A look at Broncos-Giants through the years

Good morning, Broncos Country!

When you think of rivals for the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants don’t crack the top 10.

They might not even crack the top 15. When you consider that Sunday night’s game is only the 12th in the regular season, that makes total sense. The Broncos and Giants are in different conferences and only play each other once every four years unless they meet in the Super Bowl.

But there are two games in this series that make up for that lack of “history” or “passion” of the bigger rivals. The first, as it would happen, came in Super Bowl XXI. We all know how that game unfolded and will not talk about it further. Plus, the Broncos made Phil Simms look like Joe Montana, and that still doesn’t sit well. At least Simms no longer does games on CBS. It’s the small things in life.

The other might be even more irksome — the regular season 20-16 loss on Dec. 13, 1998. That Week 15 defeat was the first of the season for the Broncos. Had Denver won that game at Giants Stadium, think of what could have been that next week when it played the Miami Dolphins. Alas, New York ended all of that, and it still doesn’t sit well. At least it shouldn’t.

As for tonight’s game, will the Broncos do more, as coach Vance Joseph said earlier this week? Or will they revert back to Week Three against the Buffalo Bills?

Adam Malnati and I also previewed Sunday’s game on the latest Mile High Report Radio Podcast. The MHR Radio Podcast is on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. Please subscribe to the one that fits your fancy, and also rate and review what you hear.

Here is a look at the Broncos and Giants through the years, courtesy of Denver’s weekly report.

• Sunday marks the 12th regular season game between the Giants and Broncos. Denver is 4-1 at home and 2-4 in the Meadowlands, 6-5 overall. The first game between the two teams was Nov. 5, 1972, at Yankee Stadium. The Giants won 29-17.
• The most recent game between the two teams was Sept. 15, 2013, at MetLife Stadium. The Broncos beat the Giants 41-23. The last game in Denver was Nov. 26, 2009, when the Broncos won 26-6. I watched that game on a cruise ship in the Caribbean and proposed to my wife days later.
• The Broncos are on a two-game winning streak over the Giants. This is the second time Denver has won two games in a row. The last time it happened was 1976-1980. Denver beat New York 14-13 on Nov. 21, 1976, at Mile High Stadium and 14-9 on Oct. 26, 1980, at Giants Stadium.
• The last time the Broncos lost to the Giants at home was Dec. 10, 1989, when they lost 14-7. The last time Denver lost on the road was Oct. 23, 2005, when it lost 24-23. Interesting note: There have been no shutouts in this series.
• The most points for the Broncos is 41, in the game at MetLife they won 41-23 in 2013. When you look at regular season games, the most points the Giants have scored is 29, in the first game between the two teams in 1972. When you add Super Bowl XXI, the 39 is the most.
• The Broncos and Giants have met once in the playoffs, that being Super Bowl XXI on Jan. 25, 1986, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Denver lost 39-20. The other game that's a finger to the eye of Broncos Country is the 20-16 loss mentioned earlier.
• The Broncos are 21-7 all time in games after their bye. That includes a 15-4 mark record when those games are at home. Denver also can win its sixth straight game against the NFC East dating back to 2013. The Broncos have scored at least 41 points in each of those games.

• Broncos running back Jamaal Charles needs 87 yards from scrimmage to become the 11th active player in the NFL to reach 10,000 yards.
• Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. will play in his 100th career regular season game on Sunday. That is a remarkable accomplishment for the best corner in the NFL right now.
• Von Miller needs one sack to become the first Broncos player with at least five sacks in each of his first seven seasons. He needs 1.5 sacks to tie Karl Mecklenburg (79) for second on the team's all-time list. Miller needs 2.5 sacks to become the second-fastest player (93 games) to 80 sacks.

• Broncos defensive tackle Domata Peko can/will extend his starting streak to 117 games on Sunday. That is the longest active streak by an NFL defensive lineman.
• Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib can tie Darren Sharper and Charles Woodson for the second most career interceptions returned for touchdowns. Talib has a great chance to do it on Sunday Night Football.
• Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas needs 49 yards to reach 8,000 for his career and become the seventh active player to reach that mark. DT is third in franchise history for career receptions, yards and touchdowns, behind Rod Smith and Shannon Sharpe in all three.
• Broncos right guard Ronald Leary is the NFL’s highest-graded guard in pass protection per Pro Football Focus. In 132 pass-blocking plays, Leary has not allowed a sack, quarterback hit or hurry. That's pretty dang good after four games.

• The Broncos Ground Control defense is No. 1 in the NFL against the rush (50.8). It has limited starting running backs Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch to 95 yards on 50 carries (1.9 per carry average).
• The Broncos will be making their NFL-high 19th primetime appearance at home since 2011. In the previous 18 games, Denver is 15-3.

The MHR Radio Podcast is now on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. Please subscribe to the one that fits your fancy, and also rate and review what you hear.

Broncos Tracks

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New York Giants Tracks

No excuse for Ben McAdoo not discussing DRC suspension with Giants players - Big Blue View
Coach admits he still hasn’t spoken to team about it

Giants’ workouts, visits heavy on offensive linemen - Big Blue View
Orlando Franklin, Cyrus Kouandjio

Is it time for the Giants to move on from Eli Manning? - SBNation.com
Don’t count on it happening in 2017.

New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo now faces his defining moment - New York Giants Blog- ESPN
The Giants are 0-5, have just lost their top player and two other WRs for the season and have suspended a respected veteran. What will the coach do?

Giants fortunes continue to sink as Big Blue 0-6 since boat trip - NY Daily News
The Curse of the Boat Trip is real.

It’s been a brutal season for the New York Giants. And it’s going to get worse. - The Washington Post
There really isn't much hope for the Giants. It's just a matter of whether their sinking ship can be salvaged next summer.

Banged-up, beaten down Giants face near-impossible challenge | New York Post
If the Giants quit on Ben McAdoo, how will we know?

AFC West Tracks

Chargers' visit to Oakland to play the rival Raiders is not a very moving experience - LA Times
Imagine a person walking down the stairs in the house shared with a spouse. They need to talk. The last 22 years have been great. There have been good times and bad, but more bad then good. It’s not perfect. The house is mess. That’s why they have to leave.

San Diego Chargers WR Mike Williams immediate red zone threat
Mike Williams says he expects to play his first NFL game on Sunday, and Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is ready to throw to his rookie target.

Los Angeles Chargers find that simpler was better in win over Giants - NFL Nation- ESPN
The Chargers scratched out their first win of the season on Sunday, with coach Anthony Lynn using a scaled back playbook on both sides of the football.

Are the Los Angeles Chargers Cursed? - Bolts From The Blue
The simple answer is yes.

How the Chiefs built the best offense of Andy Reid’s tenure | The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Chiefs have the NFL’s highest-scoring offense. They average 32.8 points per page, up from 24.3 a year ago.

Alex Smith's rise to stardom with KC Chiefs | The Kansas City Star
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Raiders WR Amari Cooper keeps steady despite slump – Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Raiders will return to the Oakland Alameda-County Coliseum on Sunday, looking to jump-start wide receiver Amari Cooper, their offense and season against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Raiders' vs. Chargers isn't a `must' win, but it's close
A 2-4 record isn’t a death sentence, but would be a much higher hill than anyone expected.

Raiders reportedly interested in LB Navorro Bowman - Silver And Black Pride
As soon as word spread that former Pro Bowl linebacker Navorro Bowman was being released by the 49ers, Oakland fans began to chant in unison for the Raiders to bring him in.

NFL Tracks

NFL football 2017: Embracing college offense made the pros fun again - SBNation.com
Not every team needs to use the same playbook. The NFL’s schemes becoming more diverse is great for everyone.

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Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz has six wonderfully disrespectful blocks from Week 5 to share.

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FPI projects best, most important games of NFL Week 6
The Packers and Vikings both prevailed in games that came down to the wire last week, and their Week 6 head-to-head meeting figures to offer more excitement. ESPN's Football Power Index ranks Pack-Vikes No. 1 in its matchup quality metric for this week.

Everything You Need to Know About NFL Week 6 - The Ringer
Cam Newton makes the Eagles’ DBs happy, the Jets have a rare opportunity versus the Patriots, and Deshaun Watson could personally sink Cleveland football to rock bottom

NFL Week 6 picks and lines: The computers pick who will win - Business Insider
Two models predict who will win the games in Week 6 of the NFL.

N.F.L. Week 6 Picks: Chiefs Over Steelers; Packers Over Vikings - The New York Times
The Chiefs look to remain perfect, while the Jaguars hope to quit their Jekyll and Hyde routine. Here are our picks against the spread.

Steelers-Chiefs highlights best games of NFL Week 6 | SI.com
NFL Week 6’s intriguing games include Steelers-Chiefs, Colts-Titans, Chargers-Raiders and, would you believe, Rams-Jags?

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The Giants, already without receivers Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall, will now be missing several more starters when they play at Denver on Sunday night. Here is a list of injury updates.

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The family, which sued last month in federal court in Boston, left open the possibility of refiling the case in a different court.