Newest nickname for the Broncos’ defense: the Crash-and-Burned Unit.
The Broncos, who had allowed two touchdowns in their first six games, allowed three Sunday afternoon at Invesco Field at Mile High. Hey, stuff happens when you play the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts walked off the field with a 34-31 victory that stamped them as the team to beat in the American Conference. Indianapolis is the first team since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers to open back-to-back seasons with seven consecutive wins.
But then, nothing the Colts do should come as a surprise, not with Peyton Manning running their offense. Manning all but single-handedly knocked the air of invincibility out of the Broncos’ defense, which had allowed a league-low 44 points before the Colts came calling.
Manning threw three touchdown passes, all to Reggie Wayne, and finished the day with 32 completions on 39 passing attempts, good for 345 yards. The final 47 came on the game’s last drive, when Manning completed all five of his passes to set up Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning 37-yard field goal.
“That’s why he’s the best,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “What separates guys like him and that offense is that, when you make mistakes, they expose them. With a lot of quarterbacks, you can get away with making some mistakes, but we did and he found them.”
The Broncos’ loss came on a day when their offense finally started clicking. Denver hadn’t scored more than 17 points in a game but nearly doubled that Sunday. Rookie Mike Bell ran for 136 yards – 135 in the second half – and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Men of Manning.
How frustrated were the Broncos in the aftermath? Al Wilson wouldn’t talk to reporters, and cornerback Darrent Williams, victimized by Wayne throughout the day, bolted from the locker room as the media were walking in.
The standings will say it was just one loss, but it was much more than that. With a win, the Broncos’ 6-1 record would have tied the Colts for the best in the AFC. It also would have given Denver the inside track for the home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Instead, the Broncos walked away knowing the road to the Super Bowl runs through Indy, where the Colts annihilated Denver in the teams’ last two playoff meetings – 41-10 after the 2003 season, 49-24 a year later.
Staff writer Jim Armstrong can be reached at jmarmstrong@denverpost.com or 303-954-1269.
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