抖阴ap

Stars of the past were on display one last time before the new era began. Terrell Davis, John Elway and Peyton Manning, each with one of the Broncos鈥� three Lombardi Trophies in hand, trotted out as more than 76,000 joined them in celebration at Sports Authority Field on Thursday evening.

It was a final look back before the Broncos forged ahead.

With a new quarterback in Trevor Siemian and many new faces, the Broncos claimed a 21-20 season-opening victory against Carolina, showing flashes of promise, familiar struggles and that same propensity for late, big plays that carried them to the finish line in 2015.

These Broncos may have a new look, but they still have a knack for winning ugly and winning big with its defense.

After a mistake-riddled first half, the Broncos bounced back to pressure Cam Newton and produce two touchdowns聽for the lead. A missed 50-yard field goal by Graham Gano sealed the win.

Siemian was steady in his debut, overcoming two interceptions to rally the Broncos from a 17-7 fourth quarter deficit to finish聽18-of-26 in passing for 178 yards,聽one touchdown and a 69.1 rating.

“I was obviously really excited and really focused going into the week of the season, and it抖阴ap quite an honor to play on a Thursday night to open the year,” Siemian said. “We鈥檝e got a heck of a team, a resilient team, and I think you saw that tonight. We played for four quarters, and I鈥檓 really proud to be a part of this group.”

In the opening drive, he led Denver on a 48-yard march up field, spraying passes to three different receivers and handing off to C.J. Anderson for two runs for 18 yards. But the drive stopped short at Carolina鈥檚 29-yard line, where rookie running back Devontae Booker fumbled on a second-and-5 and set up an ensuing Panthers touchdown drive.

鈥淚 think Trevor played well,鈥� Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. 鈥淥bviously he had two balls he鈥檇 love to have back. He鈥檚 going to make mistakes. He鈥檚 a young kid. But, man, he played with a lot of poise. He鈥檚 down 10 to a championship football team and he just moves and makes plays with his feet. He鈥檚 going to watch film. He鈥檚 going to get so much better.鈥�

It was the first blemish of the first quarter, but not the last. 聽On the Broncos鈥� next drive, Siemian was sacked and intercepted by back-to-back plays.

Two drives, two turnovers. And a 7-0 hole after a quarter of play.

But the response — something Kubiak has stressed since the start of organized team activities — came early in the second quarter.

Needing only two minutes and 36 seconds, Siemian guided the Broncos on an, 80-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard touchdown run by rookie fullback Andy Janovich. The Broncos toyed with using a fullback briefly last season, but later scrapped it as the offense skewed more toward their quarterback鈥檚 strengths. Bringing one back this year was a priority for Kubiak and paid early dividends.

But the early turnovers hurt, and a Carolina drive that capitalized on a Denver defensive penalty 鈥� 12 men on the field 鈥� in the second quarter added to the pain.聽In an 18-play, 89-yard drive, the 聽Panthers converted five of five third-down attempts for a 14-7 lead. A late field goal in the second quarter made it 17-7 at the break.

The Denver defense that had seven sacks and 13 hits on Newton in Super Bowl 50 pressured the Carolina quarterback again Thursday, but not enough to contain him in the first half. The Panthers gained 210 yards, converted six of seven third downs and both attempts in the red zone in the first half.

The second half began with more of the same from the Broncos鈥� offense; the line collapsed on Siemian and his pass intended for Emmanuel Sanders was intercepted giving Denver three turnovers inside Carolina鈥檚 30-yard line.

But the big plays that stamped the Broncos鈥� Super Bowl run left their mark on the Broncos鈥� start to 2016. Siemian, under pressure, flipped a pass to Anderson who weaved his way for a 25-yard touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to bring Denver within 17-14.

鈥淭here was pressure,鈥� Siemian said. 鈥淚 knew I had to get it to C.J. somehow, someway, and it would be a big play. He made a couple of moves and had a heck of a run.鈥�

Then Chris Harris made a diving pick of a Newton pass at the Carolina 38, setting up what proved to be the game-winning drive.聽Ten plays and 23 yards later, Anderson sneaked in the end zone for a one-yard, go-ahead score, making it 21-17.

A deflected pass by cornerback Aqib Talib on a third-and-5, then two more sacks 鈥� one split between DeMarcus Ware and Todd Davis and another by Von Miller 鈥� preserved Denver鈥檚 one-point lead and Siemian鈥檚 place among elite company as only the sixth quarterback drafted by the Broncos to win in his debut.

Siemian鈥檚 final line: a come-from-behind victory in his first NFL start.

His defense鈥檚: confirmation it’s still very, very good.

Some things of the past are worth keeping.

//player.performgroup.com/eplayer.js#b852c520a675ba819739c3cd59.11hrrvnxxgcho15mv6dsnvd13y