Buoyed by stout defense and propelled forward by an offense that picked up its play in the second half, the Broncos rolled to an impressive 41-23 win against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The Broncos’ defense played a major role in the victory, intercepting Giants quarterback Eli Manning four times. Denver also held New York to 23 yards rushing.
New York now has 10 turnovers in two games, with Manning throwing seven picks in that span.
The Broncos’ offense got a big game from running back Knowshon Moreno, who had touchdown runs of 20 and 25 yards. Quarterback Peyton Manning was sharp as usual, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
The Broncos’ special teams also chipped in, with punt returner Trindon Holliday picking up a bouncing punt and sprinting 81 yards for a touchdown to break the game open in the fourth quarter.
The Giants’ defense held up relatively well early in the game, but it started to give up more ground in the second half. The Giants needed their offense to come up big, and that did not happen.
The win improves Denver’s record to 2-0 in advance of a matchup with Oakland (1-1) on Monday night.
This was a close game until the Broncos powered away with three second-half TDs in 5:12 of game action encompassing the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter.
With Denver leading 17-16, Moreno rushed off the right side for a 25-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the third. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Manning was intercepted by Chris Harris, who grabbed a pass that bounded off the foot of teammate Tony Carter, who had broken in front of Rueben Randle to deflect the throw. Denver would capitalize with a Manning-to-Julius Thomas TD pass. Finally, the Broncos forced the Giants to punt, and Holliday broke free for his touchdown to give Denver a 38-16 lead with 10:13 in regulation.
Now 0-2 for the first time since 2007, the Giants travel to Carolina next Sunday. The Panthers are also 0-2 after 24-23 loss to Buffalo earlier Sunday. The Giants are just one game back of the Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East after every division team lost in Week Two.