Brandon Stokely outruns Dhani Jones for winning TD/Wesley Woodyard celebrates his Interception
                      (Photos Courtesy Eric Lars Bakke, Denver Broncos Football Club)


Luck: Good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance. Example: The Broncos were really LUCKY to win in week 1.  With 32 seconds to go and down by 1 point, the Broncos came up with one of the most exciting and unlikely plays yesterday. Brandon Stokely came down with a tipped pass in full stride and scored the Broncos only touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals.
 
The Broncos played one of the worst offensive games I can remember yesterday. They struggled running the ball. They couldn't catch passes. The Bengals pass rush was in Kyle Orton's face all game. The offense never came close to scoring a touchdown...until the infamous catch by Brandon Stokely. Overall, the offense had some good moments, but did not play at the level Josh McDaniels envisioned when he overhauled the playbook and got rid of Jay Cutler. Brandon Marshall looked lost and dropped at least 4 passes, including one on the only deep ball of the game.
 
Offensive Leaders:
Passing: Kyle Orton - 17-28 243 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving: Stokely - 1 catch, 87 yards, 1 touchdown / Graham 3 catches, 40 yards / Sheffler 1 catch, 29 yards / Marshall 4 catches, 27 yards.
Rushing: Buckhalter - 8 rushes 46 yards /  Moreno - 8 rushes, 19 yards. 

The defense played much better than the offense. They held an explosive offense to 7 points while intercepting 2 passes, recording 3 sacks and playing tough run defense. The defensive scheme was great as Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan called many blitzes and kept Carson Palmer and the Bengals offense on their heels. The only negative for the day was letting the Bengals drive and score what many thought was the winning drive.

Defensive Leaders:
Tackles:  Brian Dawkins - 7 solo, 4 assisted, 11 total
Interceptions:  Wesley Woodyard 1, Tony Scheffler 1
Sacks:  Andra Davis 1, Darrell Reid 1, Mario Haggan 1

For complete box score, click Broncos vs Bengals

Broncos fans, what do you think of the team after week 1? What does the offense need to do to improve?  Can the defense carry the team in 2009?  Who was the MVP of week1?