Week 2: Broncos breakdown

Player of the game

Broncos OLB Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil had four sacks, torturing immobile Browns right tackle John St. Clair in the second half. Dumervil tied a franchise record for sacks in a game.

Play of the game

Running back Correll Buckhalter had Denver’s niftiest play of the game on a 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Right tackle Ryan Harris buried Browns end Kenyon Coleman inside and tight end Tony Scheffler had a great kickout block on aggressive safety Abram Elam. Buckhalter cut back through the hole, then made two great open-field moves to score.

Turning point

The Broncos got a gift from the Browns in the first quarter. A low shotgun snap was recovered by Denver at the 9-yard line, and three plays later Kyle Orton hit Tony Scheffler for a 2-yard touchdown. That gave the Broncos a 7-6 lead and they never trailed again.

Matchup focus

Last time the Broncos played Cleveland, they picked on cornerback Brandon McDonald. McDonald didn’t get embarrassed this time around, but gave up a huge 49-yard catch to Jabar Gaffney early in the fourth quarter, setting up a touchdown.

Key coaching call

The Broncos don’t want to use Eddie Royal on kick returns. But who else can they trust? Denver tried using Peyton Hillis on kickoff returns to start Sunday’s game, but had to turn to Royal after Hillis fumbled the opening kickoff, leading to a Browns field goal.

Remember me?

Denver’s best defensive player on Sunday, aside from Elvis Dumervil, might have been former Browns linebacker Andra Davis. Davis led Denver with 10 tackles, including two for loss.

Quote to note

“I think we have got one of the most talented groups in the league. If we get on the same page mentally on every play and everybody does their job on every single play, then we are going to move the ball very consistently and score a lot of points for sure.” – Quarterback Kyle Orton on the progress of the offense.