Broncos ditch first quarter woes, third still a work in progress

The Denver Broncos came out Sunday, in a noisy Superdome environment, and not only stopped a New Orleans Saints offense ranked third in the NFL but also posted only its second first-quarter touchdown in 2016.

Only twice before Sunday had Denver stopped a team on its first drive of the game defensively — a quick pick against Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 and a three-and-out from Brock Osweiler’s Houston Texans in Week 7.

And no offense had been held scoreless by Denver’s highly-ranked defense all season.

Also, the Broncos offense had only produced one first-drive touchdown all season, again against the Bucs after being given a short field of the Aqib Talib interception.

Denver also out-possessed New Orleans nearly 2-to-1 in the first quarter (9:43), along with the game (39:22). And the strong start game them a 10-0 lead through much of the first half.

However, the Saints came roaring back to score 17-underanswered points to take the lead with a half-ending field goal and two touchdown strikes from Drew Brees in the third quarter.

Coming out of halftime has been a struggle at times for Denver, who have given up 46 points to creating just 20 — 2 rushing touchdowns and 2 field goals — before Sunday.

But the Broncos would make a comeback in the fourth quarter — the team’s best period statistically in 2016 — scoring a touchdown, two field goals and a blocked extra point to win the game.

After the game, Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian called it “huge” for Denver to come back the way they did.

“Our team really knows how to bounce back, and that’s something that’s been a staple of this team ever since I’ve been here the last two years. We have a great knack for overcoming negative plays,” Siemian said. “It wasn’t perfect — I mean we screwed up a few times no doubt; I’ve had my fair share of those — but the group really responded well and turned the negatives into points.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.