EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- In the battle of the Manning brothers, the older sibling is now 3-0.
Peyton Manning and the Broncos used another second-half explosion to defeat Eli Manning and the New York Giants 41-23 Sunday at MetLife Stadium in what Peyton said "could be the last time" the siblings square off in the NFL.
"I think both of us are glad that it is over with," Peyton Manning said of facing his brother. "It is a strange situation. Strange circumstances. (But) good win, good team win."
In a five-minute-12-second period spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Broncos outscored the Giants 21-0 to pull away in what was a back-and-forth affair.
First, running back Knowshon Moreno sprinted 25 yards down the sideline for his second score of the evening. Then a Chris Harris interception gave the offense the ball back, and five plays later Peyton Manning found Julius Thomas for a touchdown. Finally, Trindon Holliday returned a Giants punt 81 yards for a score and suddenly the Broncos had turned a one-point lead into a 38-16 advantage.
"I think it's just everybody coming together and playing the way we need to play in the second half," wide receiver Wes Welker said. "We know we've got to do a better job in the first half and some of those things, but to be able to come away with wins like that and play well in the second half is big. Hopefully we can keep on doing it."
All week the team discused starting fast -- and it appeared Denver was going to do just that.
Four minutes into the game, the Broncos offense was set up with a first-and-goal. But a Montee Ball fumble on the next play gave the ball to the Giants and took potential points off the board.
However, the defense overcame a 51-yard bomb from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz on the first play of the ensuing drive, holding the Giants to a 36-yard field goal.
"The defense did a good job keeping us in it, holding them to some field goals when we weren't quite on our game offensively," Peyton Manning said. "That was a good team effort, which I think you have to have against good teams."
It took Denver until the second quarter to get on the board, but a 20-yard touchdown run by Knowshon Moreno gave the Broncos their first lead.
At that point, Denver had gained nine first downs while New York had run just 12 plays.
The Giants caught up in the play count by the end of the contest, but managed just one third-down conversion in the game. That was helped by the Denver defense holding New York to just 23 yards on the ground.
"We know we're not going to stop anybody unless we can stop the run," Harris said. "We want to make teams one-dimensional and make them throw. When we've got guys making tackles for loss and stuff like that, it's going to be a long night for any offense we face."
To that point, Eli Manning threw 49 times in the game, tossing four interceptions to just one touchdown.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning finished 30-of-43 for 307 yards and two touchdowns, good for a quarterback rating of 105.5. Eric Decker was his leading receiver with 87 yards on 9 catches.
Moreno led the way on the ground, turning 13 carries into 93 yards and two touchdowns.
"It was awesome. He ran hard," Welker said of Moreno. "He brought a lot of energy to the team and made a lot of big plays for us. That's what we need. That's what we like to see."
The victory tied a team record as it was the club's seventh consecutive regular-season road win dating back to the 2012 campaign. It was also just the second time in franchise history the Broncos ahve scored 40 points in back-to-back games.
And it came in a hostile environment against a team Harris called "desperate" to avoid an 0-2 hole.
"A lot of the prognosticators say you're supposed to do this, you're supposed to do that," Head Coach John Fox said. "The reality is, there's a lot of great parity in this league. It's tough to win. It's tough to win anywhere, particularly on the road. Were happy to get the 'W.'"
