BRONCOS WIN 10th STRAIGHT AFC WEST OPENER
With the 23‐3 win over Oakland, Denver improved to 3‐0 to start the season—the 11th time the club has started with three straight wins to open a season. Head Coach Josh McDaniels joins Red Miller (1977) as one of only two coaches in club history to start his career with the Broncos 3‐0.
The Broncos have now won their last 10 AFC West divisional openers dating to 2000. In those 10 contests, Denver has won by an average of 13 points (26.6‐13.6).
| DATE | TEAM | RESULT |
| 9/17/2000 | at Oakland | W, 33-24 |
| 10/7/2001 | vs. Kansas City | W, 20-6 |
| 10/6/2002 | vs. San Diego | W, 26-9 |
| 9/14/2003 | at San Diego | W, 37-13 |
| 9/12/2004 | vs. Kansas City | W, 34-24 |
| 9/18/2005 | vs. San Diego | W, 20-17 |
| 9/17/2006 | vs. Kansas City | W, 9-6 |
| 9/16/2007 | vs. Oakland | W, 23-20(OT) |
| 9/8/2008 | at Oakland | W, 41-14 |
| 9/27/2009 | at Oakland | W, 23-3 |
| Average | 26.6-13.6 |
BUCKHALTER/MORENO EFFECTIVE IN RUNNING GAME
RB Correll Buckhalter led the club with 14 rushes for 108 yards (7.7 avg.). He entered today’s game ranked second in the NFL in yards per rush (7.2). His 34‐yard run in the second quarter was the fifth‐longest rush of his career and his 23‐yarder in the third quarter was his 20th career rush of 20 or more yards. Buckhalter leads the team with 230 rushing yards on the season (31‐230, 7.4 avg.)
| YEAR | 20-yd. Runs |
| 2001 | 4 |
| 2003 | 4 |
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 2 |
*Buckhalter missed the 2002, ’04 and ’05 seasons due to injury.
Rookie RB Knowshon Moreno led the club in rushes for the second straight week and finished with 21 carries for 90 yards (4.3 avg.) and his first NFL touchdown—a 7‐yard scoring run in the third quarter to put the Broncos up 20‐3. Moreno leads the team with 46 rushes on the season (46‐184, 4.0 avg.).
CLUB‐RECORD 16 POINTS ALLOWED THROUGH FIRST THREE GAMES
The Broncos’ defense has allowed just 16 points (1 TD, 3 FG) in its first three games to record the lowest total points allowed through the first three games of a season in club history. Denver has posted eight takeaways (5 interceptions, 3 fumbles) in three games to register a +6 turnover margin and is only allowing 214.7 yards per game (78.3 rushing, 136.3 passing).
FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED THROUGH FIRST THREE REGULAR‐SEASON GAMES, BRONCOS HISTORY
| YEAR | Points Allowed |
| 2009 | 16 |
| 1977 | 19 |
| 1979 | 30 |
| 1981 | 30 |
| 1997 | 31 |
| 2006 | 31 |
CLADY ON AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK
T Ryan Clady tied T Ryan Young (NYJ/Hou./Dal.) for the longest streak of consecutive starts (19) by a tackle without allowing a full sack to begin his career (since 1994), according to STATS Inc. Clady, who has played every regular‐season offensive snap for the Broncos since he was selected as the No. 12 overall pick by Denver in the 2008 NFL Draft, was the only 16‐game starting tackle in 2008 to not allow a full sack (0.5).
BRONCOS GRAB EARLY LEAD WITH ORTON‐MARSHALL CONNECTION
The Broncos grabbed a 7‐0 lead with QB Kyle Orton’s 2‐yard touchdown pass to WR Brandon Marshall on the club’s second possession of the first quarter. Marshall’s touchdown was the 16th of his career, moving him past TE Dwayne Carswell (1994‐2005) and into sole possession of 14th place on the Broncos all‐time career receiving touchdowns list. Marshall finished the game with a game‐high five receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Orton, who finished the game completing 13‐of‐23 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown (92.1 rating), improved his career touchdown‐interception ratio in the red zone to 12:1 (24 TDs, 2 INT).
HILL/GOODMAN RECORD FIRST INTERCEPTIONS WITH DENVER
S Renaldo Hill recorded his first takeaway as a member of the Denver Broncos when he intercepted a JaMarcus Russell pass in the first quarter and returned it 18 yards. Hill, who signed with Denver in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, has 16 career interceptions.
CB André Goodman made his first interception as a Bronco (13th in his career) on the next series, returning it 30 yards for his second‐longest INT return since he entered the NFL in 2002.
The interceptions by Denver’s defense marked the first time the Broncos recorded two first‐quarter interceptions since Dec. 24, 2006 vs. Cincinnati (CB Darrent Williams/CB Champ Bailey).
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES
- DL Le Kevin Smith made his Broncos debut. Smith, who was acquired by Denver in a trade from New England on Aug. 17, was inactive (knee) for Denver’s first two regular‐season contests
- The Broncos had an 11:17‐3:43 edge in time of possession in the first quarter
- DL Ronald Fields recorded his 100th career tackle in the first half... T Tyler Polumbus made his offensive debut for the Broncos, entering the game at right tackle in place of T Ryan Harris. The second‐year players saw action on special teams in all 16 games in 2008 and Denver’s first two contests in 2009...
- OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil recorded the ninth multi‐sack game of his career. Dumervil, who tied a team record with four sacks last week vs. Cleveland (9/20/09), has six sacks in his past two games for the highest output of any two‐game stretch in his career
- The Broncos have outscored the Raiders 64‐17 in its last two games at Oakland
- ILB D.J. Williams led the team with seven tackles (all solo) while recording a forced fumble that was recovered by S Brian Dawkins in the third quarter
- Oakland ran just eight plays in Denver territory, gaining a total of 19 yards
- Denver has trailed just 4:46 in 2009 (2.7% percent of the time)
- Opponents have picked up just nine first downs on 55 second down plays this season (16.4%; Denver is 36.8%, 25‐of‐68). Denver’s opponent has been in 2nd‐and‐4 or less just nine of those 55 times.