Broncos 41, Giants 23
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Manning Bowl III ended with another big win for older brother Peyton, whose Denver Broncos took advantage of numerous miscues by Eli Manning's New York Giants in a 41-23 victory.
Denver's offense overcame a fumble by running back Montee Ball to turn a 10-9 halftime lead into a second convincing victory, backing up their Week 1 49-27 home win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Giants, who had five turnovers in a loss at Dallas last week, continued to struggling running the ball, converting on third down, and failing to convert in the red zone. Their first-half scoring consisted of three field goals by kicker Josh Brown.
Peyton Manning passed for 307 yards with two touchdowns and running back Knowshon Moreno added a pair of rushing scores for the Broncos, who intercepted Eli Manning four times.
The Giants had their opportunities.
After Denver took the lead early in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run by Moreno, Eli Manning connected with tight end Brandon Myers, who had a wide open field in front of him. Myers lost his footing and fell to the ground, ending up with a 27-yard reception on a drive that ended up stalling at the Broncos' 6.
After the Broncos took the 10-9 lead at the half on Matt Prater's 42-yard field goal Eli Manning drove the team downfield but a pass intended for wide receiver Hakeem Nicks was picked off by cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the end zone.
The Giants and Broncos exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter -- Denver had a 2-yard strike to receiver Wes Welker while New York managed a 1-yard run by running back Brandon Jacobs to make it 17-6.
Denver began to pull away with 21 unanswered points, beginning with a 25-yard touchdown run by Moreno, his second of the game and his first multiple rushing touchdown performance since 2010.
That score was followed by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Julius Thomas and then an 81-yard touchdown return by Broncos' punt returner Trindon Holliday to give Denver a 38-16 lead.
The Giants came up with a late score when Eli Manning found running back Da'Rel Scott open over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown reception to cap a four-play, 71-yard scoring drive that made it 38-23.
Denver added the finishing touches on its big win on Prater's second field goal of the day, a 47-yarder.
The Broncos' win gave Peyton's teams a 3-0 advantage over Eli's teams in the Manning Bowl, but more importantly, it improved Denver's record to 2-0 while the Giants dropped to 0-2 for the first time since the 2007 season.
The Giants are on the road next week to face the Carolina Panthers while Denver will host the Oakland Raiders at home on Monday night.
Notes: The win was Denver's seventh consecutive regular-season road game victory. It was also the Broncos' 13th consecutive regular-season win, which is the longest active streak in NFL, and the second longest such streak in team history. Denver is just one game away from tying their longest regular-season win streak, which was established in 1997-1998. ... The Giants fell to 2-2 in MetLife home openers and are now 49-35-5 overall in home openers. ... Peyton Manning became the third quarterback in NFL history to top 60,000 passing yards, joining former Miami quarterback Dan Marino and former green Bay quarterback Brett Favre in that category. Manning joined that elite group on his team's ninth play from scrimmage on its opening possession, becoming the fastest of the three to accomplish that feat by doing so in 7,841 attempts.
