CLEVELAND — Just down Ninth Street, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offers an explanation of the Broncos’ offense. It features an eclectic group of artists from Elvis to the Beatles to Beyoncé.
Viewed singularly, they are great. Problems often surface with collaborations. The Broncos have yet to find a blend with coach Gary Kubiak’s zone-blocking, run-centric scheme and Peyton Manning’s hurry-up, pistol formation.
Consider it Garth Brooks meets Jimi Hendrix.
Somewhere harmony exists. Just not yet. The Broncos went 25 possessions without scoring an offensive touchdown — dating to the game against Minnesota on Oct. 4 — before Manning connected on a 75-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders on Sunday. Yet, for the third time this season, the offense shined when it mattered most. Manning went 4-for-4 for 39 yards, and running backs Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson pushed their lungs to the limit, collecting 37 of their 152 yards on the final drive.
RECAP:
“We are still in transition,” said Manning, who completed 26 of 48 passes for 290 yards, threw for one score and had three interceptions. “We started the season with a fullback/H-back in James Casey, and he’s not with us anymore. And Ty’s (Sambrailo’s) injury has forced some shuffling. It has by no means been easy. Coach Kubiak and I are committed to getting on the same page where he and I have a good feel for each other. We are both committed to the cause.”
The Broncos will use the Broncos to self-scout, a football term describing internal analysis. They will figure out what works, what belongs in the dumpster. What Denver showed Sunday, something as critical as anything in the victory, is that it can do damage on the ground. If the Broncos couldn’t run at Cleveland, then when? The Browns entered the game allowing 5 yards per carry. The Broncos averaged 4.6 yards per pop on 33 attempts.
Hillman produced his second 100-yard game this season. This effort had more substance — with several strong jaunts — rather than a 72-yard boost like his statistics against the Minnesota Vikings.
BOXSCORE:
“It felt good. We were able to contribute. There’s nothing worse than standing on the sideline and feeling like you are not helping your team,” Hillman said. “We got it going on that last drive.”
Anderson provided the grunt work, showing flashes of last year’s burst with a few broken tackles. He also caught four passes for 25 yards.
“Yeah. Plenty of them, ” Anderson said of the Broncos’ penchant for dramatic wins. “That’s just football. There are ups and downs, but so long as we come out on top, it feels good.”
The makeshift offensive line improved as the game advanced. Ryan Harris held down the left tackle spot as Tyler Polumbus barely played. Max Garcia filled in occasionally at left guard for Evan Mathis, who finished strong. The Broncos entered with 358 rushing yards. They nearly posted half of that total on Sunday. That can’t be discounted on a Sunday when receiver Emmanuel Sanders suffered a left shoulder injury and Demaryius Thomas needed 17 targets to accumulate 111 yards because of multiple drops.
PHOTOS:
“We needed to stick to the run because we knew we were close to hitting them early on. We were getting a better feel as the game went on,” Mathis said. “When it came to that last drive it was all about communication and execution. We are 6-0. It doesn’t matter how. If we were dominating, we’d still have the same attitude: we have to keep at it. There’s a lot of work left to do.”
