On Monday night, history was made in Denver's
thrilling comeback win against the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos fell behind 24-0
at halftime before surging back to secure a 35-24 victory over their division
rival.
Former University of Colorado defensive tackle Justin Bannan, and the Broncos defense,
needed to step up in the second half, and they did - and then some. The defense
surrendered zero points and forced five turnovers in the improbable half.
Two of the turnovers went for touchdowns as
cornerback Tony Carter returned a fumble recovery 65 yards for a score, which
got the team within 10 points and truly started the comeback. Then, the
comeback was complete when fellow cornerback Chris Harris returned an
interception 46 yards for a touchdown, resulting in the game's final score.
Bannan was crucial in the fiery second-half
performance, leading the Broncos defense with seven tackles, six of which were
unassisted. It was the most tackles Bannan has recorded in a game this season,
and the performance boosted his total tackles to 22 on the year, which ranks
sixth on the team.
Peyton Manning led three scoring drives, throwing
three touchdown passes. Manning told ESPN after the game that the, "Offense and
defense really did it together there in the second half."
In the history of Monday Night Football, a team has
never come back from a larger halftime deficit than the Broncos did against the
Chargers. Denver head coach John Fox said, "Tonight's second half was the best
second half I have ever been a part of."
Notable: On Sunday, Jimmy Smith recorded a season-high
seven tackles and recorded a pass deflection as Baltimore held on to defeat
Dallas 31-29... Also in the Cowboys-Ravens
game, Lawrence Vickers had his
second reception of the season for Dallas, gaining 11 yards... Ryan Miller was a part of his first NFL
victory as the Cleveland Browns defeated Cincinnati 34-24, improving their
record to 1-5 on the season... Brad Jones recorded
his first two tackles on the season (56 career tackles)
as Green Bay routed Houston 42-24.
