This past Sunday week 11 of NFL football and the 16th of Nov. we saw the 7-2 Denver Broncos (1st AFC West) upset big time, by the 4-5 St. Louis Rams (4th NFC West) with the score Rams 22 Broncos 7.
Looking at the scoring statistics, paints a ugly picture for the Broncos and their QB Manning as they only scored 7 points in the entire game, and that was in the 2nd quarter. The Rams on the other hand score 10 points in the 1st, 3 points in the second, thus the game went to half-time Rams 13 Broncos 7, the Rams then scored 3 points in the 3rd quarter, and 6 points on 2 FG’s in the fourth, for the final score Rams 22 Broncos 7.
Actually, the Broncos team statistics were better than the Rams, but that did not show on the scoreboard. Denver had 21 first downs (19 passing, 1 rushing & 1 on penalty) with 66 offensive plays for 397 total yards, with 396 passing but only 28 rushing with 2 interceptions, while possessing the ball for 24:10 minutes of the game.
Leading offensively for the Broncos were QB Manning, who completed 34 of 54 passes for 389 yards, with 1 TD and 2 interceptions, and was sacked 2 times for 20 yards loss. RB Anderson had 9 carries for 29 yards and no touchdowns, while receivers Thomas & Sanders combined for 205 yards, with Sanders scoring 1 TD.
The Rams had 16 first downs (12 passing and 4 rushing) with 65 total plays in the game for 337 total yards, with 337 passing and 131 rushing yards with no turnovers, and possessed the ball for 35:50 minutes of the 60 minute game.
Offensive leaders for the Rams were QB Hill, who completed 20 of 29 passes for 220 yards with 1 TD, and was sacked 3 times for 14 yards loss. RB’s Mason & Austin combined for 31 carries for 124 yards, while receivers Britt & Cunningham combined for 8 receptions for 159 yards with Britt scoring 1 TD. FG kicker Zuerlein was successful in all 5 of his FG attempts.
The Rams defense wrecked havoc with Broncos QB Manning throughout the game sacking him twice, hitting him some 4 times and knocked down twelve of his passes, and that represents 22% of his passing attempts for the game. In the two games this season where Denver QB Manning has thrown at least 50 passes they have lost those two games. In the entire game they only had 9 rushing attempts, while in their last 27 plays in the game; they did not run the ball once. The Broncos are struggling with their offense line, which can’t seem to protect their QB Manning. They have made several changes up front, but to date have not found the right combination.
So sports fans who bet on football, at an online sportbook, the Broncos are still a Super Bowl Contender, but must fix their nagging problems with their offensive line. So next week 12 the Bronco now 7-3 will play at home against the Miami Dolphins now 6-4 (2nd AFC East) the 23 of Nov. at 4:25 PM ET on CBS TV. The Rams now 4-6 will play the at the San Diego Chargers now 6-4 (3rd AFC West) at 4 PM ET on Fox TV.