Lighting up the scoreboard

To say Peyton Manning has had an effect on the winning ways of the Denver Broncos is no doubt an understatement. The veteran quarterback led the Broncos to another victory on Sunday by throwing four TD passes as Denver downed the Philadelphia Eagles, 52-20.

Manning has thrown 16 touchdown passes through the first quarter of the 2013 season which is the most by any quarterback through the first four games of a season in NFL history. The 52 points scored by the Broncos on Sunday was also a franchise record that bested the 50 points put on the scoreboard against the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 6, 1963.

The Week 4 victory also marked the Broncos’ 15th straight regular season win by at least seven points which now ranks as the second longest such streak in NFL history. The Chicago Bears had a 16-game win streak of defeating their opponent by a touchdown or more during a stretch that spanned over the 1941 and 1942 seasons.

The Bears’ streak could have been even longer if it had not been for one narrow loss to the rival Green Bay Packers. Chicago opened the ’41 campaign with five dominating wins starting with a season opening 25-17 victory over the Packers. The Bears followed that game with huge wins over the Cleveland Rams (48-21), Chicago Cardinals (53-7), Detroit Lions (49-0), and Pittsburgh Steelers (34-7) before falling to the Packers 16-14. The Bears then embarked on their record streak. Certainly worth noting since the streak is only for regular season is that the Bears’ 1941 season was capped by a 33-14 playoff win over the Packers and then a 37-9 victory over the New York Giants in the 1941 NFL Championship Game.

The impressive win streak stretched the entire 1942 season as the Bears posted a perfect 11-0 record to become one of the few teams ever to go undefeated through the entire regular season. Chicago lost to Washington 14-6 in the NFL title game that year.

The Broncos current streak began on Monday night of Week 6 last year. After a 2-3 start, Denver clicked off 11 straight wins and continued with dominating victories through the first four weeks of this season.

CHICAGO BEARS (1941-42)
No.	Date	Opponent	Score	Margin of Victory
1941
1	Nov. 9	Cleveland Rams	31-13	18
2	Nov. 16	Washington Redskins	35-21	14
3	Nov. 23	at Detroit Lions	24-7	17
4	Nov. 30	at Philadelphia Eagles	49-14	35
5	Dec. 7	at Chicago Cardinals	34-24	10
1942
6	Sept. 27	at Green Bay Packers	44-28	16
7	Oct. 4	at Cleveland Rams	21-7	14
8	Oct. 11	Chicago Cardinals	41-14	27
9	Oct. 18	New York Giants	26-7	19
10	Oct. 25	Philadelphia Eagles	45-14	31
11	Nov. 1	Detroit Lions	16-0	16
12	Nov. 8	at Brooklyn Dodgers	35-0	35
13	Nov. 15	Green Bay Packers	38-7	31
14	Nov. 22	at Detroit Lions	42-0	42
15	Nov. 29	Cleveland Rams	47-0	47
16	Dec. 6	at Chicago Cardinals	21-7	14
DENVER BRONCOS (2012-13)
No.	Date	Opponent	Score	Margin of Victory
2012
1	Oct. 15	at San Diego Chargers	35-24	11
2	Oct. 28	New Orleans Saints	34-14	20
3	Nov. 4	at Cincinnati Bengals	31-23	8
4	Nov. 11	at Carolina Panthers	36-14	22
5	Nov. 18	San Diego Chargers	30-23	7
6	Nov. 25	at Kansas City Chiefs	17-9	8
7	Dec. 2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	31-23	8
8	Dec. 6	at Oakland Raiders	26-13	13
9	Dec. 16	at Baltimore Ravens	34-17	17
10	Dec. 23	Cleveland Browns	34-12	22
11	Dec. 30	Kansas City Chiefs	38-3	35
2013
12	Sept. 5	Baltimore Ravens	49-27	22
13	Sept. 15	at New York Giants	41-23	18
14	Sept. 23	Oakland Raiders	37-21	16
15	Sept. 29	Philadelphia Eagles	52-20	32