Broncos refuse to quit on their way to victory

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I want to be positive. The Denver Broncos continued their home opener dominance on Sunday with a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. They spent the entire game looking like the best team on the field. Despite all the turnovers, and one monster play by Russell Wilson, the game never really felt out of hand. As Ian St. Clair and I discussed on the MHR Radio podcast, there were a lot of positives from the season-opener.

The glaring, obvious issue was the turnovers. Case Keenum was touted as the cure to the turnover bug, but this game had a very Siemian/Lynch feel to it. Not to say that Keenum is no different, but there were some pretty egregious issues. With three picks to go with three touchdowns, it was hard to get a feel for the rhythm of the game.

That lack of rhythm on offense gave the game a choppy feel. Even in the choppiness of the game, it was hard not to be excited about some big things. Perhaps the most exciting was the play of Phillip Lindsay, who broke out in a big way on Sunday. His 15 carries for 71 yards were identical to Royce Freeman’s, who also played very well. However, his touchdown catch and run, coupled with his two tackles on special teams just felt special. It always feels good when a local kid makes good, and hopefully that will be a theme this season.

Another glaring positive was the even keel-ness of the offense. Case Keenum was wildly inaccurate at times. Demaryius Thomas killed the first drive all by himself with a drop and a bad holding call. Every interception could have been the collapse of the team.

The 2017 version of the Broncos would have rolled over and died several times over. In 2018, though, the Broncos kept punching. Keenum connecting with Thomas in the end zone was the final offensive punch. It was also a perfect example of the two of them not rolling over in the face of adversity.

Adversity popped up against the defense too, but the team continued to step up. After Wilson hit Tyler Lockette for a 51 yard touchdown pass that saw Justin Simmons bite on a double move, Miller ended a three-and-out series with a sack. The next time Seattle got the ball, Chris Harris Jr. got into the backfield and sacked Wilson for another three-and-out.

The Broncos played nowhere near to perfect, but they made big plays when necessary. Miller crashed all the highlight reals with his heist of the ball from Chris Carson. While the offense struggled, it continued to battle, which is a far cry from 2017. Keenum should settle in, and the small mistakes will fix themselves. It was win. It was the best way to start the season.

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