SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 27, 2013
Broncos 45, Redskins 21: Peyton Manning threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns as host Denver erased a 14-point second-half deficit to sink Washington.
Manning overcame four turnovers and guided the Broncos (7-1) to 38 unanswered points as Denver bounced back from its only loss and remained one game behind first-place Kansas City in the AFC West. Knowshon Moreno and Demaryius Thomas each had 35-yard scoring receptions during the blitz and Wes Welker had six catches for 81 yards and a score.
Robert Griffin III struggled through a miserable afternoon before hurting his left knee late, finishing 15-of-30 for 132 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as the Redskins (2-5) had three turnovers and three punts in six drives after taking a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter. Alfred Morris rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown for Washington, which was limited to 266 total yards - 110 in the second half.
The Redskins capitalized on consecutive turnovers by Manning to score 14 points in a nine-second span, getting a 1-yard run by Morris and a 26-yard interception return by DeAngelo Hall for a 21-7 edge less than four minutes into the third. Manning responded by leading two long TD drives to tie it at 21 on the first play of the fourth quarter before Moreno's 35-yard scoring reception put Denver ahead for good with 14:19 to play.
Manning was 5-for-5 on Denver's opening drive, the final one for 6 yards to Welker for a 7-0 lead, but Washington tied it with a 16-play, 95-yard march just before the half with Griffin connecting with Leonard Hankerson from 7 yards out. The Broncos had awful field position in the half, with three drives starting inside the 10, and committed a costly fourth-down penalty one play before Griffin's TD pass.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Griffin's injury was not to the same knee that required surgery after last season and coach Mike Shanahan said doctors cleared the QB to return to the contest. ... Manning surpassed Drew Brees (2,746 yards in 2011) for the most yards through eight games and Denver's 343 points are also an NFL record for the first eight contests. ... Hall's interception return TD was the fifth registered by Washington's defense, the most by the franchise since scoring five in 1994. ... Broncos rookie RB Montee Ball, who set the FBS record for career TDs with 83 at Wisconsin, scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard run midway through the third and CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had a 75-yard interception return to cap the scoring.