This is not what anyone would call a march toward a Super Bowl.
Not that the Super Bowl won’t be the final destination for the 2006 Broncos. They may eventually get there, but if they do, it will not be by air, ground or sailing, but by stammer, stutter and defensive stop.
As expected, the Broncos defeated the winless, possibly hopeless Oakland Raiders before a primetime televised audience Sunday night. The surprise was in the score: Broncos 13, Raiders 3.
The 4-1 Broncos did not whip the 0-5 Raiders as the oddsmakers, or most of the Rocky Mountain region, projected.
Perhaps, defense, and defense alone, is all the Broncos will need to take that next step from last year’s AFC Championship team.
On offense, the Broncos misfired all night, save a two-play touchdown drive in the first quarter. A conservative approach led to a meager 91 yards passing – 54 of which came on one, wonderfully executed bootleg throw from quarterback Jake Plummer to receiver Javon Walker that set up that first-quarter score and the game’s only touchdown – and 229 yards in total offense that as of the final, 2-minute warning had not surpassed the inept Raiders offense.
On defense, the Broncos set a new 66-year NFL standard of end-zone efficiency. By holding the Raiders to one field goal, the Broncos have now allowed just one touchdown through five games. Not since the NFL started keeping fairly accurate statistics in 1940 has a defense been so stingy.
This game was like so many others for the Broncos this season. Great on defense. Unimpressive on offense. That’s been enough for the Broncos to maintain a share of the AFC West lead heading into their game next Sunday at 1-4 Cleveland.
