 - 0 (4 targets) |
Randle El worked out of the slot against the Broncos and was able to get open a few times for Jason Campbell. His biggest catch of the day came against zone coverage where he was able to find an open spot near the sideline on Champ Bailey's side of the field. Randle El promptly hauled in the pass for the first down, and his momentum carried him out of bounds. He was also able to use his run after the catch ability and quickness to rack up some yards after the catch.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (4 targets) |
Moss was bottled up most of the day by either Andre Goodman or Champ Bailey. Jason Campbell was unwilling to take many chances against this secondary, and thus Moss was held to just a couple of catches. The second half gameplan didn't include much passing either as the Redskins wanted to push around the Denver defense with their ground game.
| WR Devin Thomas, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (4 targets) |
The Redskins didn't take many shots downfield, instead they chose to pass short and let their receivers pick up yards after the catch. In the fourth quarter Thomas hauled in a smoke route where he initially made Andre Goodman miss the tackle at the line of scrimmage. He turned up field and found lots of running room, and twisted and turned his way down field -- making five other Broncos miss tackles along the way.
| WR Malcolm Kelly, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jason Campbell found Kelly open over the middle on a crossing route and hit him in stride. Linebacker D.J. Williams was covering him, and ran into Champ Bailey (knocking both down) which opened up more room to run for Kelly. It was Kelly's only catch of the day, but helped keep the chains moving for the Redskins on a crucial drive to open up the fourth quarter and tie the game at 17 apiece.
| TE Fred Davis, Rec: 4 - 50 - 0 (6 targets) |
Davis is very athletic for a big man, and his athleticism was on display all day versus the Broncos. He was able to haul in several passes from Jason Campbell and was always looking for big yardage after the catch. Davis even broke out of open field moves to create space and move the chains. In addition to picking on Brian Dawkins, the Redskins also wanted to exploit mismatches with the Denver linebackers. Andra Davis was no match for Fred Davis in the open field, and that helped the big tight end have a good day against the Broncos.
| TE Todd Yoder, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (1 targets) |
Yoder only caught one pass on the day, but it opened up the scoring for the Washington Redskins in the first quarter. Working against Brian Dawkins in coverage, Yoder was able to stop his route short in the middle of the field and find a soft spot for Jason Campbell to throw to. It was an easy pitch and catch for the duo, and from 2-yards out they were able to connect for the touchdown.