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Broncos survive comeback by Saints

Sep 22, 2008 - 1:15 AM By Tony Desiere PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes to lift the Denver Broncos to a 34-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in another offensive shootout at Invesco Field.

Cutler was 21-of-34 for 264 yards as Denver improved to 3-0 and survived a stirring finish for the second straight week.

"We've been playing on the edge lately," Cutler said. "We can't keep doing this. We are getting lucky at the end there and we have to go back and watch the film and get better."

"The bottom line, you have to find a way to win," Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan said. "We found a way to win. It was a very tight football game."

Brandon Marshall, who set a franchise record last week with 18 catches, had six catches for 155 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos.

"We thought they would go cover-eight, which is what they've been doing," Marshall said. "They switched it up on us and did a cover-six. I'm glad we have Jay (Cutler), who recognizes where to go with the ball and when."

Martin Gramatica missed a 43-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining that would have given New Orleans (1-2) the lead.

With Denver holding a 34-32 lead, the Saints caught a huge break late in the fourth quarter when tight end Tony Scheffler fumbled at the 5-yard line. New Orleans recovered and marched down to the Broncos 25-yard line, where Gramatica's go-ahead field goal attempt went wide right.

"We had a chance and the opportunity, and it's disappointing," said Saints coach Sean Payton. "There is nothing else to say. He missed it."

The Saints racked up 500 yards of offense, with Drew Brees completing 38-for-46 for 419 yards and a touchdown. Pierre Thomas rushed for two touchdowns while Reggie Bush had 73 yards on 18 carries. Bush also had 71 yards on 10 catches.

"Our philosophy is always take care of the ball," Brees said. "That's number one and getting the ball to our playmakers is number two. For the most part I think we did that."

"I think all of us got the feel for how this game was going back and forth," Payton said. "I thought both defenses got tired. You could see that. It became much like an Arena ballgame."

After cutting the deficit to 34-32 on Thomas' 10-yard scoring run with 10:09 to play, the Saints missed the tying two-point conversion attempt as Brees failed to connect with Bush.

Denver rushed out to an early 21-3 lead after Broncos linebacker Nate Webster returned a Bush fumble 25 yards for a touchdown.

New Orleans answered with two touchdowns in under three minutes, as Thomas finished a 10-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. After Cutler threw an interception, the Saints scored again on a 23-yard run by Bush.

"It's frustrating to score 32 points and lose, especially in the NFL," Bush said. "I didn't expect it to be 34-32 but I thought it would be high scoring."

Trailing, 24-17, New Orleans had a chance to tie the game just before halftime but failed to score from the 1-yard line on three straight running plays. After Denver took over from their own 1 on downs, Sedrick Ellis and Charles Grant tackled Andre Hall in the end zone for a safety to trim the lead to 24-19 at halftime.

"You've got to score," Brees said. "We had it from the one on three straight plays. The coaching staff should be able to ask us to get one yard and for us to convert."