Seahawks improve to 2-0 in preseason with 30-10 win
DENVER (AP) — Peyton Manning drew his biggest ovation on an incompletion.
Blasted by defensive end Bruce Irvin, the four-time MVP who missed all of last season with a neck injury that required four operations bounced right back up, shook it off and threw a 22-yard bullet to Brandon Stokley on the next play.
It was the highlight of a mostly forgettable home debut for Manning, whose Broncos lost 30-10 to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night after Denver's backups were outscored 21-0.
Manning had shown throughout training camp that his arm strength was back along with his accuracy. The only question left was whether he could take a hard hit after undergoing neck fusion surgery last September.
The answer came with 1:25 left in the first half when Irvin beat right tackle Orlando Franklin and had a clean shot at the quarterback.
"I came into the game trying to be the first one to get a shot on him since he's been back and I guess I succeeded," Irvin said. "He's a great quarterback, got the ball out quick and it's hard to get to him. I just put on a good move and just so happened to get through."
Welcome back to the NFL, Peyton.
"He didn't say anything. He moaned a little bit, though," Irvin said. "So I guess he really felt it. It was a good hit, good play and now it's time to move on."
Manning's sentiments, too, after his first hit in 19 months.
"I never heard a crowd cheer for an incompletion before," Manning said. "I think the next pass was to Stokley, right? That's what I told you I was going to do."
Indeed, Manning had been saying for weeks that he only hoped that first big hit happened on first or second down so he could bounce back up and complete a long pass.
He couldn't decide what was better, getting that initial big blast out of the way or putting a halt to all the questions about whether he could still take a hit.
"Both of them are just fine with me," Manning said.
As the ball sailed out of bounds, Manning popped right back up and the crowd went wild.
"We weren't worried about it. I think everybody else was," Stokley said. "Now, we don't have to hear about that anymore."
Instead, they can concentrate on all the mistakes they've been making with Manning under center.
Manning played the first half and gave the Broncos (1-1) a 10-9 lead despite three turnovers, including an interception in the red zone for the second straight week, and another at midfield on a bad overthrow.
He looked great on a 2-minute drive, but that stalled when tight end Jacob Tamme, his old pal from Indianapolis, dropped a wide-open touchdown pass 6 seconds before halftime following a drop by Eric Decker and a 15-yard penalty on center J.D. Walton.
"Well, we moved the ball well," Stokley said. "We had a good 2-minute drive going and we kind of shot ourselves in the foot with the 15-yard penalty. So, we did some good things and then we did some bad things, so you've just got to be glad it's preseason and not the regular season."
Terrell Owens had a disappointing debut for the Seahawks (2-0), failing to catch any of the five passes thrown his way.
Owens is trying to show he's fully recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of the NFL for the entire 2011 season, but in his first NFL game action since Week 15 of the 2010 season with Cincinnati, he was out of sync with quarterback Matt Flynn.
Flynn targeted him five times. The first was behind him, the second was over his head, the third was knocked away by Elvis Dumervil and then cornerback Champ Bailey broke up a slant pass.
The fifth incompletion was all on Owens.
He sped past cornerback Chris Harris on a deep post and was wide open to haul in a perfectly thrown 46-yard touchdown pass from Flynn but it slipped through his fingers just as he raced across the goal line.
"That would have been a really big event for us in the first half, to score on that play," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "... It was unfortunate. He's got to get back in action and that was his first time out there. So he's been very much on point in practice. He's worked very hard. And so he's caught a lot of deep balls in practice so I know he can make those plays for us and it's unfortunate we didn't get it right off the bat."
Manning was sharp on an 11-play, 80-yard that ended with Willis McGahee's 1-yard TD run and in the 2-minute drill at the end of the second quarter, when the Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) failed to capitalize.
They settled for Matt Prater's 32-yard field goal that gave Denver a 10-9 halftime lead over the Seahawks (No. 22) despite Manning's two interceptions and a fumble by Lance Ball.
In the most anticipated preseason home opener for the Broncos since his boss, John Elway, was the one directing Denver's offense, Manning completed 16 of 23 passes for 177 yards with no TDs.
On first-and-goal from the 9, defensive end Red Bryant tipped Manning's pass into the arms of linebacker K.J. Wright at the line of scrimmage. On Manning's other pickoff, the ball sailed on him and safety Jeron Johnson easily intercepted it.
Steven Hauschka kicked field goals of 43, 36 and 43 yards for Seattle.
Flynn finished 6 of 13 for 31 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
The second half was all Seahawks as they scored on Kregg Lumpkin's 16-yard run before rookie Russell Wilson (10 of 17 for 155 yards) threw TD passes of 34 yards to Tyrell Sutton and 8 yards to Cooper Helfet.
NOTES: Broncos WR Bubba Caldwell and LB Nate Irving both were knocked from the game with rib injuries. ... Broncos S David Bruton blocked one punt and deflected another.
Blasted by defensive end Bruce Irvin, the four-time MVP who missed all of last season with a neck injury that required four operations bounced right back up, shook it off and threw a 22-yard bullet to Brandon Stokley on the next play.
It was the highlight of a mostly forgettable home debut for Manning, whose Broncos lost 30-10 to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night after Denver's backups were outscored 21-0.
Manning had shown throughout training camp that his arm strength was back along with his accuracy. The only question left was whether he could take a hard hit after undergoing neck fusion surgery last September.
The answer came with 1:25 left in the first half when Irvin beat right tackle Orlando Franklin and had a clean shot at the quarterback.
"I came into the game trying to be the first one to get a shot on him since he's been back and I guess I succeeded," Irvin said. "He's a great quarterback, got the ball out quick and it's hard to get to him. I just put on a good move and just so happened to get through."
Welcome back to the NFL, Peyton.
"He didn't say anything. He moaned a little bit, though," Irvin said. "So I guess he really felt it. It was a good hit, good play and now it's time to move on."
Manning's sentiments, too, after his first hit in 19 months.
"I never heard a crowd cheer for an incompletion before," Manning said. "I think the next pass was to Stokley, right? That's what I told you I was going to do."
Indeed, Manning had been saying for weeks that he only hoped that first big hit happened on first or second down so he could bounce back up and complete a long pass.
He couldn't decide what was better, getting that initial big blast out of the way or putting a halt to all the questions about whether he could still take a hit.
"Both of them are just fine with me," Manning said.
As the ball sailed out of bounds, Manning popped right back up and the crowd went wild.
"We weren't worried about it. I think everybody else was," Stokley said. "Now, we don't have to hear about that anymore."
Instead, they can concentrate on all the mistakes they've been making with Manning under center.
Manning played the first half and gave the Broncos (1-1) a 10-9 lead despite three turnovers, including an interception in the red zone for the second straight week, and another at midfield on a bad overthrow.
He looked great on a 2-minute drive, but that stalled when tight end Jacob Tamme, his old pal from Indianapolis, dropped a wide-open touchdown pass 6 seconds before halftime following a drop by Eric Decker and a 15-yard penalty on center J.D. Walton.
"Well, we moved the ball well," Stokley said. "We had a good 2-minute drive going and we kind of shot ourselves in the foot with the 15-yard penalty. So, we did some good things and then we did some bad things, so you've just got to be glad it's preseason and not the regular season."
Terrell Owens had a disappointing debut for the Seahawks (2-0), failing to catch any of the five passes thrown his way.
Owens is trying to show he's fully recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of the NFL for the entire 2011 season, but in his first NFL game action since Week 15 of the 2010 season with Cincinnati, he was out of sync with quarterback Matt Flynn.
Flynn targeted him five times. The first was behind him, the second was over his head, the third was knocked away by Elvis Dumervil and then cornerback Champ Bailey broke up a slant pass.
The fifth incompletion was all on Owens.
He sped past cornerback Chris Harris on a deep post and was wide open to haul in a perfectly thrown 46-yard touchdown pass from Flynn but it slipped through his fingers just as he raced across the goal line.
"That would have been a really big event for us in the first half, to score on that play," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "... It was unfortunate. He's got to get back in action and that was his first time out there. So he's been very much on point in practice. He's worked very hard. And so he's caught a lot of deep balls in practice so I know he can make those plays for us and it's unfortunate we didn't get it right off the bat."
Manning was sharp on an 11-play, 80-yard that ended with Willis McGahee's 1-yard TD run and in the 2-minute drill at the end of the second quarter, when the Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) failed to capitalize.
They settled for Matt Prater's 32-yard field goal that gave Denver a 10-9 halftime lead over the Seahawks (No. 22) despite Manning's two interceptions and a fumble by Lance Ball.
In the most anticipated preseason home opener for the Broncos since his boss, John Elway, was the one directing Denver's offense, Manning completed 16 of 23 passes for 177 yards with no TDs.
On first-and-goal from the 9, defensive end Red Bryant tipped Manning's pass into the arms of linebacker K.J. Wright at the line of scrimmage. On Manning's other pickoff, the ball sailed on him and safety Jeron Johnson easily intercepted it.
Steven Hauschka kicked field goals of 43, 36 and 43 yards for Seattle.
Flynn finished 6 of 13 for 31 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
The second half was all Seahawks as they scored on Kregg Lumpkin's 16-yard run before rookie Russell Wilson (10 of 17 for 155 yards) threw TD passes of 34 yards to Tyrell Sutton and 8 yards to Cooper Helfet.
NOTES: Broncos WR Bubba Caldwell and LB Nate Irving both were knocked from the game with rib injuries. ... Broncos S David Bruton blocked one punt and deflected another.
Ok, I wasn't able to see the whole game. Ok fine... it's the preseason. But the quiet little joy I felt watching Irvin put Peyton Manning on his can was pretty nice :)
As for Next Question Owens, the big question isn't his speed. He's always had that. What he has also had is a regrettable habit of dropping the ball on big plays and that showed up again. The reason why The Ego That Is TO keeps insisting on getting the ball so often is that his personal highlight reel needs incredible TD catches to make up for the all the drops. Oh, and then there's the part where he throws the QB under the bus...
Our QB corps looks really good. I'm liking what I see in Flynn and Wilson is a very pleasant surprise. Both seem to have good decision making skills and both seem to be able to read the whole field.
What I guess I'm really happy to see is that we're seem to be putting an offense together that can challenge the 49'ers and actually win the division with a solid record. It would be nice to go to the playoffs under Pete Carroll with a record we're not ashamed of...
That was an absolutely pathetic showing for TO. If he doesn't turn it around, he better get cut. He is too much of a liability for the Hawks, especially if he's not performing.
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I want to see Wilson handle a 1st string! I think he's looking fantastic and I really feel he is a well rounded qb. He can throw, he can run, and he just seems like a great guy in his interviews. He'd make a great leader for our team.
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I have yet to be impressed by Flynn. I feel that he is way too conservative and we need a more aggressive qb.
 @Tattooed_Angel our offense is a conservative offense thats carrolls gameplan so he is fitting right in.
I hope Peyton is relying even more on the cerebral part of his game this year---the wounded ducks were head scratching.
Man, they could go undefeated in preseason. Wouldn't that be awesome!?
@SandyBeach It would be nice, but not that big a deal. I'd trade every preseason win for a solid 10-6 record.
Remember, an awful lot of these guys in the Teal and Blue will be playing for other teams in two weeks, so it's best not to get too attatched to some of them.
Denver second and third stringers were no match for ours. The Hawks had the ball a lot in the second half. Nice to see Kearse make some good plays.
Can't believe TO dropped a perfect pass!! They say he was watching everything in practice.
O-line is doing great
Looking forward to the season this year
@Bob42263 Well, remember Bob, that our second and third stringers are going to be starters by Week 10... injuries in the NFL just seem to work that way in the last decade or so. I don't recall ever hearing of any starting unit from any team that made it all the way to the playoffs without at least one multiple-game injury. And I've been a semi-religious fan of the No Fun League since 1976.
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Your point is well taken that our backups seem to be better than the Bronco or Titans backups, but that won't matter much until the Playoffs.
Remember, Russell, though playing very well, is going up against 2nd and 3rd team defenses. He gets to go against the 1st team D in practice. Carroll said he is progressing very very well, but does still not know how to read a defense quite as well as Flynn yet. There is a big difference between 1st and 2nd team defense. Wilson is doing as well as you could ask though right now for a 3rd round pick.
@The206 I'd really like to see Wilson get a chance at 1st string. He has the arm AND he can run when needed. So far, he's impressed me more than Flynn, experienced or not.
I'd like to see Russel start one. He's deserved it
Looks like the Hawks are going to have a decent ball club this year. I'm surprised at how good the quarterbacks are looking.
@Magic 8 Ball As long as coach leaves Jackson out of the mix. I also agree with sirgavin Russel does deserve to start one.
 @djj  @Magic I think Jackson should get a start.
 @sirgavin7 why should jackson get a start both flynn and wilson have already shown there better then he is.