Broncos' Orton trusts his head more than his arm

ENGLEWOOD • Kyle Orton threw no interceptions Sunday and won. Jay Cutler threw four interceptions and lost.

Sometimes life in the NFL is that simple. Last week, teams that won the turnover margin went 8-4. Turnover margin is perhaps the NFL’s most important statistic, and a quarterback’s play is usually the determining factor if a team has fewer turnovers than the opponent.

When Orton was asked after Sunday’s win over Cincinnati about his penchant for winning games without great statistics or a lot of highlights, he immediately mentioned how the Broncos won the turnover margin.

“Possession of the football is so important at this level,” Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said. “In a game like (Sunday), if we turn the ball over, who knows? If we turn over when we’re backed up or somewhere in scoring territory for them, the game changes in a hurry. We try to eliminate all turnovers whenever possible and be smart. You’ve got to manage the game.”

The quarterback Denver traded in the offseason might be more entertaining than Orton, but Cutler cost his team a win Sunday. Two of his interceptions came with the Bears in field-goal range, one led to a Packers touchdown and another came with just over a minute left and Chicago trailing by six.

“Jay’s a good quarterback and I’m sure he made some decisions, looking back, he didn’t want to make but that’s how it goes,” Orton said. “I’m sure he’s not going to pull off the trigger.”

As many of Cutler’s critics point out, he has a 17-21 record at least in part because of his 41 career interceptions. Despite far fewer yards and touchdowns, Orton has a 22-12 record, with 27 interceptions.

There are times when quarterbacks need to open it up and push the ball downfield, which increases the risk of a turnover. Although Orton realizes the importance of playing turnover-free football, he said it doesn’t paralyze him.

“I certainly don’t go in trying to play scared or anything,” Orton said. “I just try to go in and think I’m going to make the right decisions.”
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