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Week 8 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 7, Baltimore Ravens 30
Denver Broncos
| QB Kyle Orton, Pass: 23 - 37 - 152 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0 |
The tone for the day was set on the first offensive play for the Denver Broncos. Kyle Orton dropped back and barely had enough time to set his feet when linebacker Jarrett Johnson crushed him from the blind side. That one play pretty much summed up the Broncos day, because with the exception of one drive the Broncos offense was out of rhythm all game long. The Broncos did not use any "Wild Horses" offense to slow down the Ravens, instead relying on screen passes that were immediately sniffed out. Like most every week there were a few Orton passes that should have been intercepted, but all in all he was safe with the football. When the Ravens didn't get to him, they were knocking him down just after the pass or batting down passes from the air. To his credit, Orton took some big shots during the day but stood strong and didn't let the rush make him a timid passer.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 8 - 16 - 0, Rec: 6 - 30 - 0 (6 targets) |
Buckhalter started this game over rookie Knowshon Moreno, but both backs had trouble running against a tough Baltimore defense. Surprisingly, Cbuck also had trouble in pass protection and allowed Chris Carr to sack Kyle Orton in the fourth quarter. Buckhalter showed good patience on toss plays and would turn on the jets at just the right time. However, most of the time the push just wasn't there, and thus Buckhalter didn't find many holes on Sunday.
| RB Knowshon Moreno, Rush: 10 - 39 - 1, Rec: 2 - -4 - 0 (2 targets) |
Early in his NFL career Knowshon Moreno has developed a slight reputation as a fumbler, and the Baltimore Ravens made him cough up the football again on Sunday. With less than 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter Kyle Orton hit Moreno on a screen pass as the Broncos were trying to slow down the fierce Ravens pass rush. Veteran safety Ed Reed was all over the play and came crashing in on the running back. With the force of Mack Truck, Reed smashed into Moreno and caused him to fumble the ball. It wasn't all bad for Knowshon Moreno. He did run with good footwork, and tried to match the Ravens physicality by using his stiff arm effectively when defenders were near.
| RB Peyton Hillis, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
With linebacker/fullback Spencer Larsen back from his knee injury it opened the door for Peyton Hillis to be a little more involved on offense. Hillis didn't get to carry the football, but did have a couple of receptions on the day.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (8 targets) |
The Broncos know that in order to jump-start their passing game they must involve Brandon Marshall early and often. This recipe didn't work as planned against the Ravens because quarterback Kyle Orton didn't have much time to throw the football. Marshall was getting short targets, but found no running room after the catch. He was trying his normal start/stop/cutback running but the pursuit by the Ravens meant that defenders were catching him from behind while he tried to make moves on the guys in front of him. As the game wore on Marshall seemed to be reluctant to go all out for catches for fear of getting hit over the middle. This lead to a few more incompletions for Kyle Orton.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 3 - 43 - 0 (4 targets) |
Gaffney was the leading receiver for the Broncos on Sunday, and it seemed like a bigger day was there for him -- if only Kyle Orton had more time to throw. The Broncos offense finally came to life in the third quarter, and a good chunk of yardage was picked up by Jabar Gaffney on their only scoring drive of the day. Denver wanted to pick on former-Broncos defensive back Dominique Foxworth, and Gaffney was able to set him up with option routes to get open. However, his first catch of the day came against perfect coverage against Fabian Washington on a deep square in route and Gaffney was able to secure the ball and get the first down reception.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (8 targets) |
Royal was not very involved as a receiver in this game, and it's the norm and not the exception this year. Unless the Broncos like his matchup Kyle Orton doesn't go out of his way to get Royal the football. Just like we've seen in earlier weeks, Royal was pressing when he did get the ball -- whether it was on a reception or a return. Because his touches are so few and far between Royal tries to do too much with the football, instead of picking up what the defense gives him. Just like Brandon Marshall, the punishment of this game was getting to Royal and in the second half he was alligator-arming passes in fear of getting hit by Ray Lewis and company.
| WR Brandon Stokley |
The veteran was on the field, but did not receive a target in this game.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (4 targets) |
Graham caught the first pass of the day for quarterback Kyle Orton, but was mainly kept in to block against a fierce Baltimore pass rush. His biggest reception of the game (23 yards) came with less than 30 seconds left in garbage time.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
Scheffler was unable to pick on the Ravens' safeties as he did 2 weeks ago against San Diego. The Broncos went to Scheffler early on their only scoring drive of the day, but the rest of the time he found it difficult to get open against the Ravens blanket coverage.
Baltimore Ravens
| QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 20 - 25 - 175 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 5 - 0 |
The Ravens came out with an effective gameplan against the Denver Broncos, which called for patience and precision from their quarterback. Flacco did a good job under pressure on Sunday, and would stand in and wait to deliver the ball until the last second before getting hit. "Cool Joe" did a fantastic job of going through his progressions and finding the open receiver. Even if he had to check it down to running back Ray Rice, Flacco was very careful with the football. It seemed like the Ravens went out of their way to pick on second-year cornerback Jack Williams, and for the most part Flacco did not test All-Pro Champ Bailey. The Ravens gave Flacco plenty of time to throw, and he used the hard count effectively to draw the defense off sides -- including twice in a row on a crucial third-quarter drive that stalled. Once Elvis Dumervil jumped twice it allowed the Ravens to continue the drive into the fourth-quarter where a TD pass to Derrick Mason gave them a 23-7 lead. On that TD pass, Flacco identified Brian Dawkins cheating to the right side of the field. With single coverage (Andre Goodman) on Mason, Flacco put the ball in the end zone where only his receiver could get it for six.
| RB Ray Rice, Rush: 23 - 84 - 1, Rec: 5 - 24 - 0 (5 targets) |
The Broncos really didn't have an answer for Ray Rice on Sunday. Rice didn't finish with the greatest YPC average, but he was running hard and kept his legs churning after contact. With his short stature he was able to hide behind the big offensive linemen, only to burst into the second level and keep the chains moving. When the Ravens went into a hurry up offense it caught the Broncos off guard, which only led to even bigger gains for Ray Rice. As always, Rice was again a trusted receiver for Flacco out of the backfield. With good special teams play the Ravens starting position on most drives was near mid-field. This means the team didn't have to go very far to get into scoring position. Rice was patient and thus able to maximize the amount of yardage on each carry.
| RB LeRon McClain, Rush: 3 - 31 - 0 |
McClain came in with less than 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter and helped the Ravens drain the clock to seal the victory. His second carry of the day went for 20 yards, and his swiftness seemed to surprise the Broncos defense. McClain is a load to bring down, so once in the second level he can gain a lot of yards after contact.
| RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
McGahee was involved early in this game, getting his first touch near the end of the first quarter. However, he wasn't very productive with his touches and thus gave way to more of Ray Rice. Whereas Rice was getting to the second level it seemed that McGahee was more tentative and caught behind the line of scrimmage. Coach Harbaugh may have wanted to give Rice a breather, but clearly knew which back had the hot hand -- and it was not Willis McGahee.
| WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 4 - 40 - 1 (5 targets) |
Mason was blanket covered by Champ Bailey most of the day, but was able to find a mismatch against Andre Goodman and score a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Mason said earlier in the week that he respected Champ Bailey, but did not fear him. That "no fear" approach showed up in the game, and Mason seemed fired up on his one reception against Bailey. Mason was also heated because rookie cornerback Alphonso Smith basically pulled his jersey off on a possible touchdown that instead fell incomplete. Mason's intensity also showed up as a blocker, where he seemed to have a little something extra when blocking for Ray Rice.
| WR Kelley Washington, Rec: 4 - 58 - 0 (6 targets) |
Washington did a nice job on his underneath routes, and really abused second-year cornerback Jack Williams. Flacco had enough time to go through his progressions and rather than test Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins, he was frequently lining up Washington in his sights. Washington was able to do most of his damage on third downs. Just when it looked like the Broncos may get a stop, Washington would swing the momentum back into Baltimore's favor.
| WR Mark Clayton, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (4 targets) |
Clayton was able to haul in a few passes against cornerback Andre Goodman. He provided Flacco with a reliable target, and even picked up a few yards on a double reverse. The Ravens were trying to slow down the Broncos pass rush, and tossing in a trick play here and there will always do that. In the 3rd quarter Clayton was able to take a short pass and turn it into a 17-yard gain with good run after the catch ability and determination.
| TE Todd Heap, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (4 targets) |
Heap proved to be a tough matchup underneath, and provided Joe Flacco with a reliable target when the blitz was on. Once he'd secure a pass Heap kept his legs moving to pick up yardage after contact. Like Derrick Mason, Heap seemed to have a little extra fight in him both as a receiver and a blocker. The only mistake Heap made was when he went in motion and the snap hit him in the leg, instead of Joe Flacco in the shotgun. That play actually counted as a fumble against the tight end, although the Ravens did recover the football.