INDIANAPOLIS — Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders played through pain Sunday. He injured his left ankle on the game’s first play, and never was close to 100 percent.
“I am sore,” Sanders said. “I taped it up, then took it off because it was too tight. It made it worse.”
Sanders had six catches for 90 yards. Defensive back Omar Bolden replaced Sanders on punt returns, and delivered an 83-yard touchdown in the first half.
BOXSCORE:
Hall in the House
Joe Horrigan, the Pro Football Hall of Fame executive vice president, attended Sunday’s game in anticipation of history. He knows Peyton Manning well as the quarterback’s memorabilia practically requires its own wing at Canton.
Horrigan left empty-handed, leaving him following the Broncos back to Denver with Manning needing three yards and one win to break Brett Favre’s all-time mark for passing yards and victories.
Rotating tackles
The Broncos continued rotating left tackles Ryan Harris and Tyler Polumbus each series. What worked against Cleveland and Green Bay failed to produce the same results Sunday. The Broncos rushed for a season-low 35 yards on 14 carries.
“It wasn’t anything they did. We have to execute better,” running back C.J. Anderson said. He finished with 34 yards, and Ronnie Hillman had 1 yard on seven attempts.
PHOTOS:
See Bolden run
Bolden saved the Broncos from a first-half shutout with his 83-yard return in the waning seconds of the second quarter.
The score was the first punt return touchdown of Bolden’s career and the first for the Broncos since wide receiver Trindon Holliday ran back a punt 81 yards for a score on Sept. 15, 2013 against the Giants.
Bolden’s punt return TD was the seventh-longest in franchise history.
WATCH:
Ware hurt again
Shortly after recording career sack No. 133.5 to tie John Abraham for 10th on the NFL’s all-time list, DeMarcus Ware re-injured his back in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game.
Ware first injured his back in the second quarter at Oakland on Oct. 11 and did not play the next week at Cleveland.
Streak snapped
The Broncos’ defense entered Sunday’s game having not allowed a point in the first quarter. Another scoreless first quarter would have tied the Broncos with the 1978 Steelers and 1991 Saints for most consecutive games (eight) without a first-quarter score by an opponent at the start of the season.
But a 7-yard run by Indianapolis running back Frank Gore snapped the Broncos’ streak at seven games and gave the Colts an early lead.
BESTS/WORSTS:
Footnotes
Defensive end Derek Wolfe (defense), tight end Virgil Green (offense) and receiver Andre Caldwell (special teams) were game-day captains for the Broncos. … Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan made a career-high 19 total tackles… Linebacker Brandon Marshall missed the final two minutes of the first half as he was evaluated for a possible concussion. He returned to start in the second half, then missed some time with a knee injury. He said he will be OK. … Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had failed to produce a first-half touchdown drive in four of his previous six games. He led two touchdown drives against the Broncos. … Former Colts general manager Bill Polian attended the game as part of a national radio broadcast crew. He remains close to Manning, who attended Polian’s Hall of Fame induction during training camp.
