Passing Judgment: Broncos 17 - Chiefs 10

Runningback Knowshon Moreno
hurdling Brandon Flowers
before tearing his ACL (Denver Broncos)

Bad news: the Broncos placed third-year runningback Knowshon Moreno on Injured Reserve, ending his season.

Moreno, who usually has his best games against the Chiefs (also at the Chiefs), was well on his way to another one with 52 yards on four carries before going down with with what turned out to be a torn ACL.

Such has been the theme for Moreno in his three seasons with the Broncos. Oft-injured and unable to make the most of his opportunities, Moreno will have surgery to repair the torn ligament.

As a Georgia student (soon to be alumnus), I hope this isn't the end of Moreno's time as a Bronco. I hope he has a swift and successful recovery. Perhaps Willis McGahee can give him some advice and hope as far as recovering from a season ending, career threatening injury.

On to the good news.

Passing Judgement: Good Guys 38 - Raiders 24

Who says the NFL is a passing league?

The Broncos went into O.co Coliseum the Black Hole Sunday and beat the Raiders at their game, by pounding the rock.

Pounding may not be  the right word, trickeration might be. The Broncos did most of their damage with a heavy dose of read-option, an offensive scheme more commonly found in college football. Pro offenses generally stay away from all forms of option offense because it leaves the team's most important position—quarterback—at risk.

Denver finished the game with 299 yards rushing. With some offensive creativity, the Broncos have figured out a run game, led by 30-year-old Willis McGahee. McGahee has 623 yards rushing on the season, averaging 5.1 yards a carry.

Finally! The Broncos can run again.

Running wild, the Denver Tebows have struggled passing the ball. Tebow is 45 of 97 passing for 536 yards and 6 touchdowns, with only 1 interception. That said, Tebow has shown some improvement from his erratic start against Miami. Only 6 of 16 passing through the first half of Sundays game, Tebow was 4 of 5 in the third quarter and didn't attempt a pass in the final quarter.

It's fair to say the Broncos caught the Raiders by surprise with the read-option attack. This weekend's game against the Cheifs and future weeks will show whether the Broncos can sustain an offense based on the read-option.

Personally, I like it. I'm glad the coaching staff is letting Tebow get comfortable in running an offense similar to what he ran at some podunk college that won't be named on this blog. I hope they can sustain it long enough to help Tebow progress and be comfortable running an NFL offense.

Throwing the ball, Tebow did show—I thought—some improvement. Both of his touchdown passes were accurately, well-timed throws. The pass to Eddie Royal was my favorite. Tebow did a good job of moving in the pocket, setting his feet and finding a wide open receiver with a nice pass (compared to some of his frantic wobblers).

I hope passes like these are the trend going forward. Maybe it's starting to click for Tebow, maybe not. Stay tuned to find out. He has to continue to be accurate in order to have a chance to remain the starter beyond this season.