Denver Broncos vs. New York Giants: Second Half Surge Carries Peyton over Eli Again
By Jack Crosby
The third time was indeed not the charm for Eli Manning against his older brother Peyton.
After quite the uneventful first half as far as scoring goes, the second half was an entirely different story–especially for the Denver Broncos as they kick off the 2013 season having scored over 40 points in their first two outings. Peyton once again trumped Eli’s Giants, this time by a final score of 41-23.
Scoring just 10 points in the first 30 minutes, the Broncos lit up the scoreboard for 31 in the last 30 and the Giants had virtually no answer for anything, especially running back Knowshon Moreno who rushed for 93 yards on 13 carries with two scores. His final scoring run, a 25-yarder late in the third quarter, was where the game began to get away from the G-Men.
With the Broncos up just 17-16, Moreno broke through for his second touchdown of over 20 yards or more for the day, and things never really got back on track after that for New York.
Peyton Manning was stellar yet again. The perennial Hall of Famer finished 30-of-43 for 307 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The elder Manning spread the ball out to eight different receivers throughout the game, with Eric Decker leading the way grabbing nine of those passes for 87 yards. Wes Welker (3/39 yards) caught the lone Peyton TD pass–a 2-yarder in the back of the end zone early in the third quarter.
Now Eli, on the other hand, continued to struggle.
The youngest member of the Manning clan had yet another rough outing, going 28-of-49 for 362 yards with one TD and four interceptions. In just two games, Eli has now tossed six picks.
Really, the only bright spot on the Giants’ offensive unit was Victor Cruz who hauled in eight passes for 118 yards. Other than that however, especially in the second half, anything remotely resembling something positive was scarce for the G-Men.
Denver now goes to 2-0 on the season as they head into a Monday night contest with the Raiders next week, while the Giants will look to pick up the pieces next Sunday against the Panthers.