DENVER — The Broncos are exploiting space on the outside, beyond the hash marks, to mount the first real drive of the game and reverse field position. Quarterback Kyle Orton has hit two key sideline routes, and the running game is finding creases outside the tackles. Orton’s mobility on that bad ankle has been surprising — it’s not his forte even when fully healthy — with him twirling and turning his back to the defense before completing one pass in the red zone.

Sadly for Broncos fans, however, it’s not surprising that surge resulted in just three points.

The Broncos have encountered problems in goal-to-go situations when the run game bogs down. Denver entered the game scoring a touchdown on just 50 percent of its goal-to-go situations (the league average is 68 percent), which ranks 29th in the NFL. That, poor field position (Denver entered Week 12 ranked 30th in the league in average starting field position) and the lack of a big-play element in the offense have led to the four-game slide (to say nothing of the faltering defense). Denver has scored just three offensive touchdowns this month.

We’ve got a good atmosphere here for sure. Should be a fun night. The crowd is very fired up. Invesco Field is literally rumbling and shaking at times. Hope we get a little more scoring than we’ve had thus far on Thursday nights, but we can only hope to have as compelling of a finish as we’ve become accustomed to.

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