The Broncos beat the Lions 24-12 at Ford Field on Sunday night thanks to two turnovers late in the 4th quarter.
Here's the game recap:
First quarter
The Lions, then the Broncos, then the Lions again, went three-and-out.
The Broncos made progress on their second possession, but ended up punting in Lions territory.
The Lions made progress on their third possession, but were stopped by a Bradley Roby interception.
Broncos now have 8 takeaways, marking their most through the 1st three games of a season in six years.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) September 28, 2015
yea, @Broncos defense already has two sacks and an interception... in first quarter. @BradRoby_1 defense wins titles #DENvsDET
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) September 28, 2015
As the Broncos were driving for the end zone, running back C.J. Anderson was hit hard. He walked off the field under his own power, but was taken to the locker room to be checked out for a concussion.
At the end of the first quarter, the Broncos had the ball.
Peyton Manning did not take one snap under center in the first quarter. Coincidence? I don't think so...
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) September 28, 2015
Second quarter
It was not the start the Broncos wanted. On the first play of the second quarter, the Lions tipped a Peyton Manning pass and the Lions intercepted.
The Broncos got a takeaway, but the fumble ruling was overturned on review and the Lions kept the ball. However, the Lions didn't take advantage of the call and ended up punting.
The Broncos' next drive involved lots of players handling the ball including Demaryius Thomas, Owen Daniels, Juwan Thompson, Bennie Fowler, Ronnie Hillman and Virgil Green. Hillman got the touchdown and the Broncos went up 7-0 with just under 5 minutes left in the first half.
During the drive, Thompson was injured. We later learned he had a neck injury and was out for the game. However, CJ Anderson was back and had been cleared to play.
The Lions took advantage of the time that was left in the game to work their way down the field and score a touchdown. However, the Broncos blocked the extra point and still led 7-6.
The Broncos got the ball back with a little more than one minute left in the game. The Broncos managed to get the ball into Lions territory, then Manning threw a long touchdown pass to Thomas who ran it in for the touchdown. Broncos 14, Lions 6.
The Broncos said the play marked Thomas’ 42nd career touchdown reception to pass TE Riley Odoms into sixth place on the Broncos’ all-time receiving touchdown list.
Third quarter
Again, the Broncos first drive of the quarter didn't start the way the Broncos wanted it to. Demaryius Thomas caught a pass, reached out with the ball to get a couple more yards, then watched the ball sail out of his hand.
Detroit recovered the ball and ran it into the end zone. The call on the field was that DT was down. It was reviewed and overturned. The refs determined that Thomas did fumble the ball, but did not give the Lions the touchdown. Lions got the ball at the "point of recovery" by rule, and that meant the 29 yard line. It took a few more plays, but the Lions scored a touchdown.
The Lions went for the 2-point conversion to tie the game, but were held back by the Broncos defense. Broncos 14, Lions 12.
There was no more scoring in the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
With 10:13 left in the 4th quarter, the Broncos defense came through with a strip of Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford. That gave the Broncos the ball on the Lions 49.
The Broncos got into field goal range, kicked a 53-yard field goal and missed. But there was a penalty on the Lions. The Broncos got to kick again, this time it was a 48-year field goal attempt and Brandon McManus hit it through the uprights. Broncos 17, Lions 12.
On the Lions' next possession, they were in Broncos territory when the Broncos defense did it again! David Bruton Jr tipped the ball, bobbled it and caught it for the interception. The Broncos had the ball back at mid-field with 3:38 left in the game.
Seconds later, Manning threw a long pass to Sanders and Sanders, despite having a defender going for the ball, made a great catch, putting the ball on the 15-yard line.
A couple plays later, Manning threw to Daniels in the endzone and scored! Broncos 24, Lions 12 with 2:28 left.
Peyton has 324 yards passing with 2 TD's. Running game has 42 yards. Whose offense are they running now??? #DENvsDET
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) September 28, 2015
The Broncos won 24-12.
