The Sports Xchange

DENVER — With quarterback Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ offense struggling, cornerback Aqib Talib provided the scoring boost Denver needed.

Talib returned an interception 51 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, helping overcome Manning’s sluggish performance, and the Broncos beat the Baltimore Ravens 19-13 Sunday.

The victory was Denver’s fourth straight opening-week win, and it made Gary Kubiak a winner in his debut as the Broncos’ head coach.

“It might be the greatest defensive football game I’ve ever been a part of as a coach,” Kubiak said. “On both sides of the ball, it was just tremendous. It was a battle all day long.”

The game was the first the Broncos won without scoring an offensive touchdown since beating the Kansas City Chiefs 9-6 in overtime on Sept. 17, 2006.

“Our defense played outstanding,” Manning said. “Talib made a good play to kind of negate the turnover that our offense had, so that was huge. Everybody did their part. We’ve just got to find a way to punch it into the end zone (offensively).”

In a rare occurrence, Manning was held without a touchdown pass, had an interception returned for a touchdown and was sacked four times. Kicker Brandon McManus booted four field goals, including a 33-yarder with 2:55 remaining to give Denver a six-point edge.

Manning was 24-for-40 passing for 175 yards with an interception. He finally got untracked a bit toward the end of the game, when he led a nearly 11-minute drive that ended in a field goal.

Quarterback Joe Flacco drove the Ravens to the Broncos’ 16-yard line with less than a minute to play, but his third-down pass to the end zone for tight end Crockett Gillmore was intercepted by safety Darian Stewart, a former Raven.

What we learned about the Broncos:

1. The Broncos’ revamped offensive line bent but did not break. Though the Ravens broke through for four sacks of quarterback Peyton Manning, more than Denver gave up in any single game last season, the unit got through its first game together as part of a winning effort. Center Matt Paradis and rookie left tackle Ty Sambrailo both saw their first regular-season snaps, and newly acquired guard Evan Mathis, a two-time Pro Bowler in Philadelphia, got his first start with Denver. While the Broncos did not score an offensive touchdown, Manning did put together a nearly 11-minute drive in the fourth quarter, ending in a field goal that kept the ball away from Baltimore and gave the Broncos some additional cushion to fend off the Ravens. As Manning put it, that last drive was something Denver’s offense can build on.

2. There were some worries about Brandon McManus’ field-goal accuracy after he missed a couple of attempts in the preseason. However, he made critics forget about those exhibition miscues by hitting all four field-goal attempts in Denver’s season-opening win over Baltimore. He became the second kicker to hit two 56-plus-yard field goals in the same game in NFL history, connecting on a career-long 57-yarder and a 56-yarder. He also connected on a 43-yarder and 33-yarder later in the game in addition to booming his kickoffs.

3. The Broncos’ secondary appears to be one of the deepest and most effective in the league. Though it was missing starting strong safety T.J. Ward, who served a one-game, league-imposed suspension, the unit nevertheless came up with two pivotal interceptions. Cornerback Aqib Talib scored the go-ahead points on an interception he returned for a touchdown, and safety Darian Stewart, starting because Ward was out, sealed the victory in the final seconds by intercepting a Joe Flacco pass in the end zone.

Etc.

–K Brandon McManus made all four of his field-goal attempts, hitting on a career-best 57-yarder followed by a 56-yarder, a 43-yarder and a 33 yarder. The 57-yarder tied for the fifth-longest field goal in team history, and he became the second kicker in NFL history to hit two field goals of 56 or more yards in the same game. St. Louis’ Greg Zuerlein did it against Seattle on Sept. 30, 2012.

–CB Aqib Talib’s 51-yard interception return for a score was the seventh that he took to the house since becoming a starter in 2009. That is the most in the NFL during that span. The pick was also the 28th of his career, the second most by a cornerback since he entered the NFL in 2008. Only Asante Samuel has more in the past eight seasons, 29.

–OLB DeMarcus Ware racked up his 128th career sack when he took down Joe Flacco during Denver’s 19-13 win over the Ravens. That tied him with Hall of Fame LB Rickey Jackson for the 13th most in NFL history. Bruce Smith has the most sacks in NFL history with 200. Ware ranks third among active players in sacks, trailing only Jared Allen (134) and John Abraham (133.5).