Anderson Knows the Drill

Looking for a few good men in the second half, the Denver Broncos put the ball where it belonged in the first place--in the hands of Mike Anderson, a former Marine.

Anderson rushed for 131 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns, leading the Broncos to their sixth consecutive victory, 31-24 over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Anderson, who had 96 of his yards in 20 carries in the second half, helped the Broncos build a 24-3 third-quarter lead and then hang on after Seattle twice closed within a touchdown.

The Broncos (10-4), who beat Seattle, 38-31, two weeks earlier, have gotten 577 yards rushing from Anderson in the three games, including an NFL rookie-record 251 last week against New Orleans.

“All in a day’s work,” said Anderson, who has rushed for 1,353 yards this season. “The numbers keep piling up for me and a lot of good things are happening, but it starts up front. Those guys were great.”

Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan said his team “didn’t play our best game, but we found a way to win. We’ve got to try to eliminate some of those big plays we’ve allowed on third down. Once playoff time comes, you’re not going to go far unless you eliminate big plays.”

Jon Kitna threw three touchdown passes, all in the second half, for Seattle (5-9).

The Seahawks committed four turnovers, three of which were converted into 17 points.

“Turnovers have been a bugaboo for us all season,” Coach Mike Holmgren said. “We have a tremendous effort, but, boy, we do dumb things. That is indicative of a young team, trying to find its way. I hope all our close losses this year will turn into victories next year and the year after that.”

The Broncos scored 10 points in a 1:35 span in the third quarter to build a 24-3 lead.

Anderson carried eight times for 52 yards on an 85-yard drive to open the second half, capped by his one-yard touchdown run.

Charlie Rogers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Denver had possession at the 27. Jason Elam’s 38-yard field goal gave the Broncos a 21-point lead.

The Seahawks responded with two consecutive touchdown drives that cut the deficit to 24-17 with 9:21 to play.

But Gus Frerotte’s 41-yard pass to Ed McCaffrey set up Anderson’s six-yard scoring run, giving the Broncos a 31-17 lead.