People were never serious about Josh McDaniels when he became the new coach of the Denver Broncos. Nobody believed he could lead the team after crybaby Jay Cutler left the team when McDaniels granted his wish in trading him to the Chicago Bears.
Then came Brandon Marshall, saying he wanted to leave as well. McDaniels really could’ve done it as he was calling other teams like the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets. He then brought back a little bit trust from his fans when Marshall stayed.
McDaniels made some good moves in the offseason like drafting Knowshon Moreno and signing Correll Buckhalter. But everyone thought the Broncos will fail under quarterbacks of Kyle Orton and Chris Simms, who were battling for the starting job.
Orton was named the starter. His stats weren’t good, but his win/loss record was efficient and was enough for the Broncos of him being the franchise QB and the leader of the team. And he was wearing that number eight, a number ahead of one of the greats: John Elway.
In the first game of the NFL season, the Broncos were leading the Bengals, 6-0. The Bengals drove down the field as running back Cedric Benson scored a touchdown to give the Bengals the lead, and most importantly, a victory. It was 7-6, but things weren’t over.
The Broncos had one last shot. It was a Hail Mary pass as Orton threw to Brandon Marshall. The pass was tipped by Leon Hall. Was it over? Probably but then, out of nowhere, Brandon Stokley, one of the best slot receivers in NFL history, caught the ball and ran all the way for a touchdown to give the Broncos an easy, and an astonishing win.
So there are Music City Miracles, and yes, there are Mile-High Miracles as well. The Broncos then went on to win a few more games. But even though they still stand at undefeated, people still doubt them as a real NFL team. Are they for real? Well, they had to prove the test against the New England Patriots.
The Patriots were rolling in the first half of the game. With a missed field goal by the Broncos, the Pats rolled down the field. The drive really opened when Sammy Morris broke for a long gain after catching a dump-off pass from Tom Brady. He was down inside the red zone as the Pats got an easy touchdown to Wes Welker to lead the game.
Then, with the first half almost over, the Pats were leading, 10-7, and they were in the red zone. A touchdown was made by Tom Brady. He’s back! But look, he wasn’t fully back as the Broncos proved it during the second half.
You really think Josh McDaniels will lose to the Patriots! The Patriots for crying out loud! Josh had to bring revenge. It was the pupil, as in McDaniels, vs. the Teacher, in which that is Bill Belichick. The Broncos caught up in the game and rolled to victory in overtime, 20-17.
“It was a little bit more special to me because I knew how hard it would be to beat them,” McDaniels said. He added: “It’s a great challenge coaching against Bill and his staff, and playing against that team with all those great players. That’s why it’s special. It’s not special just because I was in New England.”
McDaniels is now going to make a dynasty with the Broncos. They are rolling and are one of the best teams in the AFC. But now, they are facing more tougher tests in the weeks passing by.
They face the Chargers on Monday Night next week, then the Ravens, and then the Steelers. Tough road games as they face 3-4 defenses, and man they are tough! But hey, these guys can do it.
And now, I don’t think anyone should be surprised at all if they beat those teams.
Seriously.
