HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

On the Broncos’ defense

“They played well. We did a lot of good things on defense. Any time you have six series with three plays and out, it is a good start. I was pleased with their effort throughout the game. We are starting to build and starting to make some strides forward. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

On the defenses having more enthusiasm against Tampa Bay compared to previous weeks

“I wouldn’t go through that. I think people have a short memory sometimes. We played three quarters against the Raiders that we allowed 128 yards in total offense, 27 zip. They are a pretty good rushing football team. We did some good things against San Diego. We have had some opportunities where we have played a good three quarters or a good quarter, but in this game we played a good four quarters.”

On how WR Brandon Marshall is handling being double covered

“That is football in the National Football League. You have to understand what it takes to win and the quarterback, I thought, managed the game very well. In that situation, most people don’t look at the fact that we had three third-and-2’s, two third-and-3’s and a third-and-4 that we missed. We were 6-of-14. The ones we missed were ones that keep drives going. Instead of having 16 points, you end up having 30 points. We have been much better in our third down area. When you miss three those and you are still 6-of-14 against an excellent defense, you are doing some good things. We just have to work on that third down area to keep the ball and get some more plays. We completed 68 percent of our passes for 227 yards and that is good. You can’t turn the football over and you can’t get second and long and third and long, and for the most part we didn’t. That is what you have to do to win the football game. Especially some of the young guys, they want to contribute but they don’t understand what it takes to win sometimes. You have to make those third downs.”

On the contributions of DT Dewayne Robertson

“He is doing what we ask him to do. It is always a change going from a 3-4 to a four-man front. You have to be pretty unselfish in the four-man front because a lot of times the linebackers are going to get the tackles. I think it was obvious after you saw the stats following the game that the defensive line did a good job occupying the offensive lineman and giving the linebackers an opportunity to make some plays.”

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FINAL GAME NOTES

WIN NO. 150 FOR SHANAHAN

* - With the win, Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan earned his 150^th overall career victory (150-96-0, .610) and became the 17th coach in NFL history to reach that win total. His overall record with the Broncos improves to 142-84-0 (.628).

SIXTH IN A ROW AT HOME

* - The Broncos extended their home winning streak to six games with their victory against Tampa Bay. It is their longest such streak since posting 13 consecutive home wins in the regular season from Dec. 12, 2004, through Oct. 15, 2006.

CUTLER MILESTONES

* - Broncos QB Jay Cutler completed 23-of-34 passes for 227 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 96.1 passer rating.

* - His 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Brandon Stokley in the third quarter moved him ahead of QB Steve Tensi for sole possession of seventh in Broncos history in career touchdown passes (39). 

* - Cutler also became the eighth player in Broncos history to reach 6,000 career passing yards, finishing the game with an even 6,000 for his career.

* - The victory improved Cutler’s career record as a starting quarterback to 13-13.

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MHR Radio Post Game - LIVE tonight at 10PM est!

You know the drill - click in to the post and TUNE TO CHANNEL 105!!!

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Start of 4th Quarter

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Start of 3rd Quarter

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Start of 2nd Quarter

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GAME INACTIVES

GAMEDAY INACTIVES

DENVER

22      Peyton Hillis         FB

42      Ryan Torain          RB

64      Erik Pears            T

77      Dylan Gandy        G

82      Darrell Jackson     WR

94      Jarvis Moss          DE

95      Josh Shaw           DT

96      Tim Crowder         DE       

TAMPA BAY

11      Josh Johnson       QB

21      Sabby Piscitelli     S

35      B.J. Askew           FB

69      Anthony Davis      G/T

77      James Lee           T

84      Joey Galloway      WR

96      Greg Peterson      DT

12      Luke McCown       3QB

ANNOUNCED STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

DENVER

#46 Spencer Larsen starts at FB for #22 Peyton Hillis

TAMPA BAY

#44 Byron Storer starts at FB for #35 B.J. Askew

#80 Michael Clayton starts at WR for #84 Joey Galloway

So you're sitting there wondering which game to watch, and Denver isn't available.  Which team do you cheer for if you want the outcome to help Denver?  No problem; MileHighReport.com has you covered.

Remember, this has nothing to do with which teams we like or hate.  It is purely based on what outcomes best position Denver for the playoffs, and a good seeding once there. 

We're also rating the games on how important they are for Denver fans.  For instance, a Denver game, or a game that features a Denver division rival, gets near a 5, while a less important game gets a 1.  So given a choice of several games, you now know which one is more important to watch!  (Teams for Denver fans to cheer for are in CAPS). 

Let's feed the schedule into MHR's Super Computer and see what results we get...

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 YOUR SOURCE FOR THE VERY BEST

IN DENVER BRONCO PRE-GAME ANALYSIS

MILEHIGHREPORT.COM

This is going to be one heck of a ride.  We've gotten past some good teams (SD and NO), beaten down the Raiders, and got shocked by the Chiefs.  Going into this TB game, I have some things I'm confident about, and frankly, some things I'm concerned about.  TB is a 3-1 team just like we are, but with a glaring difference.  They have some balance.

TB is perhaps a top ten team right now in my opinion, and this game could be a solid measuring stick for just how good we are.  We only lead SD by one game in our playoff race, so it's a very significant game.

Can our young guys bounce back from a loss like pros?  Can our secondary attack an INT prone Griese?  What can we exploit, and what should we avoid?

You've come to the right place.  MHR has you covered.

Read on...

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  For all your Tampa Bay Buccaneer News, check out Buc'Em.

The Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were never really meant to play each other.  They faced off just two times during the first sixteen years of the Buccaneers history.  Since 1993, however, things have started to heat up and the Broncos have taken back the lead in this series after their last match up in 2004 that was won on an overtime field goal by Jason Elam.  The series now stands at 4-2.

Looking back, really only one game stands out above the rest.  It was the third week of the season and the Broncos were playing at home against a young and weak football team in the Buccaneers.  Terrell Davis, coming off an 1100 yard rookie performance in 1995, was about to have his official coming out party.

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  For all your Tampa Bay Buccaneer News, check out Buc'Em.

The Denver Broncos, who lead the AFC West with a 3-1 record at the quarter point of the season, host Tampa Bay (3-1) on Sunday in the Buccaneers' first visit to Denver in 12 years. Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:05 p.m. MDT, and the game will be broadcast on FOX (KDVR-TV 13).

Denver, which started the season 3-0 for the first time in five years, suffered a 33-19 loss at Kansas City last week. Despite four giveaways and only scoring one touchdown in four red zone possessions, the Broncos trailed by just seven points with two minutes remaining before the Chiefs pulled away.

The Broncos face a Buccaneers team that extended its winning streak to three games following a 30-21 home victory against the Packers last week. The Buccaneers, who had a 36:50-to-23:10 time-of-possession advantage against Green Bay, scored the game's final 10 points to erase a 21-20 fourth-quarter deficit.

Tampa Bay, making its first visit to Denver since 1996, is the only team in the NFL that has never played a game at INVESCO Field at Mile High (opened in 2001). The two clubs last met in 2004 with the Broncos earning a 16-13 win at Tampa Bay.

Despite their loss last week, the Broncos have led for 68.7 percent (164:53-of-240:00) of the time this season. They have posted leads of at least 18 points in three of their four games and own the NFL's best first-half scoring differential (+33 / 82-49).

The Broncos' offense has accounted for league highs in points (126) and first downs (100) while averaging an NFL-best 435.5 yards per game. The club's offensive line has surrendered only two sacks in 160 pass plays, marking a 1.3 sack percentage that is the best in the league.

Quarterback Jay Cutler ranks second in the league in passing yards (1,275) and has accounted for two of the top three single-game passing yardage marks in the AFC this year. His top two targets, wide receivers Brandon Marshall (31 rec.) and Eddie Royal (27 rec.), form the most productive pass-catching duo (58 rec.) in the NFL.

The Broncos will celebrate their annual alumni weekend as well as the 10-year anniversary of their Super Bowl XXXIII team around Sunday's game. Approximately 150 former players are scheduled to take part in the festivities, which include the presentation of Gary Zimmerman's Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008 ring.

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