Broncos move to 4-1

DENVER • The game played at Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday didn't resemble the Denver Broncos' first two home games this season.

The swashbuckling, aggressive Broncos offense was replaced by a careful unit that battled to score one touchdown. The defense, which gave up big plays and plenty of yards and points in previous home games, allowed almost nothing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And, after two classic thrillers to start the season, the fans were given an ugly slugfest.

One thing, however, stayed the same - the result. Denver's 16-13 victory, coupled with a San Diego loss at Miami, restores the team's two-game lead in the AFC West. It also helps erase the memory of an inexplicable loss last week at Kansas City.

"It was a big win," defensive tackle Marcus Thomas said. "Now we're going back in the same direction we were before we played Kansas City."

The Broncos, who improved to 4-1, relied on their offense in a 39-38 win over the Chargers in the home opener and a 34-32 win against the Saints the following week. But on Sunday, the high-powered unit didn't take many chances and didn't score many points.

The game was won by the defense and special teams, two units that weren't always reliable in the first four games.

Kicker Matt Prater made all three of his field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder, and four of his five kickoffs were touchbacks.


The defense, which had allowed 14 pass plays of 20 or more yards, gave up nothing longer than 17 yards through the air against Tampa Bay (3-2). The Broncos pressured the quarterback all game, recording three sacks. One of the bigger hits came when cornerback Champ Bailey drilled Brian Griese as he threw, knocking him out of the game with an elbow injury.

After surrendering more than 30 points in three straight games, Sunday's effort felt pretty good.

"One thing that was said before the game started, we have a lot of talent on the defense and we haven't been playing the way we should be," safety Marquand Manuel said. "If we go out and play every series one play at a time and play hard the whole game, let's see where we fall."

Jeff Garcia, who replaced Griese, guided the Bucs to their first touchdown with just more than 2 minutes remaining, but the Broncos ran out the clock for the win. The Bucs said they were surprised by Denver's defensive game plan. The Broncos usually play a lot of man coverage but played mostly zone Sunday.

"When you have a game plan set up for a specific defense and they run a different one, it makes your job more difficult," receiver Michael Clayton said.

Denver understood Tampa Bay's zone defense is designed to prevent big pass plays, so the plan on offense was to be patient. The only pass play longer than 15 yards was a short pass and a long run by tight end Tony Scheffler for 33 yards.

"You cannot go downfield against this team and expect to win," coach Mike Shanahan said.

Quarterback Jay Cutler held off any urges to take chances. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 227 yards - less than 10 yards per completion - but didn't throw an interception.

"It's really not my thing," Cutler said about being conservative. "We're used to throwing the ball down the field, getting big chunks and really couldn't do it against this defense."

Cutler threw a key touchdown in the third quarter. At Tampa Bay's 10-yard line the Broncos ran a receiver screen. Brandon Stokley caught the short pass, darted outside Brandon Marshall's block and beat safety Jermaine Phillips to the end zone, giving Denver a 13-6 lead.

Prater kicked a field goal at the end of a plodding 14-play, 62-yard drive early in the fourth quarter to put Denver ahead 16-6.

The Buccaneers scored late to pull within three. On the first play of the ensuing possession, the Broncos weren't conservative. They called a pass, and Cutler hit Scheffler for 12 yards. Then running back Michael Pittman, who spent six seasons with Tampa Bay, picked up 12 yards on consecutive carries, allowing Denver to take a knee and secure the victory.

"Good teams find a way to win these games," Stokley said.