Following what has become their recent modus operandi, the Broncos played horrible defense, missed a field goal, couldn't run the ball consistently, and had only scored one touchdown. Yet all the Denver linebackers were still dancing and snapping their chin straps everytime they made a tackle on first down. Brady Quinn was quickly becoming a superstar and on the night of the NFL Network's season premier of "Thursday Night Football", the Broncos were on the verge on having their own season canceled. That all evaporated at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Browns were forced to punt for only the second time all night. Jay Cutler and the Denver offense took over at the own 7 and found Eddie Royal for a 93 yard touchdown. Denver was suddenly back in the game and the comeback was on. Note that it all started at the 7 yard line-- a famous Bronco number that still haunts Cleveland fans.

It was suddenly Cutler's time to grab the keys to the offense and run with it. After Ryan Torain and Selvin Young were injured, the Donkeys were left with fullback Peyton Hillis as their main runningback. Hillis got some obligatory carries and even converted on a crucial fourth-and-1 in the final minutes, but what Denver really did was convert their NFL gameplan to an old AFL model. By "AFL", we don't mean the old "American Football League" of the swingin' sixties, daddy-o. We mean "Arena Football League"-- where the runningback is an afterthought, the defense never forces a punt and you throw, throw, throw until you've racked up 60 points. The only thing missing was the rebound net above the endzones.

Cutler excelled in his role as AFL QB. He consistently found Brandon Marshall, Nate Jackson, Royal, Graham and even the returning Tony Scheffler. On the final scoring drive, inside the redzone, Cutler looked for Marshall but they couldn't connect. The very next play, they ran the exact same route. This time, Marshall was able to get separation from Browns CB Brandon McDonald, haul in Cutler's pass gain the 34-30 lead with less than 75 seconds on the clock.

Marshall then reached into his pants to pull out a black-and-white glove, which he planned to give a "Black Power" salute with, in honor of president-elect Barack Obama. But Brandon Stokely was aware of Marshall's pre-meditated plan and qucikly ran over to hug Marshall and prevent him from drawing a 15 yard personal foul. It was an admirable idea for Marshall to salute...but it was awful timing. An extra 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff when kicking to Browns kick return ace Joshua Cribbs is never a good idea. Thankfully, Stokely was there to prevent Marshall's guffaw. Moral of the story: get Marshall in the endzone before the final 75 seconds of a tight game.

Brady Quinn and Kellen Winslow tried to bring the Browns back, but three incompletions ruined Cleveland's night. Quinn, for his part, played well. His ascension probably means that former starter Derek Anderson will not pick up a $5 million bonus for being on the roster in March. Anderson will probably find work elsewhere (I could see him going to Seattle in the off-season if Matt Hasselbeck still has injury problems), but for now he's no longer the story in Cleveland.

But this Thursday Night story belonged to Cutler. To the tune of 447 yards and 3 TD's. He finally established himself, on the shores of Lake Erie, just like another, young, highly-drafted Donkey QB once did. The season was temporarily saved and it all started at the 7 yard line.

Chop Blocks

..||..For a channel dedicated to the NFL, the NFL Network's coverage was shoddy. Going to commercial in the third quarter, they mistakenly showed the score as 23-14, Browns. A tally which existed at no point during the game. Also, it appeared that Peyton Hillis carried the ball in the first quarter, but the announcers announced him as "Ryan Torain" and the cameras cut away to more headshots of Brady Quinn before I could confirm.

..||.. With Eddie Royal racking up huge numbers, is it too early to think he could garner some mention as "Rookie of the Year". Or "Offensive Rookie of the Year" or whatever BS award the NFL likes to give out.

..||.. One "game ball" should go to linebacker Wesley Woodyard, who took over when Nate Webster went out. Like Webster, Woodyard showed a knack for celebrating after a hit. But unlike Wesbter, Woodyard actually made some tackles with meaning. I think they'll be okay if Woodyard becomes a starter.

..||.. For trivia purposes: this game was simulcast locally via Denver's KWGN Channel 2. I believe it's the first time they've aired a regular-season Broncos game since the early 60's. I'm sure they would've celebrated, had they not recently been gobbled up by FOX.

..||.. More reasons why StubHub is a pile. Taken from their cut n' paste synopsis of the Donkeys:

Ahh yes, good ol' Josh Elway. Ranks up there with the all-time great QB's, like Tony Bradshaw, Jimmy Unitas, and Ollie Graham. Who can forget that great "Class of 83", which also produced QB's Doug Marino, Jon Kelly and evenKarl O'Brien?

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