Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will be named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Wednesday.

Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month is the first such award of his three-year career. It marks the first time in seven seasons that a Bronco has received AFC Offensive Player of the Month with quarterback Brian Griese earning that honor for his performance in September of 2001.

Cutler helped the Broncos to a 3-1 record and a first-place standing in the AFC West in September, completing 102-of-157 (65.0%) passes for 1,275 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions for a 98.6 passer rating. He led the AFC and ranked second in the NFL in both passing yards (1,275) and completions (102) while placing third in the league in touchdown passes (9).

Selected by Denver in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft from Vanderbilt University, Cutler registered an AFC-best three 300-yard passing games in September that tied for the most in the NFL. He finished the month with two of the top three single-game yardage totals by an AFC passer.

In addition, his four touchdown passes in a win against San Diego (9/14) marked the second-highest single-game total in the NFL for September. His 36 completions against the Chargers tied a Broncos single-game franchise record and were an AFC high for the month.

Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month marks the 10th time a Bronco has earned that award since it was initiated by the NFL in 1986. He is the third Denver quarterback to receive the award, joining Griese (September 2001) and John Elway (November 1997 and October 1996)

Head coach MIKE SHANAHAN of the Denver Broncos is the MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE WEEK for games played on September 14-15, the NFL announced today.

Mike Shanahan led a Denver Broncos team that stunned the San Diego Chargers in a last-minute 39-38 victory. The Broncos offense gained a total 486 yards led by QB Jay Cutler who passed for a career-best 350 yards and four touchdowns. WR Brandon Marshall was Cutler's favorite target completing 18 receptions for 166 yards and one touchdown. With the Broncos down by one, following Cutler's final touchdown completion to rookie WR Eddie Royal, Shanahan went for the two-point conversion. Cutler hit Royal over the middle to seal the victory. The Broncos defense forced one turnover and limited the Chargers to just 80 rushing yards.

Shanahan was selected as Motorola NFL Coach of the Week from among three finalists by voters on NFL.com. The other finalists were head coaches DICK JAURON of the Buffalo Bills and JIM ZORN of the Washington Redskins.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall will be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for games played during the second week (Sept. 14-15) of the 2008 season, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Tuesday.

Marshall's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Week marks the first such award of his three-year NFL career.

During the Broncos' 39-38 win against San Diego on Sunday, Marshall tied for the second-most catches in a game in NFL history with 18 receptions for 166 yards (9.2 avg.) with one touchdown. Marshall's reception total, which was double that of the next closest player for Week 2, was the highest single-game total in the NFL in eight seasons (Terrell Owens had a league-record 20 catches for San Francisco vs. Chicago 12/17/00).

In his last five games dating back to 2007, Marshall has posted the most catches in NFL history for any five-game period with 55 receptions for 577 yards (10.5 avg.) with four scores. He has totaled at least 10 catches along with 100 receiving yards in four of his last five games and leads the NFL in receptions (18) through Week 2.

A 2006 fourth-round pick (119th overall) by the Broncos from the University of Central Florida, Marshall now owns five 100-yard receiving games and four 10-catch games for his NFL career.

Marshall is the first Bronco to be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week since 2005 (wide receiver Rod Smith, Wk. 15 at Buffalo). His selection marks the 42nd time a Broncos player has received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors since the award was initiated by the NFL in 1984

On if anyone called him and asked him why he went for two against the Chargers -- "Not really. I am pretty happy we made it though."

On if he was planning on attempting the two-point conversion ahead of time --
"We talked about it when we got the ball. I told these guys to get ready for it because if we score a touchdown, we are going for two. I just wanted to get it into the back of their mind. You can always back off of it if you want but I wanted them to be ready. If we scored, to go for two."

On attempting the two-point conversion to win the game --
"As I said before, you kind of have a gut feeling. We have a lot of confidence in our offense, offensive line, your receivers getting open and just coming into an important game. We only got about six plays in the third quarter and we had a bunch of plays in the fourth quarter that got our momentum going. I thought that with the coin flip, it was worth taking the chance."

On if it is in his personality to go for two in a win-lose situation --
"You go with your gut feeling. I remember the one time we were playing the Rams and we had the ball backed up right around the 30-yard line and we went for it on fourth and one. Our defense had been on the field for a long time. Was it a smart call? Probably no. You can kind of get a gut feeling with your football team and you just do what you think is right. I thought that was the right call and thankfully it worked."

On Chargers RB Darren Sproles --
"Sproles is one of the most underrated backs in the National Football League. He has great strength and great speed. When he caught that screen pass he ran away from a couple of our players that can run. He has strength, quickness, agility and if you make one mistake on kickoff coverage, he is gone. I have a lot of respect for him. It is a great one-two punch that they have."

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Ok, so I gave you my opinion on why it was a great thing that the Broncos went for 2 and the win yesterday against the Chargers.  If you didn't read it, or hear it on MHR Radio Post Game last night, I'll summarize.  It was better decision for the morale of the football team to lose it by missing a 2-point conversion than by losing a coin toss, something out of your control, and letting the Chargers drive the field.  Remember, the Broncos hadn't stopped the Chargers from getting to field goal range the entire 2nd half.

Here are what some of the players had to say about the move --

Champ Bailey -

I was shocked.  I didn't see it coming. You expect a team that's 1-6 and is on the road to call that play. But we have a chance to do something here and to get that type of play, could really get us rolling. I love it.

Tony Scheffler -

Jay gave us the plan in the huddle.  We all looked at each other and thought it was a great idea. You don't want to lose a game like this on a coin toss .... Our coach is going for it this year.

Nate Jackson -

There were some guys on our sidelines who were confused that we were going for it.  But this team has had our number. Now we have all the momentum.

Jay Cutler -

I was telling the guys that if we had to score again we had to go for two.  It’s one of those calls.  We didn’t want to go into overtime and I like the call.  We haven’t really been stopped, we kind-of stopped ourselves with the pick.  So I liked it.

Eddie Royal -

It means a lot that the coaches have that much confidence in us to let us go for it.

Selvin Young -

I was thinking two points before we even touched the field. I had it in my head that we were going to go for two and walk out of here with a win, and we did. Tomorrow we will go over film, get back to work and get the job done. I think people saw that we had some fire today. We all wanted to let people know that we were here today to play for four quarters. Jay showed poise and we fought together and stayed together. The fans were great today, they came out and supported us throughout the game, they made some noise and were a big help to our win.

Oh, and for those of you keeping score at home, this is the 6th time a team has gone for 2, down by one, inside the final 2 minutes.  The results?  3-3 --

Sept. 14, 2008 Broncos vs. San Diego 0:24 Scored, won 39-38

Nov. 13, 2005 Tampa Bay vs. Washington 0:58 Scored, won 36-35

Dec. 19, 2004 Detroit vs. Minnesota 0:08 Failed, lost 28-27

Dec. 15, 2002 Minnesota at New Orleans 0:05 Scored, won 32-31

Oct. 12, 1997 Chicago vs. Green Bay 1:54 Failed, lost 24-23

Nov. 19, 1995 Jacksonville at Tampa Bay 0:37 Failed, lost 17-16

I don't know if the Denver Broncos will go one to win the AFC West.  I choose to take things one week at a time, one game at a time.  Football is a game that momentum can change in a flash, and in a moment everything that you knew to be true ends up being false.

We had alot of that and then some this afternoon as the two best teams in the AFC West went at it for 60 minutes of battle.  Like an old 'Rocky' movie, both teams seemed to take the best shot of the other yet kept coming back for more.  Take and delivering more punishment.  It is unfortunate that the game, like most heavyweight fights, will be strewn with controversy.

First, let's start with a couple thoughts about the 2 plays in question -- the review that wasn't and the fumble that should have been.  Phil Rivers will be charged with an INT, and based on what I saw it was the right call.  Let's remember what the call was.  Officials claimed that Chris Chambers and Champ Bailey had simultaneous possession, and that Champ ripped the ball away.  Since that was the call on the field, it is unreviewable.  Even if the review equipment had worked the play liekly would have stood as called.

On the second, well, the Broncos simply were fortunate.  Ed Hercules blew the call and knew as much.  I am sure he feels horrible about it, and it will likely cost Herc any shot of officiating any big games come January.  Secondly, I don't like blown calls like this, whether it helps or hurts me.  That said, the Chargers had THREE PLAYS to stop the Broncos from getting a touchdown AND a two-point conversion.  THREE PLAYS.  If the Chargers come up big on any of them, they win the game.  Like famous brain-cramps of the past -- Bill Buckner and Steve Bartman -- there were still plays that had to be made by both teams to affect the outcome.  The Broncos made them, the Chargers did not.

Of course, we can't go much further with mentioning the decision to go for 2.  It was a ballsy move by Shanahan, plain and simple.  It is easy to say now that we I agreed with it, but I did and the proof is in the Open Thread.  In fact, several of us were clamoring for the Broncos to go for two.  Personally, it felt to me that to lose by missing a two point conversion to win was a better way to lose than by going to OT and taking  chance on the coin toss.  Shanahan said as much after the game -

You just got a gut [feeling] sometimes.  I just felt like it was a chance for us to put it away.  I didn’t want them to catch us on the coin flip.  I wanted to do it then, and obviously, it worked out.

Think about it.  The Broncos defense had not kept the Chargers offense out of field goal range the entire 2nd half.  So, in theory, the Broncos had a 50/50 chance, at best of winning in OT.  The chance that you convert a 2-point conversion?  I'd say somewhat higher.  Plus, you save the morale of your football team.  By going for it, Shanny showed faith in his offense.  If he goes to OT, and the team loses, the loss is much more crushing, with the collapse of the defense complete.

The move was ballsy to be sure, but in my opinion 100% the right thing to do.

We'll get deeper into the stats and stuff tomorrow.  For now, Broncos fans, enjoy the win.  The Broncos are in 1st place and control their own destiny.  It doesn't get much better than that!

  For all your San Diego Chargers News, check out Bolts From The Blue 

Week 2 for the Broncos, and the AFC West fun conitues against San Diego.  Can the Broncos take advantage of some Chargers injuries and take a 2 game divisional lead?!?  Check out all the coverage leading up to the game HERE.

Remember, there will be a thread for each quarter!!

GO BRONCOS!!