Denver Broncos: Leading NFL In Almost Every Offensive Category
By Rich Kurtzman
Peyton Manning (Credit, Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
The point of football is putting up points; the Denver Broncos are proving to be the best at doing just that.
In today's NFL, offense is awesome, passing is paramount and out-scoring an opponent is more important than stopping them on third downs; it's partially why the Broncos are a perfect 4-0 through the first quarter of the season.
The numbers are simply nuts, laughable in comparison to any other team in the league currently.
Denver's offense leads the NFL in nearly every statistical category, and for many of these, it's not even close. They're first in total yards per game (483.0), passing yards per game (363.8), points per game (44.8), first downs per game (28.2) and have a league-leading third down conversion rate of 55 percent.
The Broncos 179 total points scored is 52 more than the Chicago Bears 127, and if Denver manages to score 15 this week, they'll have the record for most points put on the board in the first five games of a season.
Here's where the second-best offenses come in: New Orleans Saints; 338.2 passing yards per game, Chicago Bears; 31.8 points per game, Green Bay Packers; 26 first downs per game and San Diego Chargers; 50 percent success on third downs.
Of course, much of Denver's production is thanks to quarterback Peyton Manning, who is proving to be clearly the best quarterback in the NFL currently. Manning's thrown for 16 touchdowns compared to zero interceptions through four games, only one other man – Milt Plum in 1960 – did the same.
His command of the offense is evident, as is Manning's mastery of NFL defenses.
Despite disguises, Manning diagnoses defenses and quickly tells his teammates how best to beat them. One of his most notable audibles this season came in the Week Three win over the Oakland Raiders. On a crucial third down and the team in a five-wide receiver set, Manning saw something indicating a Raiders corner would be blitzing. The veteran QB yelled instructions to tight end Julius Thomas, who found himself open for the first down on a quick out, but then turned up field, made one man miss and glided into the end zone.
Certainly, the many talented men around Manning are another reason Denver's offense has been so deadly, but with number 18 behind center, the Broncos are legitimate Super Bowl contenders for a second straight season.
Broncos to wear all-blue jerseys versus Dallas
The Broncos fly to Dallas to take on the Cowboys this Sunday (kickoff scheduled for 2:25 p.m. MT) and according to the team's website and official Twitter account, they'll be wearing the all-blue jerseys. Dallas always wears their white road uniforms at home, and the Broncos decided to go with the all-blue instead of their now usual orange top and white pant combination.
For more Broncos news and updates, visit Broncos Central.
Rich Kurtzman is a Denver native, Colorado State University alumnus, sports nerd, athletics enthusiast, and competition junkie. Currently writing for a multitude of websites while working on books, one on the history of the Denver Broncos and Mile High Stadium. Rich is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
