ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — From 2013 and through the first seven games of 2014, the hopes of the Denver Broncos went like this: As goes quarterback Peyton Manning, so too does the team.

However, as the Broncos emphasized their ground game in the wake of a 22-7 road loss to the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 16, a game in which only 15 percent of their plays were runs, the identity of the offense began to change.

With more chances to drive off the line of scrimmage, the maligned offensive line gained confidence. With more opportunities to run, second-year back C.J. Anderson displayed a surprising mix of explosion and nimbleness.

By Sunday, it was the ground game that carried the Broncos past the Buffalo Bills for a 24-17 win, Denver’s third victory in succession after a three-week, 1-2 road swing that led to reflection and reassessment.

The Broncos ran on 29 of 49 offensive plays. It was their highest run percentage since a 34-17 win at Baltimore in Week 15 of the 2012 season, when the Broncos led 31-3 after the third quarter and skewed the ratio by running out the fourth quarter. However, Denver coach John Fox does not necessarily believe the run emphasis is here to stay.

“I can’t really predict what’s going to happen because a lot of it’s based on what an opponent does and matchups,” he said. “I mean, there’s been injuries that have something to do with it. We went without (tight end) Virgil Green for a three- or four-week period, and we threw the ball more. Now, we’ve lost a guy like (tight end) Julius Thomas.”

Thomas has not taken a snap during the Broncos’ three-game winning streak, having sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter against St. Louis. Meanwhile, the Broncos have won every game that Green played from start to finish; they went 1-2 when he was out with a calf injury and lost at Seattle when he left because of a concussion in the second quarter during Week 3.

“We’ve just run it a little bit more over the last few weeks,” Fox said. “Just like there was nothing wrong with our run game when people were blowing fuses on that. We just happened to be throwing it more.

“Our goal is to be efficient at both with everybody arm in arm moving forward to do that. I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”

–A casualty of the Broncos’ running emphasis, particularly in the red zone, was Manning’s streak of consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass.

Anderson’s three touchdown runs, plus three giveaways in the passing game — all of which came inside the Buffalo 20-yard-line — left Manning without a touchdown pass Sunday, ending his streak at 51 games, three shy of the record held by New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

“I’ve broken a lot of records and set a lot of records due to playing for a long time and I guess playing well at times, but it’s never been something that I’ve been about,” Manning said. “So I don’t need to break or set another record.”

Manning finished with 14 completions in 20 attempts, his fewest as a Bronco. Bolstered by a pair of deep passes to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker, Manning averaged 8.7 yards per attempt, 75 of which came on those two plays.

However, Manning’s passer rating was just 56.9, mainly because of the two interceptions. That followed a performance at Kansas City in which he completed just 50 percent of his passes — his lowest rate since Week 3 of the 2012 season.

“(When) you don’t throw it that many times, you have to be efficient when you throw it. You have to protect it better,” Manning said. “I underthrew Emmanuel a little bit on that deep ball. The second time, that guy (Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore) made a good play. I thought he covered (wide receiver Demaryius Thomas) pretty well and made a good play.”

NOTES: Running back Montee Ball missed a third consecutive game after aggravating a groin strain against the Rams on Nov. 16. … Receiver/returner Isaiah Burse was waived Saturday to make room for kickoff specialist Brandon McManus. The Broncos re-signed Burse to the practice squad Monday.

REPORT CARD VS. BILLS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus — On the rare occasions QB Peyton Manning passed, the Broncos had efficient production, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. Manning was 2-for-3 for 75 yards on deep post routes. That helped draw the Bills’ safeties back. But one deep post was intercepted, which was part of a disturbing trend, as three of the Broncos’ 20 pass plays ended in turnovers: two interceptions and a fumble by TE Jacob Tamme that cost the Broncos a red-zone scoring chance late in the first half.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: B — RB Juwan Thompson’s 47-yard jaunt powered Broncos running backs to 122 yards on 26 carries. Their production was not as consistent as the previous two games, as the Broncos’ interior line failed to keep Bills DT Marcell Dareus out of the backfield; he was responsible for blowing up three running plays on his own.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — If based only on the first three quarters, the Broncos would have aced the test, as they forced QB Kyle Orton to take one check-down after another and rendered him ineffective, intercepting him twice and sacking him three times. However, against soft zone coverages in the fourth quarter, Orton completed 16 of 27 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown to get the Bills within an onside kick of a potential game-tying drive.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus — The Broncos didn’t allow the Bills any game-breaking runs, but Buffalo had a steady ground game that averaged 4.6 yards on 16 carries. Had the Broncos not sprinted to leads of 7-0, 14-3 and 21-3, the Bills might have been more patient and willing to take advantage of the holes they received when they ran.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B — The Broncos had to waive PR Isaiah Burse to get Brandon McManus back to their roster for kickoffs, but the tradeoff was effective, as McManus drilled four of five kickoffs for touchbacks and Connor Barth hit his only field-goal attempt, from 50 yards, and is now 6-for-6 the past two weeks. Using Wes Welker on punt returns is a risk, but two of the three punts he saw went out of bounds, including one that was deflected.

–COACHING: B — With the Broncos missing TE Julius Thomas for a third consecutive week, head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase continued to emphasize the running game, and they were patient enough to wait for it to gash the Bills’ defensive line. Their patience also forced Buffalo’s edge rushers to hold up in order to account for the ground threat, and as a result, Manning was never touched on 20 attempts.