Broncos searching for defense; Patriots trying to find offense

Oct 14, 2008 - 6:55 PM
3 shouts

Denver (4-2) at New England (3-2) 8:30 pm EDT

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- The Denver Broncos have struggled to stop opposing offenses. The good news for the Broncos is that the New England Patriots aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

Denver and New England will try to solve their respective problems when they meet at Gillette Stadium on Monday night.

The Broncos endured their second loss in three games on Sunday, dropping a 24-17 decision to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. It was the fourth time in six contests this season that Denver has surrendered at least 24 points - and it allowed at least 32 points in three consecutive games.

"We hung with them until late in the game, but in the end we couldn't stop them on third downs and they were able to run the clock out," Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams said. "We played better defense (against the Jaguars) than we have been, and we fought hard in the second half. We just have to move forward and keep fighting."

Sammy Morris rushed for the Patriots' only touchdown during Sunday's 30-10 loss to the San Diego Chargers, a 1-yard run with 5:18 remaining that accounted for the final score in the contest.

The setback also was New England's second in the last three games, as it has managed more than 20 points in one of five games this season.

While the Patriots' offense has struggled to connect on deep passes, coach Bill Belichick isn't planning to scale back his offense.

"I think the big thing is to hit the ones that we have an opportunity to hit," he said. "When the defense takes those plays away, I don't think it is good football to throw it down there for the sake of throwing it down there. That's not something that we really try to do.

"When we have the opportunities to hit them, we just have to connect on them. We will just keep working harder on that, but that is really the time to let it go. We just have to try to hit a few more of them when we get that opportunity."




From the Bleachers





  •  
    Broncos 7, Patriots 41   Final
    Angus
    i know. i may have to pick the Bengals soon. No way they go 0-10. They're 0-7 now I believe, so which game will they win? Hmmmm
    Oct 21 6:01 PM
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    Broncos 7, Patriots 41   Final
    mark
    nothing makes sense this year. analyze everything. decide what should happen. expect the opposite.
    Oct 21 1:33 AM
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    Broncos 7, Patriots 41   Final
    savbyroy
    That was pathetic, to put it mildly.
    Oct 21 12:51 AM
  •  
     
    DENVER: 7
    NEW ENGLAND: 41
    Final
    Oct 20 11:40 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD NWE
    BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS 1 YD RUN
    (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
    DENVER 7
    NEW ENGLAND 41 3:09 LEFT, 4TH QTR
    Oct 20 11:31 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD DEN
    DANIEL GRAHAM 10 YD PASS FROM JAY CUTLER
    (MATT PRATER KICK)
    DENVER 7
    NEW ENGLAND 34 13:21 LEFT, 4TH QTR
    Oct 20 11:06 PM
  •  
     
    DENVER: 0
    NEW ENGLAND: 34
    End of 3rd
    Oct 20 11:00 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD NWE
    WES WELKER 6 YD PASS FROM MATT CASSEL
    (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 34 2:21 LEFT, 3RD QTR
    Oct 20 10:54 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD NWE
    RANDY MOSS 27 YD PASS FROM MATT CASSEL
    (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 27 7:32 LEFT, 3RD QTR
    Oct 20 10:33 PM
  •  
     
    DENVER: 0
    NEW ENGLAND: 20
    Halftime
    Oct 20 10:06 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD NWE
    RANDY MOSS 13 YD PASS FROM MATT CASSEL
    (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 20 0:44 LEFT, 2ND QTR
    Oct 20 9:58 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    TD NWE
    SAMMY MORRIS 4 YD RUN
    (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK)
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 13 7:34 LEFT, 2ND QTR
    Oct 20 9:35 PM
  •  
     
    DENVER: 0
    NEW ENGLAND: 6
    End of 1st
    Oct 20 9:15 PM
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    NFL
    FG NWE
    STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 40 YD
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 6 2:06 LEFT, 1ST QTR
    Oct 20 9:08 PM
  •  
     
    NFL
    FG NWE
    STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 31 YD
    DENVER 0
    NEW ENGLAND 3 5:08 LEFT, 1ST QTR
    Oct 20 8:58 PM
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