SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 13, 2013
Broncos 35, Jaguars 19: Peyton Manning passed for 295 yards and two touchdowns and Knowshon Moreno added three rushing scores - all in the second half - as host Denver survived a scare for its 17th consecutive regular-season win.
Justin Blackmon caught 14 passes for 190 yards for Jacksonville (0-6), which entered as the biggest underdog in NFL history but was within two points as late as the third quarter. Chad Henne was 27-for-42 for 303 yards but threw two interceptions and couldn't find the end zone.
Manning overcame an interception and two lost fumbles to jumpstart Denver (6-0), which has scored 265 points - the most in NFL history through six games. Wes Welker and Julius Thomas caught touchdown passes and Demaryius Thomas had three catches for 78 yards for the Broncos.
The Jaguars hung in for most of the game, trading punches with the heavily-favored Broncos. The 26 1/2-point underdogs saw their upset hopes began to slip away when Kayvon Webster picked off Henne and returned it to the Jacksonville 41, setting up Moreno's third TD run of the day to make it 35-19 with 9:09 left.
Denver led only 14-12 at halftime after Paul Posluszny returned a Manning interception 59 yards for a score. Moreno and Maurice Jones-Drew traded rushing touchdowns in the third quarter before Moreno scored on an 8-yard run to make it 28-19 with 4:02 left in the third quarter, and the Broncos' defense finally came up with a big play to help seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Welker has caught a touchdown pass in eight straight games dating to last season and raised his career receptions count to 805. … Manning's 22 TD passes are the most through six games in NFL history. … Blackmon has 19 catches for 326 yards in two games since returning from a four-game suspension to start the season.