Jacksonville, Fla. – There was only one game ball, but many players who were deserving.
Did the Broncos give it to rookie cornerback Domonique Foxworth, who had an interception, fumble recovery and team-high six tackles while replacing injured cornerback Champ Bailey?
How about running back Mike Anderson for his first 100-yard rushing game in four seasons? Or maybe Dwayne Carswell, for gosh sakes, an offensive tackle who caught not one, but two touchdown passes?
Nope, nope and nope.
The game ball went to kicker Jason Elam.
“For the way he overcame adversity,” Foxworth said.
Overcoming adversity was the primary theme in the Broncos’ 20-7 victory Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars here at Alltell Stadium. The Broncos won despite injuries to their two starting cornerbacks, Bailey and Darrent Williams. They won despite not having their punt and kickoff returner – also Williams. They won in a hostile environment, in the unforgiving state of Florida.
And they won despite rare, back-to-back missed field goals by Elam in the first quarter. Elam hooked a 41-yarder to the left after the Broncos’ second drive, then his 46-yard attempt was deflected at the line to mire the Broncos’ third series.
But Elam came back to make two extra points and two fourth-quarter field goals to clinch the victory. And then coach Mike Shanahan honored Elam as the symbol of the team’s ability to ignore past troubles and focus on getting the job done.
Keep the ball, rook
Bailey didn’t play, but he was there to give an assist to Foxworth, who started in his place.
After Foxworth intercepted Byron Leftwich in the fourth quarter, he threw the ball back on the field instead of keeping it for a memento. The veteran Bailey retrieved the ball.
“I lost my mind for a minute,” Foxworth said. “But Champ tracked down the ball for me, thankfully.” Added Bailey, “You have to help the rookies out sometimes.”
Foxworth, though, learned from his mistake. Later in the quarter, he recovered a fumble. He returned to the sideline with the ball tucked firmly in his arm. Bailey, laughing, was there to greet him.
“I figured it out the second time,” Foxworth said.
Champ shy of century mark
Of all the times for Bailey to finally meet an injury he couldn’t beat, it came as he approached the 100th game of his career. Instead, his left hamstring strain ended his consecutive starting streak at 99.
“That’s all right, that’s the year I came in, ’99,” Bailey said.
Although hopeful throughout the week that he could play without practicing, Bailey said he never really tested the hamstring before the game Sunday.
“It just wasn’t the right thing for me to do,” he said. “I just needed to take a break from this.”
He hopes to play Sunday against his former team, the Washington Redskins, at Invesco Field at Mile High, but said he would know more by Friday.
Was Bailey surprised at how well Foxworth played in his absence?
“This is what we players saw every day in training camp,” Bailey said. “These guys can play. These guys were ready. It’s what we expected.”
Sharing the rock
With the humidity up, the air warm and the Broncos’ offense controlling the ball on long, sustained drives, Shanahan had second-year player Tatum Bell frequently spell Anderson at running back.
Four fresh legs beats a pair every time. Anderson gained 115 yards on 23 carries and Bell rushed for 60 yards on 15 attempts.
“You like that, huh?” Anderson said. “With the heat, it definitely made sense to do it that way.”
Ron Dayne was in on the first drive, but when he didn’t pick up a third-and-1, he gave way to Bell.
The rotation caught Bell by surprise.
“All week, I was running behind Dayne,” Bell said. “Then all the sudden in the flow of the game, they put me in. They kind of trusted me. They knew what I could do and it felt good to go in there and make plays.”
Hayward enjoys reunion
Former Broncos defensive end Reggie Hayward had three tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and batted away one Jake Plummer pass. He said he enjoyed seeing some old friends and familiar faces.
“A lot of old faces, old friends, guys that are very competitive,” Hayward said of some former teammates he played with during his four years (2001-04) with the Broncos. “It was a very clean game. No one was trying to cheap-shot anybody. They did a lot of things that they normally do to defensive teams. They have some gadget plays that kept us off guard. I just wish we would have won.”
After leading Denver with a team-high 10 1/2 sacks in 2004, tied for third in the AFC, Hayward signed with Jacksonville as an unrestricted free agent on March 2.
Training room woes
It was a tough week for those listed as questionable on the Broncos’ injury report. Five of those six players sat out on Sunday. In addition to Bailey and Williams, the Broncos lost linebacker Patrick Chukwurah to a deep thigh bruise, and linebacker Louis Green (hamstring) and special teamer/cornerback Roc Alexander (hamstring).
The only player listed as questionable who played was receiver/special-teamer Todd Devoe.
Also inactive were defensive tackle Monsanto Pope, receiver David Terrell and tight end Wesley Duke. Among those normally inactive who dressed for the game were cornerback Karl Paymah and defensive end Marco Coleman.
Griffin cut again
The Broncos cut running back Quentin Griffin on Sunday when they learned Bailey and Williams would miss the game, but there’s a chance Griffin could be brought back this week.
Griffin was cut to make room for cornerback Curome Cox, who was promoted from the practice squad. Cox could go back to the practice squad if Bailey, Williams and Alexander return soon. Griffin was cut Sept. 3 when Denver made its final preseason cuts, then was re-signed Sept. 20 when Anderson and Bell were nursing injuries. Griffin made the trip to Jacksonville.
Weather, or not
Denver dealt with the humidity of Florida better Sunday than in Miami three weeks ago. It was 82 degrees at game time with 82 percent humidity, and it rained hard at different times of the game.
Cornerback Lenny Walls lost some time when he got an IV during the game. Walls also needed an IV at Miami.
“It wasn’t as bad as Miami, but it was pretty good,” defensive back Sam Brandon said. “That sun was out and hot. The rain didn’t even help.”
Run stuffs ‘R us
The players are downplaying the significance of it, but defensive coordinator Larry Coyer’s fiery halftime speech during the Sept. 18 San Diego game seemed to have an impact.
To wit: The Broncos at that point had allowed 213 yards on 46 carries. Since then, they’ve allowed 103 on 44 attempts.
Jags can’t find rhythm
The Jaguars weren’t able to take advantage of Denver’s depleted secondary. They totaled 240 passing yards, but only a 45-yard pass play from Byron Leftwich to Jimmy Smith found the end zone. It was also the only one of 20 pass completions by Leftwich to gain more than 20 yards.
“It’s tough to really get in a rhythm when nothing is going right,” Leftwich said. “Nothing went right for us. We were in too many first-and-20s, second-and-20s.
“We were put in situations that make it tough to win a football game.”
Smith, with five catches for 109 yards and one touchdown, got the better in his battle with Denver’s Rod Smith, who was held to four receptions for 33 yards. It marked the 64th consecutive game that the Jaguars’ Smith caught a pass and was the 45th 100-yard game of his career. The Broncos’ Smith has 29 games of 100 yards or more.
Footnotes
You’ll have to excuse Shanahan for not being overly impressed with his revamped defensive line: “They’re playing like I thought they would play, to be honest with you,” Shanahan said … With Williams out, receiver Charlie Adams returned both punts and kickoffs Sunday. … Practice squad guard Chris Myers accompanied the team on the trip. Usually, practice squad players don’t travel. … Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer had three tackles. He broke his leg against Denver last year and said he wanted to beat the Broncos “30-0.” … The Broncos were penalized just five times for 30 yards. … Coleman played some defensive end because John Engelberger was playing a bigger role on special teams with Green and Chukwurah out. … So much for the post-Monday Night Football letdown. With the win, the Broncos are 10-1 in their past 11 games after a Monday nighter.
Staff writer Jim Armstrong and correspondent Jeff Elliott contributed to this report.
