At the bye, let's visit the best of what the Broncos have tried to do so far this season ...
ULTIMATE RUN
Other runs were longer than C.J. Anderson's 7-yard touchdown against the Texans, but few were better examples of across-the-board execution, from Matt Paradis driving Houston's Brandon Dunn to the ground, to Max Garcia containing Jadeveon Clowney to two blockers sealing the right flank and preventing any contact in the backfield, to Anderson making the right decision to aim for a narrow crease rather than the wider hole just outside.
The play worked beautifully, and put the Broncos in front to stay.
This was a signature play of the Broncos' best running night, as they diced up the Texans for 190 yards in a 27-9 win that was the clearest summation this season of the type of game the Broncos want to play from start to finish.
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ULTIMATE PASS**
When the Broncos hit the second quarter of their Week 3 game at Cincinnati, questions abounded about the offense's ability to go deep. Trevor Siemian had just one completion of longer than 25 yards in the first two weeks, and that came mostly off Demaryius Thomas' run after the catch against the Colts.
By the end of the 29-17 win over Cincinnati, Siemian and the offense had shown they had the driver in their bag, with two deep touchdowns. The first of these showed Siemian's progress from his first two starts; he patiently goes through his progressions, looks to the right to force hesitation from the single deep safety, and then waits for Emmanuel Sanders to get a step outside of Adam Jones. When Sanders has the outside advantage, Siemian lofts a perfect strike.
With Siemian noting the need to get Sanders and Demaryius Thomas the ball more often -- particularly in 50-50 shots in man-to-man coverage -- this type of play could appear more often in the coming weeks.
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ULTIMATE SACK**
In terms of impact on the game outcome, execution and simple explosion, it doesn't get much better than Von Miller whipping around the edge and jarring the football loose from Andrew Luck late in the Broncos' Week 2 win over Indianapolis, allowing Shane Ray to recover and return it for the game-clinching touchdown.
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ULTIMATE INTERCEPTION**
It's a dead heat between the pick-sixes of Aqib Talib in Week 2 and Bradley Roby six weeks later off Philip Rivers, both of which came at similar points on the field and ended in the north end zone of Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Talib's interception is a classic example of baiting the quarterback. He lines up 11 yards off the line of scrimmage against Phillip Dorsett, daring Andrew Luck to throw short. Talib reads Luck all the way, closes as the ball arrives and dodges three tacklers on his way to the end zone.
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ULTIMATE SPECIAL TEAMS**
Barring something spectacular beyond description, it is likely that Justin Simmons' block and Will Parks' 84-yard return of a Wil Lutz extra point will endure as the play from this season that is shown for decades to come, ensuring that the two rookie safeties have already carved out a place in team history.
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ULTIMATE PUNT**
What better time for Riley Dixon's best punt than with the Broncos clinging to an eight-point lead and needing a deep punt to prevent a late San Diego comeback? Dixon's 68-yard blast against the Chargers prevented them from starting in Denver territory and led to a quick stop that allowed Denver to escape with a 6-2 record at the halfway point and a split of the season series with San Diego.
Like any rookie, Dixon needs to become more consistent, but with the league's eighth-best net punting average (41.7 yards) and recent improvement at placing the ball inside the 20-yard line, he could be at the dawn of a long run with the Broncos.
ULTIMATE KICK
Brandon McManus hasn't had the opportunity for a heart-stopping late-game swing of his right foot so far this season, but the story for him is his improved accuracy; he's hit 87.5 percent of his attempts, 1.8 percent better than in last year's regular season. Although his touchback percentage is down, he's doing a better job helping prevent returns when he kicks into "manageable space" (outside the numbers and inside the 5-yard line), helping the Broncos trim 2.6 yards off their average yardage allowed per kickoff return from last year.
