It's a Monday after a 2015 Denver Broncos victory, which means we are still talking about a struggling Peyton Manning offense.
The Broncos moved to 5-0 with a 16-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Like the previous four, the fifth win was earned by an opportunistic defense. Chris Harris' pick-six earned the win on a day in which the Broncos scored 10 of 16 points off turnovers.
For the season, 41 of Denver's points have come on takeaways, a whopping 36 percent. The Broncos kicker (47 points) and defense (18 point) have accounted for 65 of the team's 113 points (57.5 percent, highest percentage in NFL). No Peyton Manning-led team has finished a season with the kicker and defense scoring even 40 percent of the team's points.
The defensive domination belies an offense struggling to find rhythm in any facet.
"We want to play better offensively, we want to do our job and somehow, someway, it's about helping the Denver Broncos get a win," Manning said, via the team's official website. "But there's no question, offensively, we certainly want to play better. We're going to stay committed to it, and everybody wants to try to do a better job and that certainly starts with me. I want to do a better job and do a better job playing quarterback to help our team get into the end zone more."
Manning has struggled, throwing five interceptions in the past three weeks. The running game has yet to surface, with neither C.J. Anderson nor Ronnie Hillman able to consistently move the chains.
But the Broncos keep winning, which is the point of the exercise.
"I think we're doing some good things. We're moving the ball," Manning said. "It would be one thing if we weren't getting down there at all. So we're able to get the ball down there. We've got to find a way. Like I said, I think a couple close plays here or there and probably we'd have some touchdowns."
Through five weeks those 'couple close plays here or there' have all been made by the best defense in the NFL. It's not normal for a Peyton Manning team, but this is what the 2015 Denver Broncos are. And it's winning.
