Defining statistic

Just like it did against the Raiders in Week 1, the Broncos' offense made several big plays Sunday to push the ball down the field. Repeatedly, though, the unit failed to stay on the field. The Broncos converted just three third downs on the afternoon, and Joe Flacco and Co. weren't helped by the long distances they faced. Denver's best third-down conversion — a 19-yard catch and run by Phillip Lindsay — earned the Broncos zero points, as they weren't able to push the ball past the Chicago 47-yard line. Though the Broncos trailed by only a single possession for most of the game, they weren't able to get the third-down conversions they needed to close the gap.