Other Articles in this Category
Most Viewed Stories
Most Commented Stories
Most Recommended Stories
Save & Share this Article
NFL Roundup: Broncos end four-game skid with win over Giants
Comments 0 | Recommend 0DENVER — The Denver Broncos still have their troubles with the red zone and yellow flags. The dark cloud that hung over them during their month of misery, though, is gone.
Kyle Orton drove them on six scoring drives, Matt Prater kicked four field goals and safety Brian Dawkins led a ferocious defense 48 hours after calling a players-only meeting, and the Broncos beat the New York Giants 26-6 Thursday night.
Elvis Dumervil dumped Eli Manning twice, extending his NFL-leading sack total to 14. Dumervil's second one came in the fourth quarter and resulted in a fumble that sealed Denver's first win since Oct. 19.
Hosting their first Thanksgiving game since 1963 in the AFL, the Broncos returned to the physical style of play that marked their 6-0 start and ditched the sieve that was their defense during their four-game skid.
Behind three takeaways, the Broncos (7-4) halted their freefall and pulled within a half game of AFC West leader San Diego. New York (6-5), which snapped its four-game losing streak on Sunday, fell two games behind Dallas, which beat Oakland earlier Thursday, in the NFC East.
The Broncos outgained the Giants 213-38 in the first half but settled for field goals on three drives, including their first two trips inside the Giants 10-yard line as they continued their monthlong red zone struggles.
That led to an embarrassing mistake by the NFL Network, which accidentally aired a profanity from Broncos coach Josh McDaniels.
After reaching the 7, the Broncos settled for Prater's 22-yarder and a 3-0 lead.
Their second trip inside the Giants 10-yard line turned into a game of flag football as tight end Daniel Graham, left tackle Ryan Clady and center Casey Wiegmann all were whistled for false starts, and the Broncos sent out Prater for a 32-yarder that made it 6-0.
Coming out of a commercial break following that second field goal, the NFL Network showed a clip of McDaniels yelling at his players on the sideline saying, "All we're trying to do is win a (expletive) game!"
The vulgarity was clearly audible to viewers, and announcer Bob Papa immediately apologized to viewers.
In an interview with The Associated Press and the Denver Post, Eric Weinberger, executive producer of the NFL Network, apologized to viewers and McDaniels for the "terrible mistake."
"It was on delay. We wish we would have caught it and bleeped it," Weinberger said. "We apologize for ever airing anything like that, absolutely, especially on Thanksgiving."
Weinberger added, "Everyone (watching on TV) thought it was live because it was in live speed and it looked live. It came out of the truck. Honestly, we would never go live and raise audio levels on anyone live. On the sidelines, we would never do that. We came out of break and rolled it. It's a mistake. We are sorry."
"It's the NFL Network," McDaniels said with a shrug and a smile. "Doesn't surprise me."
McDaniels has shown emotion on the sideline before. He often tells his players and assistants to listen to the message and not the way it's delivered. He'll fist-up like Tiger Woods one game and curse to his guys the next.
"We're not in this business to do that," Weinberger said of the network's blunder. "We're in this business to show sports and to show the most emotion that we can show. And the guy is an incredibly emotional, passionate guy."
Denver finally capitalized on its good field position after Dawkins recovered a fumble by backup running back Danny Ware, who was playing because Ahmad Bradshaw was inactive with a foot injury, at the Giants 38.
Brandon Marshall's leaping one-handed 28-yard catch set up Knowshon Moreno's 1-yard TD run that made it 13-0, and Prater added a 47-yarder to give the Broncos a 16-0 halftime lead.
The last time the Giants had gone into the locker room at halftime without any points was Jan. 8, 2006, in a wild-card playoff game against Carolina.
Lawrence Tynes kicked field goals of 39 and 52 yards in the third quarter to pull the Giants to 16-6, but Brandon Stokley's 17-yard TD catch from Orton made it 23-6 and Prater added a 24-yard field goal.
"We didn't have any tempo and we didn't make any plays," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "We keep talking about winning the physical battle and controlling the line of scrimmage. We thought this would be the night and it wasn't."
Moreno ran for 88 yards on 19 carries and would have had 34 more yards were it not for holding calls against the usually dependable Graham.
While some of the frustrations and faults linger — they committed eight penalties Thursday night — the Broncos, who entered November without a loss, saw to it that they didn't exit the month without a win.
Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said he wasn't worried after the team's fifth loss in six games.
"No, we've got a lot of talent and we know at some point it's going to pick up," he said. "We've got to really get our engine going for the next couple of weeks."
NOTES: Giants with injuries included TE Darcy Johnson (shoulder) and S Michael Johnson (groin). ... Broncos WR-KR Eddie Royal injured a thigh late in the first half and LB Wesley Woodyard left the game in the fourth quarter with a neck injury after DL Marcus Thomas went out with a shoulder injury.
Rodgers has 3 TDs in Packers' 34-12 win vs. Lions
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions used to take a lot of pride in playing on Thanksgiving.
Lately, the Lions have been getting embarrassed when the nation tunes in to watch them.
Aaron Rodgers matched a career high with three touchdown passes and Charles Woodson grabbed two of his team's four interceptions, giving the Green Bay Packers a 34-12 win over Detroit.
The Lions have lost six straight games on the holiday, setting a franchise record, by an average of 23.2 points and eight of nine in the showcase game. The latest loss was an emotional setback for Detroit (2-9) four days after Matthew Stafford's gutsy play capped its biggest comeback win since 1957.
"It's a different feeling in this locker room — especially on national television to come out like that," Detroit center Dominic Raiola said.
Before its recent slide, Detroit won four straight and nine of 12 on Thanksgiving before ex-general manager Matt Millen arrived in 2001 and made a lackluster franchise awful.
Green Bay (7-4) has won three straight since losing to Tampa Bay to improve its postseason prospects.
"We can't talk about the playoffs yet," Packers receiver Donald Driver said.
Stafford, playing with a sore non-throwing shoulder, threw one touchdown pass and four interceptions. He threw five TD passes in Sunday's win over Cleveland after trailing by 21.
"When you've got to throw the ball every down to try to get back into it when you're behind, guys are going to be all over it," Stafford said.
Kevin Smith's longest run was 6 yards and he finished with 43 on 18 carries for the Lions.
"This is the type of game that you hit your head on a wall about," Smith said.
The Lions looked as if they were building off their rare momentum by recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff and with Stafford's TD pass to Calvin Johnson.
But the Packers scored 27 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to turn the game into a familiar rout.
"We had to dig deep," Rodgers said. "There's a lot of resolve in this team and I'm confident in our team moving forward."
The Packers have won nine straight against the Lions overall, and coach Mike McCarthy is 8-0 against them.
Woodson returned his second interception for a score late in the game and struck a Heisman Trophy pose in the end zone. Woodson won the award in 1997 while leading Michigan to a national championship.
"Being here in Michigan with all the fans I know I still have here," Woodson said. "I just wanted to remind those guys what it was like back when I was in school."
Woodson also forced and recovered a fumble and had a sack, capping an afternoon that included an announcement of his $2 million gift to the new University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital.
"It was a good day," Woodson said with a grin.
It was for Rodgers, too, as usual against the Lions.
Rodgers was 28 of 39 for 348 yards and connected with Driver, Donald Lee and James Jones for scores. He has played Detroit four times and those passing totals rank among the top eight in his career.
Driver had seven receptions for 142 yards, including a 68-yard catch, and a TD that gave the Packers a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
Rodgers and Driver both credited their much-maligned offensive line.
"There were a couple times when I held the ball for 4 or 5 seconds — maybe more," Rodgers said. "When you have that kind of time with the kind of players that we have, we feel like we're going to make plays."
Green Bay played without cornerback Al Harris and linebacker Aaron Kampman, both of whom had season-ending knee injuries in last week's win.
"Our defense was huge," McCarthy said. "That was the No. 1 factor in our success."
Stafford was only 20 of 43 yards for 213 yards, and his four interceptions were one fewer than he had earlier this season. He was listed as doubtful for the game because of his shoulder injury, but his decision-making seemed to be more of a problem than his health.
"I don't think (the injured shoulder) was a factor at all," Stafford said.
Johnson, who was questionable with hand and knee injuries, only had a 9-yard catch to go with his 1-yard score.
In Detroit's last game, Stafford broke an NFL rookie record with 422 yards passing, became the youngest player to throw five TD passes in a game and drew praise for playing with a dislocated, non-throwing shoulder on the final untimed play.
"I told him after the game, 'Around the league, we respect a guy who will come in hurt,'" Woodson said.
NOTES: Detroit rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew, a first-round pick, hurt his left knee on the first drive and did not return. .. Green Bay OT Chad Clifton (hamstring) and Jordy Nelson (shoulder) were injured during the game. ... Stafford joined Dan Marino, Dave Krieg and Vince Ferragamo as the four QBs who have thrown four INTs a game after throwing at least five TDs since 1970, according to STATS, LLC. ... The Lions are 33-35-2 on Thanksgiving.
-- Larry Lage
See archived 'Sports' stories »
We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate ideas that foster stronger communities. We built this for you. Please take care of it. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing.
