Ravens Hand Denver First Loss

NFL News - November 1st, 2009 - Written by John

All year, the Denver Broncos had to continuously earn respect in the NFL by beating good teams while underdogs to become one of the last remaining unbeatens. But in their second trip east of Denver, the Broncos were finally favored by three and laid a major egg. The Baltimore Ravens snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-7 win in a game that saw minimal offense and a suffocating Ravens' defense.

The Broncos didn't even have 100 total yards in the first half and only had one first down in the first quarter.

Denver came into the game due to their ability to force other teams to make a mistake and capitalizing. They had the best defense in the league, which will certainly change after this week, and a turnover differential that was among the elite in the league. But they committed the only turnover of the game and allowed a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and never even threatened the Ravens.

Quarterback Kyle Orton had done everything he could to shake the rumors of his inability to carry a team on his shoulders. But he wasn't terrific on Sunday, throwing for only 152 yards and no touchdowns.

Knowshon Moreno led the team with 39 rushing yards and had the team's only score in the third quarter on a one-yard push that made it 13-7. It was the cap to an 86 yard drive that was enhanced by three penalties by the Ravens that tacked on 44 yards. But Moreno also had the game's only fumble that led to a Baltimore field goal and never found a rhythm against a defense that looked like it was the NFL's best.

The Ravens ran away with the game after Moreno's touchdown, outscoring Denver 17-0 in the game's final 20 minutes. Joe Flacco, who didn't wow either, threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Derek Mason in the fourth quarter and finished with 175 yards on 20 completions. Ray Rice also had a score from the seven with two minutes left in the game.

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