Wide receiver Wes Welker's debut with the Denver Broncos was a memorable one as he scored two touchdowns en route to helping the team gain a small measure of revenge in a 49-27 blowout victory over the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens Thursday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, but it wasn't without controversy.
The Ravens, who knocked out Denver in a 38-35 overtime heartbreaker in the divisional round of last year's playoffs before going all the way to winning a Super Bowl, were victimized by a bad call that possibly changed the complexion of the game, yet head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't challenge the play.
In the third quarter of the game, Peyton Manning dropped back on a third-and-nine play from the Denver 20, and hit Welker for an 11-yard pass, but Welker initially dropped the ball before securing it. Harbaugh didn't notice the drop and neither did the referees. Harbaugh said after the game that he didn't see the replay, giving him no knowledge of the play to attempt a challenge.
"That's something that we've got to see," Harbaugh told CBS Sports following the loss. "It would have been nice if NBC would show that. Then we would have had a chance to look at it. We never saw that."
A video of Ravens/Broncos game highlights can be viewed here.
The play ended up being crucial, as at the time Baltimore was clinging to a 17-14 lead over Denver. Manning eventually went on and threw a record seven touchdown passes, two of which were concocted with Welker. Three plays after the controversial non-challenge, Manning connected with Andre Caldwell for a 28-yard touchdown.
It was a definite turning point in the game, but Welker's debut with the team was a very successful one.
Ahead of his debut last night, Old Spice revealed an ad involving the wide receiver, a snowglobe and dancing which has a song and lyrics that say, "You're surrounded by freshness and you're in a position to win..."
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