BRONCOS DOWNED BY BILLS, 23-10

October 14th, 2010: The Buffalo Bills took a 17-0 lead early in the second
half and coasted to a 23-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Buffalo.
Buffalo won its fifth game against three losses, while the Broncos are 0-8
this season, and have sixteen straight losses since their last victory, in
week eight last year. 

Tom Brady was the star of the contest, completing 13 of 16 for 157 yards and
one score, putting up a 128.4 passer rating. Josh Freeman of the Broncos had
his most prolific game as a Bronco, completing 22 of 35 for 271 yards and one
score, but two big interceptions marred his effort. He finished with a 72.4
passer rating.  

The Bills scored their first touchdown on their second possession, with Tom
Brady hitting Zach Miller from seven yards out for the score 9:42 into the
contest. The big play on the Bills seven-play, 91-yard drive for the score
was Tim Hightower's 55-yard run to the Bronco 14-yard line on a third and
one. "They caught us over-committing to the run, and once he popped through
the line, he had a lot of green grass in front of him," Bronco head coach
Hank Sienzant explained later.  

The Broncos answered back immediately with a nice drive of their own that
moved from their own 18 to the Bills two-yard line, but after a penalty
pushed them back to the seven, rookie first round quarterback Josh Freeman
was picked off in the end zone by safety Tyrell Johnson to end the threat.
"Josh tried to force a pass into tight coverage, and he apparently never saw
the safety coming across the zone," Sienzant said in a post-game interview.
Freeman looked good on the drive until the pick, completing four of five for
61 yards, including a nice catch and run throw right in stride to Nate
Washington that Washington took for 30 yards.  

The Bills capitalized on the turnover, driving 80 yards in 14 plays, with
Cedric Benson banging it over from two yards out to give the Bills a 14-0
lead halfway through the second quarter. Brady completed five of six for 55
yards on the possession, but Cedric Benson carried on the last four plays of
the march for 16 yards and the score.  

The Broncos closed out the first half with another fine drive that came up
empty, moving the ball from their own 19 to the Bills 29 yard line on 13
plays, all on the ground, taking 7:34 of the final 7:47 off the clock on the
52-yard march, but Mason Crosby's 46-yard field goal into the wind was wide
of the mark, leaving the Broncos behind 14-0 at halftime. "We need to get
better at putting points on the board when we have the opportunity," Sienzant
said in his post-game interview. "We left ten points on the field at
halftime. We need to get better in that regard," emphasizing the obvious.  

The Bills got a good return from wide out Johnny Knox, who returned the
second half kickoff to the Bills 42. After two completions by Brady moved the
ball to the Denver 29, three straight runs left the Bills short of a first
down by a yard, and Robbie Gould's 37-yard field goal gave the Bills a 17-0
lead.  

The Broncos retaliated with a touchdown drive of their own, moving 80 yards
in eight plays to a touchdown from Freeman to Dwayne Bowe on a short hitch
that Bowe took sixteen yards to score. Freeman completed five of six on the
march for 83 yards, with a holding penalty against second-year guard Josh
Sitton meaning the Broncos actually gained 90 yards from scrimmage on the
possession. But the Bills extended their lead to 20-7 on their next
possession, with Cedric Benson's 15-yard run and Connor Barwin's ensuing
15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the play contributing
30 of the 49 yards the Bills gained on the possession, ending with Gould's
40-yard field goal late in the third quarter. "Our younger players need to
understand that we need to keep our cool out there, and while there's a place
for emotion in the game, we cannot let it take over and control our actions,"
Sienzant said.  

The Broncos responded with their second - and last - scoring drive of the
game, moving fdrom their own 20 to the Bills nine-yard line, but facing a
third-and-two from there, Chris Brown was tackled a yard short of the first
down on a sweep, and the Broncos settled for Crosby's 25-yard field goal to
cut the Bills lead to 20-10 with 13 minutes left in the contest.  

The Broncos were on the move again, but the drive came to a screeching halt
when rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew caugt a short pass from Freeman and
lost the handle on the ball when hit by safety Tyrell Johnson, with defensive
end Justin Smith falling on the loose ball at the Bills 44 to end the Bronco
threat. Cedric Benson carried on five of the next six plays on the
possession, but it was the one pass on the possession that was the killer,
with Brady hitting Miller for 27 yards on a third and inches. "That was a
good call, and we overcommitted to the run there, and we got caught out of
position," Sienzant said.  

Freeman threw his second interception of the contest on the Broncos next
possession, and the game ended with the Bills running the ball on every down
and the Broncos throwing on nearly every down. The only run was a scramble by
Freeman on fourth and three that Freeman started his slide a yard short of a
first down, winding up credited with a two-yard gain and turning the ball
over to the Bills at the Bronco 47.  

Game Notes: Tyrell Johnson had a good game for the Bills, recovering
Pettigrew's fumble and picking off Freeman in the end zone. The Broncos had
three turnovers to the Bills none, which had a big impact on the game.
Brandon Pettigrew, acquired as one of the key pieces in the Tony Brown trade
a few weeks ago, saw his first action for the Broncos, catching four passes
for 43 yards. The Broncos were practically salivating at the opportunity to
get both Jermichael Finley and Brandon Pettigrew on the field at the same
time, but Finley went down with a sprained knee and that never materialized.
Finley will miss at least the next few games. Washington and Bowe each caught
five passes to lead the Broncos, but it looks more and more like Louis
Murphy, also acquired in the Tony Brown trade, could be a big future
contributor for the Broncos. Murphy is dynamic and makes big plays - he
caught three for 65 yards and is averaging over 23 yards a catch on 11
receptions in four games since being acquired. He's had at least one play of
thirty or more yards in every game he's played for the Broncos. The Broncos
have five plays over 30 yards and Murphy has four of them, playing in only
four of the Broncos eight games to date. Oh yeah, he's also added 26 yards on
two end arounds. 

Cedric Benson finished with 82 hard earned yards on the ground on 24 carries,
and Tim Hightower added 71 on another five rushes, greatly aided by his
55-yard run in the second quarter. Davone Bess caught five for 51 to lead the
Bills in receiving. Seven different Broncos rushed the ball, with Chris Brown
picking up 49 on 13 rushes and rookie Glen Coffee having his best game to
date, rushing eight times for 46 yards.  

Injuries and a Look Ahead: The Bills lost center Jake Grove to an injury and
he will miss the next game at 2-5 Carolina, and maybe the one beyond that.
The Broncos host the undefeated New York Jets next week in a contest that
looks like no contest.