Eddie Royal News

It's probably just as well that Philip Rivers throws passes instead of, say, forecasting the weather.

A year ago, the only consistency in Jonathan Plisco's punting was the lack of it.

Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton was on the sideline to begin the second half against the Washington Redskins, with backup Chris Simms playing in his place.

By Scott Garbarini, Associate NFL Editor -- - The Denver Broncos begin the second half of their 2009 season eager to avoid a repeat of what had occurred the previous year.

Last fall I spent a couple days in Denver to do a story on the Broncos' "Virginia" connection, i.e. the half-dozen players on that roster who were from the Norfolk area or who played college football in Virginia.

Now, you can panic Broncos fans. A 2-6 Washington Redskins team, reeling from a four-game losing streak and a coach who had been usurped of his play-calling duties by owner Daniel Snyder, rallied to beat the Denver Broncos 27-17 Sunday.

Okay, Broncos fans, reality check time is upon us. Sure, Denver started out 6-0, and literally everything went the Broncos way in those games.

Now's a good time as any to give out grades through eight games . Here's a position-by-position grade and my take on each position: OFFENSE Quarterback: B. After two consecutive losses, the safe way is to pile on Kyle Orton.

ENGLEWOOD Denver Broncos receiver Eddie Royal used to be a Redskins fan. He was a senior in high school when his team made a blockbuster trade: cornerback Champ Bailey to the Broncos, running back Clinton Portis to the Redskins.

Quarterback Kyle Orton has been extremely careful with the football this season.

The good news is the Denver Broncos are done with the AFC North. Eight days after being shut down by a Baltimore Ravens defense, the Broncos offense sputtered again.

Rarely has playing it safe paid off so well for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tyrone Carter started in place of safety Ryan Clark as a precaution last night and made the big play that sparked the Steelers to their fifth straight win, taking the first of his two interceptions 48 yards for a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 28-10 triumph over the Denver Broncos.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson DENVER -- The Broncos used the Wildcat offense during their first series.

Coming off their first loss of the season, a game in which they scored seven points, the Broncos are now the lowest-scoring team in the NFL with a winning record.

Eddie Royal, trying to break away from the Baltimore defense, including linebacker Ray Lewis , says the Denver offense has no excuses for gaining just 200 total yards Sunday in a 30-7 loss to the Ravens.

"Monday Night Football" analyst Ron Jaworski says the Denver Broncos will have their hands full against the best defense in the league, that of the Pittsburgh Steelers : In this week's matchup, we will see two outstanding defenses.

Putting loss #1 on Denver's ledger obviously inspired some pride within Harbaugh and he has been especially thankful to the fans for their role in what may be a season turnig victory.

It's hard to believe the Broncos team that took the field for Sunday's 30-7 loss at Baltimore was the same one that had dispatched Dallas, New England and San Diego in the previous three games to build a 6-0 record.

For the second time since the season has started, the Denver Broncos made changes to their roster.A This time, they subtracted and added two players to their practice squad.

The Ravens are set to take on the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium . BR.com offers a look at Baltimore's next opponent.