DENVER — An ugly win is still a win. Lucky for the Denver Broncos.
After being outscored 28-17 over the first three quarters, the Broncos (8-3) turned the tide against the Miami Dolphins (6-5) in the fourth quarter, finally edging the Fins 39-36.
The Dolphins’ hard-charging offense gave the Broncos trouble all afternoon. Denver allowed a touchdown on the opening drive for the first time this season, lost cornerback Aqib Talib to a hamstring injury generally looked confused early on.
In fact, one could argue that Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked nearly as good as Peyton Manning himself – right up until that last quarter.
In the now-typical Broncos fashion, Denver came storming back, carried this time by Manning’s arm and running back CJ Anderson’s legs. Anderson logged 167 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and likely sealed the game for the Broncos when he recovered Miami’s onside kick with 1:33 left in the game.
Battling through chilly temperatures and light snow, Denver’s defense looked shaky. At times, the special teams looked worse than that. But once again, the Broncos proved that they can finish tough games as well as any team in the league.
Not a bad trait to have as the playoffs loom.