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Broncos 24, Bills 17
DENVER – The Buffalo Bills held Denver quarterback Peyton Manning without a touchdown pass but couldn’t keep running back C.J. Anderson out of the end zone as the Broncos beat the Bills 24-17 on Sunday.
Manning’s streak of games with at least one touchdown pass was snapped at 51, three shy of Drew Brees’ NFL record. Manning was 14 of 20 for 173 yards passing and was intercepted twice.
Denver’s defense was just as rough, if not rougher, on Buffalo quarterback Kyle Orton, a former Bronco. Orton one-upped Manning with a touchdown pass while completing 38 of 57 passes for 355 yards, but he also was intercepted twice and was sacked four times.
Anderson, coming off successive 100-yard games, ran 21 times for 58 yards, including touchdown runs of 1, 3 and 6 yards for AFC West-leading Denver (10-3), which won for the fourth time in five games.
Buffalo (7-6) took a hit to its playoff hopes with its first loss in three games. The Bills were denied in their bid to reach eight wins in a season for the first time since 2004.
Up by 11 at the half, the Broncos got a 47-yard run by running back Juwan Thompson and a 21-yard pass from Manning to wide receiver Wes Welker to set up Anderson’s third scoring TD run of the day, putting Denver up 21-3 with 12:01 left in the third.
The Broncos then picked off Orton twice around another interception of Manning. Denver cornerback Chris Harris made a leaping interception in front of wide receiver Robert Woods at the goal line, and returned it 38 yards to the Broncos’ 40, leading to Connor Barth’s 50-yard field goal.
Buffalo reduced the deficit to 24-10 with 10:46 remaining on Orton’s 14-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Chris Hogan, and Orton’s 1-yard sneak got the Bills within seven with 55 seconds remaining. But David Bruton recovered Buffalo’s onside kick and Manning took a knee to run out the clock.
Despite two giveaways, including a fumble in the red zone by tight end Jacob Tamme after a jarring tackle by safety Duke Williams, the Broncos led 14-3 at halftime.
Helped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Buffalo linebacker Jerry Hughes, the Broncos ground out a drive that Anderson finished off with his second short touchdown run of the day.
Earlier, after taking over on downs at their own 39-yard line following a fourth-down incompletion, the Broncos kick-started a drive with Manning’s 38-yard completion to Welker. A third-down illegal contact penalty on Buffalo defensive back Nickell Robey kept the drive alive, and on the next play, Anderson broke through the middle from 6 yards out for his first score of the day.
Buffalo cornerback Corey Graham intercepted a Manning pass early in the second quarter, but the Bills lost much of his 60-yard return when defensive tackle Kyle Williams was flagged for holding. Denver’s defense forced a punt and Buffalo could get nothing out of the turnover.
Notes: Buffalo safety Da’Norris Searcy left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. He did not return. … Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib returned to action after missing last week’s game at Kansas City with a hamstring injury. … Denver tight end Julius Thomas was active but did not play in a third straight game because of an ankle injury. … Wide receiver Wes Welker was used as a punt returner by the Broncos, who waived regular return man Isaiah Bruce and re-signed place-kicker Brandon McManus as a kickoff specialist. … The Bills did not have multiple sacks in a game for the first time this season. … Dan Carpenter kicked a 44-yard field goal for Buffalo’s first score in the first quarter.
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