Peyton Manning has a big game in win, with Denver’s new offensive look

The 2013 Denver Broncos were a fun team to watch. If you really enjoy and appreciate the NFL, it was even beautiful at times.

Nobody would call the 2015 Broncos beautiful. But brutally effective? Yes.

The Broncos defense is as good as any in the NFL outside of Seattle (and maybe better than the Seahawks? Hmmmm) and the offense got better on Sunday night. Denver’s defense shut down the Detroit Lions and the offense did enough to give the Broncos a 24-12 win.

Give Broncos coach Gary Kubiak credit — after a week of saying he wouldn’t change his offense, he did.

Peyton Manning was rarely under center on Sunday. For whatever reason — his vision of the defense, how quickly he can get out from under center, the Broncos’ not-so-great offensive line — Manning is more comfortable in the shotgun, or in the pistol formation. Operating out of both against the Lions, Manning went 31-of-42 for 324 yards and two touchdowns.

Manning got plenty of help. Demaryius Thomas jumped over cornerback Darius Slay and pulled in a 45-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 to end the first half. Owen Daniels made a very nice touchdown catch to seal the win late in the game. That was set up by Emmanuel Sanders’ ridiculous catch over Slay. But Manning had a lot to do with delivering the ball in the right spots to allow his receivers to make those plays. Compare that to Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who still has a cannon of an arm but always leave you wondering why he isn’t better, considering the weapons he has. When the Lions trailed 17-12 in the fourth quarter, Stafford threw an interception. It was a really nice catch by safety David Bruton, but were you surprised Stafford didn’t come through?

These Broncos aren’t winning pretty, but they are 3-0. The defense isn’t going anywhere. The front is good against the run, the edge rushers are dominating and the secondary is deep and fantastic. Coordinator Wade Phillips is great at devising a defense.

Has the offense figured it out? For one night, it seems so. Maybe Manning won’t play like he did in 2013 ever again. It doesn’t look like the Broncos need that Manning to win games anymore, though. What he did on Sunday night, out of his familiar spot in the shotgun, is more than enough with this defense.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!