On Sunday afternoon, two former University of
Colorado Buffaloes faced off in an AFC West divisional rivalry matchup. Justin Bannan and the Denver Broncos
muscled out a closer than expected victory over Jalil Brown and the Kansas City Chiefs, winning 17-9 on the road.
Brown was making his first career start for the
Chiefs - who selected Brown in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft - and did
so in impressive fashion.
The second year NFL cornerback recorded a career-high
five tackles, surpassing his previous high of three that occurred two weeks
prior at Pittsburgh and once during his rookie year.
The fact that Brown's first start was coming against
a Peyton Manning led offense made the performance that much more impressive.
Bannan on the other hand has started all season long
for the Broncos - making his 70th career start in the game against
the Chiefs - anchoring the line for a defense that ranks in the top 10 in the
league against the run. Yet with experience comes wisdom, and Bannan knew the
bout with the Chiefs would be no walk in the park.
"I see them
running on teams that have stout running defenses," Bannan told the Denver Post
before the game. "I see them moving the ball up and down the field. I just
think sometimes they're having a lot of unlucky turnovers, and that's probably
been the case of their season."
As Bannan predicted, the Chiefs showed up with an
inspired rushing attack that was led by Jamaal Charles, who rushed for 107 yards
on 23 carries. However, Bannan and the Broncos 'D' did what they needed to do
when it mattered most in order to escape with the 'W'.
On Kansas City's first two possessions, they were
able to drive into the red zone, but both times they were held to field goals
as the defense bended but did not break. The ending of each of those drives
proved to be a more accurate telling of the game as the Broncos did not give up
a touchdown and the Chiefs only picked up 11 first downs on the day.
Bannan finished his day with four tackles, bringing
his season total to 35, and more importantly for the Broncos, helped improve their
record to 8-3 and a give them a stranglehold lead in the AFC West.
Two
Buffs Get Signed
On Tuesday, wide receiver Toney Clemons was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars 53-man roster and
offensive lineman Andre Gurode was
signed by the Chicago Bears.
Clemons was drafted in April by the Steelers and had
spent all of this season on Pittsburgh's practice squad. Practice squad players
can be picked up and be signed by any NFL team.
Gurode, a five-time Pro Bowler, was a free agent who
most recently played with the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. He will replace Lance
Louis on the Bears roster, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL in
his left knee.
Notable:
Last
week on Thanksgiving, Tyler Polumbus and
the Washington Redskins defeated Lawrence
Vickers and the Dallas Cowboys 38-17... Brad
Jones recorded eight tackles against the New York Giants on Sunday and now has 33 total tackles since taking
over the starting inside linebacker position for the Packers five games ago... Jimmy Smith is out indefinitely with an
abdominal injury that he suffered in week 11 during Baltimore's 13-10 victory
over divisional rival Pittsburgh.
