Baltimore Ravens vs Denver Broncos Match Player Stats On Sep 05, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 6, 2013

Broncos 49, Ravens 27: Peyton Manning threw a career-high seven touchdown passes, including three in a six-minute span of the third quarter as host Denver throttled the defending Super Bowl champions.

Manning became the sixth quarterback in league history to throw seven scoring passes and finished 27-of-42 for 462 yards as the Broncos (1-0) extended their winning streak to 12 games and avenged a stunning loss to Baltimore in last season's playoffs. Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and tight end Julius Thomas each caught two TD passes in a game that was delayed 44 minutes at the start by the threat of lightning.

Welker (nine catches, 67 yards) atoned for a muffed punt that led to Ray Rice's 2-yard touchdown run by hauling in a pair of short scoring passes in the third quarter as Denver erased a three-point halftime deficit with 28 unanswered points. Demaryius Thomas made five catches for 161 yards and Julius Thomas had five receptions for 110 yards as the Broncos halted the Ravens' season-opening winning streak at five games.

Joe Flacco faltered after a strong opening half and completed 34-of-62 passes for 362 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Baltimore failed to challenge a dropped pass by Welker on the opening drive of the second half and Manning made them pay, hitting Demaryius Thomas for 34 yards on the next play before finding Andre Caldwell for a 28-yard scoring pass to put Denver ahead to stay.

Manning sandwiched two TD passes to Julius Thomas in the second quarter around Rice's scoring run which came after Welker fumbled a punt inside the 5. The Ravens could have gone to halftime with a seven-point lead, but Dallas Clark dropped an easy touchdown pass and they had to settle for Justin Tucker's 25-yard field goal and a 17-14 edge.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Manning became the only QB in history with three games of at least six scoring passes. He also tied Drew Brees with his seventh game with at least five TD tosses and matched Brett Favre's league mark with his 23rd game with at least four scoring passes. ... Ravens WR/KR Jacoby Jones suffered a sprained right knee when teammate Brynden Trawick crashed into him while Jones was attempting to make a fair catch in the second quarter. ... Broncos LB Danny Trevathan had a touchdown negated in the fourth quarter when he picked off Flacco but let go of the ball just before crossing the goal line. ... The Ravens agreed to a four-year contract extension with coach John Harbaugh that will run through 2016 and pay him close to $7 million annually.