BRONCOS ‘D’ THROTTLES LUCK IN WIN OVER COLTS
DENVER (AP) – Von Miller gave the Denver fans a reminder of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, sweeping in for the sack-strip of Andrew Luck that sealed the Broncos’ 34-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. With the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead with 1:51 remaining, Miller burst past right tackle Joe Reitz and swiped the ball from Luck’s grasp. Fellow linebacker Shane Ray scooped up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. Miller added a sack on the last play as the Broncos (2-0) sent the banged-up Colts limping to their third consecutive 0-2 start. They did it by rattling Luck, who started 5 for 18 before he engineered a couple of second-half touchdown drives. Luck completed just 21 of 40 passes for 197 yards and was sacked five times. Trevor Siemian outshone Luck, just as he did Cam Newton in the opener. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 266 yards. CornerbackAqibTalib returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, giving Denver a 23-13 lead. Talib stepped in front of wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to snag Luck’s pass, which he returned through traffic down Denver’s jubilant sideline. His ninth career pick-6 was his fifth for Denver, a franchise record.
Luck threw a 7-yard TD pass to Frank Gore with 4:02 remaining, pulling the Colts to 23-20. The drive was kept alive by safety Darian Stewart’s roughing penalty for smacking the quarterback in the helmet as he slid for the first down on a third-and-1 scramble at his own 30. Stewart was fined $18,231 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Newton in the opener and can expect another fine this week. D’Qwell Jackson stuffed C.J. Anderson on third-and-1 from the Colts 17 and Brandon McManus’s 35-yard field goal made it 26-20 with 1:51 left. After a touchdown, Luck lined up and took the snap. In a split-second, the ball was on the ground, and Luck watched helplessly as Ray scooped it up and scored. THIN AIR: One week after Panthers punter Andy Lee had a 76-yard kick in Denver’s mile-high air, Pat McAfee had a 72-yarder for the Colts that was nearly blocked but ended up bouncing into the north end zone for a touchback. HONORING GREATS: The Broncos unveiled signs in the south end zone before the game honoring the players with retired numbers: Hall of Famers John Elway (7) and Floyd Little (44) and the No. 18 for Frank Tripucka, the first QB in franchise history. Tripucka’s sign included a mention of Peyton Manning . Tripucka, who played from 1960-63, gave his blessing for Manning to wear the number when he was with the Broncos from 2012-15.
INJURY UPDATE:
Colts: CB Antonio Cromartie (shoulder) got hurt when he smacked into Emmanuel Sanders on the game’s second snap, but returned in the second quarter. WR Donte Moncrief left in the second quarter with a head and neck injury. CB Rashaan Melvin left in the third quarter with cramps. RG Denzelle Good left in the fourth quarter with a back injury. Indianapolis began the day without three starters from their secondary in cornerback Vontae Davis (ankle) and Patrick Robinson (concussion) and safety T.J. Green (knee).
Broncos: RT Donald Stephenson went out in the first quarter with a calf injury and was replaced by Darrion Weems. OLB DeMarcus Ware injured his right elbow in the third quarter and didn’t return. He shared a sack with Derek Wolfe.
WEEK 2 NFL SCORES
Final Baltimore 25 Cleveland 20
Final Pittsburgh 24 Cincinnati 16
Final Dallas 27 Washington 23
Final Houston 19 Kansas City 12
Final Carolina 46 San Francisco 27
Final N-Y Giants 16 New Orleans 13
Final Tennessee 16 Detroit 15
Final New England 31 Miami 24
Final Arizona 40 Tampa Bay 7
Final Los Angeles 9 Seattle 3
Final Atlanta 35 Oakland 28
Final San Diego 38 Jacksonville 14
Final Minnesota 17 Green Bay 14
MLB BASEBALL SCORES
ROCKIES SWEEP PADRES
Denver— (AP) – Mark Reynolds homered in the fourth inning, Chad Bettis pitched into the sixth and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Sunday. Tony Wolters had three hits for the Rockies, who swept the heavy-hearted Padres. San Diego played a day after Yangervis Solarte lost his wife, Yuliett, following a battle with cancer. The third baseman was with his family Sunday and was on the minds of everyone in the organization. Adam Rosales paid tribute to his teammate with a jump and a clap at home plate after his homer in the second inning, mimicking Solarte’s home run celebration.
Before the game, the Rockies held a moment of silence for Yuliett. Bettis (13-7) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
INTERLEAGUE
Final N-Y Mets 3 Minnesota 2
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 9 Cleveland 5
Final Baltimore 2 Tampa Bay 1
Final Kansas City 10 Chi White Sox 3
Final Oakland 5 Texas 2
Final L.A. Angels 4 Toronto 0
Final Seattle 7 Houston 3
Final Boston 5 N-Y Yankees 4
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 7 Pittsburgh 4
Final Miami 5 Philadelphia 4
Final Atlanta 6 Washington 2, 7 Innings
Final Milwaukee 3 Chi Cubs 1
Final St. Louis 3 San Francisco 0
Final Arizona 10 L.A. Dodgers 9, 12 Innings
Elsewhere in sports…
VIENNA (AP) – Austrian-based ski manufacturer Head says it has been sued by six-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller, who wants to resume World Cup racing with a different equipment supplier. Head maintains that when Miller ended their nearly 10-year-long partnership in 2015, he signed an agreement not to wear a different ski brand for the following two years. Miller, who sat out last season, plans to return to the World Cup on skis from New York-based brand Bomber, which he helped develop. Head CEO Johan Eliasch says he’s “truly very disappointed” that Miller “intends to breach our agreement to that effect … Head would welcome Bode’s return to World Cup racing, but it has to be on Head equipment.”
BALTIMORE (AP) – Boston goes with 20-game winner Rick Porcello to open a key four-game series in Baltimore tonight. The Red Sox tops the AL East by three games over the second place Orioles, who hold the top wildcard spot in the American League.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A battle of top-notch left-handers adds additional intrigue to an already important series opener between the Giants and Dodgers in Los Angeles tonight. Fourteen-game winner Madison Bumgarner goes for San Francisco after struggling through his last night starts with a 4-3 record with a 4.44 ERA. The Dodgers go with 11-3 Clayton Kershaw in his third start since coming off the disabled list. Los Angeles holds a five-game lead over the Giants in the NL West.
NEW YORK (AP) – The Mets hold the top spot in the NL wildcard race heading into the start of their home series against Atlanta tonight. New York goes with Noah Syndergaard who is 13-8 overall, and has posted a 1.36 ERA in his last six starts.
CHICAGO (AP) – Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz looks to go to 2-0 in his brief NFL career when he leads Philadelphia into Chicago for the Monday Night Football game. The Bears will be looking for some early-season traction after an opening loss to Houston.
TORONTO (AP) – Team North American is back at it in the World Cup of Hockey, taking on winless Russia tonight after a 4-1 win over Finland last night. The team of stars from the United States and Canada were dominant in their opener, outshooting Finland 43-25.
