A bad first quarter segued into a slightly better second quarter for the Denver Broncos, but they are still losing to the Atlanta Falcons 20-7 at halftime. They may be lucky to be down by only two scores as well, losing the first-half turnover battle after three Peyton Manning interceptions and a fumble by Willis McGahee.
Falcons running back Michael Turner had the first touchdown of the half, knocking it in from 1 yard out after the first interception thrown by Manning. Past that point, the Broncos defense was able to salvage most of the big mistakes the offense had made, keeping the Falcons down to only two field goals until late in the second quarter.
The Falcons added another 7 points with 4:49 remaining in the second quarter as Matt Ryan led a 73-yard drive, ending in a 1-yard throw to Tony Gonzalez. Denver responded with a drive of their own and finally scored their first touchdown of the game on a 17-yard catch by Demaryius Thomas in the end zone that was originally called incomplete.
Peyton Manning's lackluster play was the main story of the first half. Denver's quarterback has gone 13 of 19 for 120 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown. Those numbers were inflated by the late, long drive that netted the Broncos their touchdown.
This .gif sums up the first half of the game until the touchdown fairly well for the Broncos and their fans:
Going into the second half, the Falcons will get the ball as they try to push up to a three-score lead once again.
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