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The early May Bank holiday weekend has the Broncos play host to familiar foes, in the shape of Leigh Centurions, and despite a fantastic effort in sweltering conditions the home side fall to a third defeat by Kieron Purtill's Leigh Centurions team inside five weeks. An absorbing encounter in front of a season's best crowd to date of 1, 340 has the spectators on the edge of their seats, tries from Rhys Williams, Alex Walker, Matty Gee, James Meadows and Sadiq Adebiyi not quite enough to prevent a reverse and a slide to fourth place in the Betfred Championship table. In a precursor to the upcoming 5th round Ladbrokes Challenge Cup tie later in the month the Broncos complete their Easter programme at Leigh Centurions. A hard-fought encounter on Bank Holiday Monday in front of 3, 328 sees Danny Ward's men just come up short, tries from Elliot Kear, James Cunningham and Matty Gee not enough to prevent a second defeat inside four days as the improving hosts record a fourth straight championship victory. The Broncos record a fifth straight championship victory the following weekend however, defeating Batley Bulldogs 68–12 in a twelve try blitz at Trailfinders Sports Ground in front of a crowd of 1,200.
That would create a good battle at any time of the year, but when you place it in Week 17, it increases the possibility that the Broncos may have to win this one to get back to the postseason. Will this be Philip Rivers' final game in Denver or will his career continue into the 2019 season? If he's playing anywhere nearing his best, the Chargers will likely be fighting for — or have locked up — a playoff spot. Gideon Boafo signed his first full time professional contract with club after excelling with the London Broncos Academy.
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The London Broncos returned to the Betfred sponsored Super League after an absence of four years, with a stunning 4–2 victory against the Toronto Wolfpack in the Million Pound Game. In an enthralling try-less game, the Broncos emerged victorious thanks to a superb collective defensive display by Danny Ward’s men and the boot of Jarrod Sammut. Alex Walker bags a try double, to reach 20 for the season, whilst there are further tries from James Cunningham, Kieran Dixon and Ben Hellewell, the latter two stirring length of the field interception efforts. The Broncos kick-off the Super League Qualifiers with a fixture at Widnes Vikings in front of the Thursday evening Sky Sports cameras.
Manning retired from the NFL as the game’s all-time leader in yards passing and touchdowns following the 2015 season. This will mark the ninth season since the NFL mandated that regular-season schedules end with division games. Playing the Chargers at home ensures that the Broncos will have closed the season with each of their division opponents three times since the league changed its Week 17 protocol.
Betfred Championship
Pre-season preparations conclude with two away fixtures, a close victory at Betfred Championship 1 side, Doncaster 22–16 in freezing snowy conditions, followed by a narrow 18–24 loss at Betfred Super League outfit, Hull Kingston Rovers. This was the first of two games in which the Broncos wore their alternate navy blue jerseys – the other was Week 15 vs. the Cleveland Browns. This was also the 35th and final season under the ownership of Pat Bowlen, who died on June 13, 2019.
The Broncos grabbed a 14–7 lead on their next possession, with a 35-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on an end-around. The Ravens pulled to within a 14–10 deficit late in the first quarter, with a 52-yard field goal by placekicker Justin Tucker, and took the lead for good midway through the second quarter, with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco to running back Javorius Allen. The play was initially ruled down at the 1-yard line, but changed by instant replay. After the Broncos went three-and-out, the Ravens were attempting to add to their lead, but Tucker's 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Justin Simmons and recovered by Chris Harris, Jr., who scampered down the sideline for a touchdown. However, Harris' touchdown was nullified by an illegal block penalty on the return by Billy Turner, pushing back the first play of scrimmage of the Broncos' next drive back to near midfield. This pushed the Broncos out of field goal range, and another field 52-yard field goal by Tucker gave the Ravens a 20–14 lead at halftime.
RB Latavius Murray nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week after 130-yard rushing performance vs. Cardinals
However, Badgley missed wide left on the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 19–7. The Broncos went three and out on their first offensive possession of the second half, and the Chargers were attempting to pull away from the Broncos on their next possession. However, as the Chargers reached the Broncos' 35-yard line, Rivers was intercepted by linebacker Von Miller on a screen pass attempt, and Miller returned the interception to the Chargers' 18-yard line. The Broncos capitalized three plays later, with running back Royce Freeman rushing for a three-yard touchdown. After poor offensive statistics that resulted in a 5–11 record during the previous season, the Broncos hoped for improvement at the quarterback position, with the offseason signing of Case Keenum as well as the breakthrough of undrafted rookie running back Phillip Lindsay. Another rookie that made an impact was linebacker Bradley Chubb, who recorded 12 sacks following a slow start.
At the two-minute warning, Janikowski missed wide left on a 51-yard field goal, however, he got a second chance as the result of an offsides penalty on Broncos' cornerback Tramaine Brock. Three plays later, the Broncos' reached the Seahawks' 26-yard line, and were hoping to increase their lead heading into halftime, however, Keenum was intercepted by safety Bradley McDougald. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Broncos responded, with Keenum throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman. However, the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, which would have pulled the Broncos to within a one-score deficit. The Broncos' defense forced a turnover on the Chiefs' next possession, with safety Justin Simmons intercepting a pass from Mahomes at the Broncos' 39-yard line.
Former Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman dies of cancer at 31, family says
In their first road game of the season, the Broncos were plagued by several penalties, in a 27–14 loss at the Baltimore Ravens. After Ravens' punter Sam Koch has his punt blocked by Joseph Jones on the opening possession of the game, the Broncos grabbed the early lead on the next play, with a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Royce Freeman. The Ravens countered, with running back Alex Collins rushing for a 6-yard touchdown. The drive started at the Broncos' 48-yard line, after Broncos' cornerback Isaac Yiadom was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty while on the sidelines.
That isn't all that is unusual about this game; consider that the last three contests have each seen the losing team score exactly 17 points -- with two of the games decided by the same score. This has often been a prime-time game -- but it won't be this year unless it is moved via the NFL's flexible-scheduling policy. The last three Broncos-Steelers regular-season games in Denver were all played on Monday or Sunday night. Denver hopes to continue its recent form in games before the bye when Deshaun Watson makes his first visit to Denver.
News Broncos to play five prime-time games in 2022 season Denver will play five games on prime-time television this season, including four in the first six weeks. These games match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place, and fourth-place teams in a conference are matched in the same way each year.
And Vance Joseph will face a stiff test against the 2017 Coach of the Year, Sean McVay. Denver hopes to snap a two-game post-bye losing streak when the team ventures to StubHub Center. The Broncos are 21-8 all-time after byes, including a 6-3 mark in post-bye road games.
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