Broncos Lead Ravens 9-3 At Halftime
DENVER (AP/The Sports Xchange/CBS4) - The Peyton Manning-Gary Kubiak merger has officially been unveiled in Denver as the Broncos lead the Baltimore Ravens 9-3 at halftime on three Brandon McManus field goals.
Fans are curious if the 39-year-old quarterback and the guru of the zone blocking scheme can mesh their philosophies in a workable way.
Manning had a mediocre preseason but he didn't have Pro Bowl receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who was out with a pulled hamstring. And the Broncos didn't open up their new playbook.
RELATED: Broncos Lead Ravens 6-0 After 1st Quarter
Still, eyebrows were raised when Manning badly underthrew Demaryius Thomas twice and didn't find the end zone in his two preseason appearances.
Manning has two first-timers on his O-line but also two-time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, who came to the rescue two weeks ago with a deal that could be worth $4 million -- the exact amount of Manning's pay cut last spring.
The following play-by-play stats from the second quarter are from The Sports Xchange:
| 1 and 10 - DEN 27 | 15:00 | 18-P. Manning pass to 81-O. Daniels for -4 yards. |
| 2 and 14 - DEN 23 | 14:15 | 18-P. Manning pass to 12-A. Caldwell for 1 yard. |
| 3 and 13 - DEN 24 | 13:33 | PENALTY on Baltimore, Neutral Zone Infraction (enforced, 5 yards) - No play. |
| 3 and 8 - DEN 29 | 13:07 | 18-P. Manning pass to 88-D. Thomas for 11 yards. |
| 1 and 10 - DEN 40 | 12:31 | PENALTY on Denver, False Start (enforced, 5 yards) - No play. |
| 1 and 15 - DEN 35 | 12:16 | 23-R. Hillman rush for 2 yards. |
| 2 and 13 - DEN 37 | 11:49 | 18-P. Manning, sacked for -9 yards (50-A. McClellan). |
| 3 and 22 - DEN 28 | 11:08 | 18-P. Manning pass incomplete to 22-C. Anderson. |
| 4 and 22 - DEN 28 | 11:04 | 4-B. Colquitt punts 37 yards, out of bounds. |
| 1 and 10 - BAL 35 | 10:56 | 5-J. Flacco pass to 29-J. Forsett for 7 yards. |
| 2 and 3 - BAL 42 | 10:20 | 29-J. Forsett rush for 6 yards. |
| 1 and 10 - BAL 48 | 9:38 | 5-J. Flacco pass to 44-K. Juszczyk for 4 yards. |
| 2 and 6 - DEN 48 | 9:07 | 37-J. Allen rush for 8 yards. |
| 1 and 10 - DEN 40 | 8:31 | 37-J. Allen rush for 3 yards. |
| 2 and 7 - DEN 37 | 8:06 | 37-J. Allen rush for 4 yards. |
| 3 and 3 - DEN 33 | 7:27 | 29-J. Forsett rush for -1 yard. |
| Denver timeout at 6:47 | ||
| 4 and 4 - DEN 34 | 6:47 | 9-J. Tucker 52 yard field goal is GOOD. |
| BAL 3 DEN 6 Plays: 8 Possession: 4:09 | ||
| BAL 35 | 9-J. Tucker kicks 65 yards, touchback. | |
| 1 and 10 - DEN 20 | 6:42 | 22-C. Anderson rush for 5 yards. |
| 2 and 5 - DEN 25 | 6:08 | 18-P. Manning, sacked for -6 yards (57-C. Mosley). |
| 3 and 11 - DEN 19 | 5:24 | 18-P. Manning pass to 10-E. Sanders for 18 yards, forced out of bounds. |
| 1 and 10 - DEN 37 | 4:51 | 22-C. Anderson rush for 1 yard. |
| 2 and 9 - DEN 38 | 4:17 | 18-P. Manning pass to 10-E. Sanders for 4 yards. |
| 3 and 5 - DEN 42 | 3:38 | PENALTY on Denver, False Start (enforced, 5 yards) - No play. |
| 3 and 10 - DEN 37 | 3:14 | 18-P. Manning, sacked for -2 yards (57-C. Mosley). |
| 4 and 12 - DEN 35 | 2:38 | 4-B. Colquitt punts 50 yards, fair catch by 89-S. Smith. |
| 1 and 10 - BAL 15 | 2:29 | 29-J. Forsett rush for no gain. |
| Two minute warning | ||
| 2 and 10 - BAL 15 | 2:00 | 5-J. Flacco pass to 29-J. Forsett for 1 yard. |
| 3 and 9 - BAL 16 | 1:28 | 5-J. Flacco pass to 11-K. Aiken for -1 yard. |
| Official timeout at 1:20 | ||
| 3 and 10 - BAL 15 | 1:20 | 4-S. Koch punts 40 yards, out of bounds. |
| 1 and 10 - DEN 45 | 1:13 | 18-P. Manning pass to 11-J. Norwood for 10 yards, ran out of bounds. |
| 1 and 10 - BAL 45 | 1:08 | 18-P. Manning pass incomplete to 11-J. Norwood. |
| 2 and 10 - BAL 45 | 1:04 | 18-P. Manning pass to 11-J. Norwood for 15 yards. |
| 1 and 10 - BAL 30 | 0:42 | 18-P. Manning pass to 10-E. Sanders for 5 yards. |
| 2 and 5 - BAL 25 | 0:24 | 18-P. Manning pass incomplete to 10-E. Sanders. |
| 3 and 5 - BAL 25 | 0:19 | 18-P. Manning pass incomplete to 11-J. Norwood. |
| 4 and 5 - BAL 25 | 0:14 | 8-B. McManus 43 yard field goal is GOOD. |
| BAL 3 DEN 9 Plays: 7 Possession: 0:59 | ||
| DEN 35 | 8-B. McManus kicks 40 yards, 82-N. Boyle returns for 10 yards. | |
| Baltimore timeout at 0:05 | ||
| 1 and 10 - BAL 35 | 0:05 | 5-J. Flacco pass incomplete to 11-K. Aiken. |
| END QUARTER 2 | ||
Additional Information From The Denver Broncos
| McMANUS GIVES DENVER HALFTIME LEAD OVER BALTIMORE |
The Broncos jumped out to a 9-3 halftime lead over the Ravens by way of three field goals by K Brandon McManus (57, 56, 43). His 57-yarder tied for the fifth-longest field goal in Broncos history and his 56-yarder tied for the seventh-longest.
McManus joined St. Louis K Greg Zuerlein (vs. Sea., 9/30/12) as the only players in NFL history to convert two field goals of 56 yards or longer in the same game.
LONGEST FIELD GOALS, BRONCOS HISTORY
| Player | Opp. (Date) | Length | |
| 1. | Matt Prater | vs. Tennessee (12/8/13) | 64 |
| 2. | Jason Elam | vs. Jacksonville (10/25/98) | 63 |
| 3. | Matt Prater | vs. Chicago (12/11/12) | 59 |
| Matt Prater | vs. N.Y. Jets (10/17/10) | 59 | |
| 5. | Brandon McManus | vs. Baltimore (9/13/15) | 57 |
| Fred Steinfort | vs. Washington (10/13/80) | 57 | |
| 7. | Brandon McManus | vs. Baltimore (9/13/15) | 56 |
| Matt Prater | at Kansas City (9/28/08) | 56 | |
| Jason Elam | at Houston (11/26/95) | 56 |
| WARE TIES PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER JACKSON FOR 13TH PLACE ON ALL-TIME SACK LIST |
With his first-quarter sack, Broncos OLB DeMarcus Ware recorded his 128th career quarterback takedown to tie Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Ricky Jackson for the 13th most in NFL history.
MOST SACKS, NFL HISTORY
| Player | No. | Player | No. | |||
| 1. | Bruce Smith | 200.0 | 9. | Jared Allen* | 134.0 | |
| 2. | Reggie White | 198.0 | 10. | John Abraham | 133.5 | |
| 3. | Kevin Greene | 160.0 | 11. | Leslie O'Neal | 132.5 | |
| 4. | Chris Doleman | 150.5 | Lawrence Taylor | 132.5 | ||
| 5. | Michael Strahan | 141.5 | 13. | DeMarcus Ware* | 128.0 | |
| 6. | Jason Taylor | 139.5 | Rickey Jackson | 128.0 | ||
| 7. | Richard Dent | 137.5 | 15. | Derrick Thomas | 126.5 | |
| John Randle | 137.5 | *active player | ||||
| MISCELLANEOUS HALFTIME NOTES |
* - The announced crowd of 76,798 represents the 350th consecutive Broncos sellout in the regular season or playoffs to extend the NFL's longest active recognized streak.
* - Denver WR Emmanuel Sanders led the Broncos with six receptions for 52 yards (8.7 avg.) in the first half with four of his catches representing third-down conversions.
