Rumors of the Bronco Demise Were Greatly, Well, Somewhat Exaggerated

You didn't see many prognostications, including my own, for tonight's Broncos-Titans game that foresaw a lot of scoring. That means you didn't see too many correct predictions. Instead you got two stellar performances from the two quarterback standouts of the 2006 Draft and a highly entertaining 34-20 Bronco win. The victory puts them into a first place tie with the Chargers for the AFC West lead and they've got a lot more momentum than Norv Turner's underachieving bunch.

Jay Cutler had his best game as a professional. 16-of-21 for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a nearly flawless performance for the Broncos. He moved with confidence in the pocket, running with effect when needed and throwing on the move with precision. His first quarter touchdown to Brandon Stokley was a smart throw made better by some nifty running from the wideout. In the third quarter he recognized Brandon Marshall had drawn a mismatch with Titans safety Chris Hope out of the game and exploited it for a 41-yard score that upped Denver's lead to 27-10.

They opened the lead thanks to an unlikely source. The Bronco kick return game had been miserable all season but Glenn Martinez scored his first career touchdown on an 80-yard return in the first quarter that staked the Broncs to a 14-0 lead. Martinez later fumbled a punt to allow Tennessee back into the game but his touchdown represented the second unit that's emerged in as many weeks for Denver.

Last week their run defense showed up for the first time all season and they made another strong showing tonight. Take away Vince Young's 74 yards and the Titans didn't do a great job moving the ball on the ground. Yes, they were trailing early but were back into the game when the rookie Marcus Thomas forced a LenDale White fumble that helped the Broncos to a 20-10 halftime lead.

Young's 74 yards rushing were only part of his story. He had his first 300-yard passing game and could have racked up even more if not for several drops by his receivers. He threw a touchdown and ran for one in the third quarter on an odd play. Young scrambled and appeared to get the ball across the goalline before getting pushed out of bounds. They didn't challenge and ran another play -- another Young scramble -- but the Broncos called timeout before the snap. It turned out to be the second time a timeout backfired on them. Jeff Fisher challenged and got the touchdown but Young tweaked his quad injury on the nullified run.

That might have played a role in the two interceptions that Young threw late in the fourth quarter. It didn't appear to be a return of the poor decision making of previous weeks, Tennessee needed two touchdowns and Young's throws weren't terrible, but he didn't seem to be moving with a tremendous amount of difficulty. It's a shame that Young's night ended with a loss. It might not have been his best game as a pro but it was his best in quite some time and is sure to help his confidence after several rough weeks had raised some questions about his ability.

We'll have to call the quarterback duel a close win for Cutler, much closer than the win for his team. The Broncos have now strung together 120 minutes of good football after a 44-7 humiliation to the Lions and are starting to look like a team capable of making the playoffs. There's a lot of football to play, of course, but there's little resemblance to the team that got whipped in Detroit.