National Football League

Feely, Cardinals roll over bumbling Broncos

Published Dec. 13, 2010 4:21 a.m. ET

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The Arizona Cardinals' seven-game losing streak is over, thanks to a visit from a team that appears to be in even worse shape.

The Cardinals used a fake field goal to score their first touchdown in three games, then blew away Denver 43-13 in the Broncos' first game since firing coach Josh McDaniels.

Jay Feely's 5-yard scamper for a second-quarter touchdown was the fourth scoring run by a kicker in 40 years and first since 2001. He also matched career bests with five field goals, including a 55-yarder, and even had a tackle.

''That dude, he seemed like he was doing it all,'' Arizona running back Tim Hightower said. ''He was on fire.''

Rookie quarterback John Skelton had a poised, if statistically unspectacular, performance in his first NFL start and Hightower ran for a career-best 148 yards, including touchdown runs of 8 and 35 yards in the fourth quarter after he fumbled the ball away.

Skelton completed 14 of 36 for 141 yards with no interceptions and had at least four passes dropped.

''I played decent,'' he said. ''It's something to build on.''

The Broncos (3-10) committed six turnovers, three of them interceptions by Kyle Orton, in their eighth loss in nine games, an uninspired debut under interim coach Eric Studesville, promoted from running backs coach when McDaniels was fired last Monday. The Denver offense seemed lost without McDaniels, who called the plays.

''There is no excuse the way we played,'' Orton said. ''There is no excuse the way I played.''

Studesville promised to ''evaluate everything from top to bottom.''

Does that include possibly a change at quarterback, where Tim Tebow is waiting in the wings but didn't play on Sunday despite all of Orton's problems?

''I'm not going to make that decision right now,'' Studesville said. ''I want to look at this and talk with the coaches and make sure what we're doing is best for us as a football team and where we're going.''

Feely's 5-yard first-half scoring run on a fake field goal ended a nine-quarter touchdown drought for Arizona (4-9).

He kicked field goals of 36, 48, 55, 23 and 49 yards. Feely was wide left on a 49-yarder, just his second miss in 22 attempts this season.

The 55-yarder, with 2 seconds left in the first half, matched the longest of his 10-year NFL career.

''More than anything that I did, I am truly just happy that we got a win,'' Feely said, ''because those seven weeks have just been a grind.''

According to the Cardinals, the last kicker to run for a score was Tim Seder of Dallas against Oakland on Oct. 7, 2001.

Feely's touchdown came after Orton threw right into the arms of safety Kerry Rhodes, with no Denver receiver in the vicinity. Rhodes, who also recovered a Denver fumble, returned the pick 33 yards to the Broncos 24.

Arizona made it to the 5-yard line but appeared to settle for yet another field goal.

Holder Ben Graham flipped the ball to Feely, and the kicker outran the defenders to the right corner of the end zone for the Cardinals' first TD in nine quarters.

''Jay had us all fooled,'' Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald said. ''He was talking about how he had a groin injury then he's outrunning guys like that.''

Arizona scored 24 points in the fourth quarter.

''We got beat by a team that showed more energy and more will,'' Broncos linebacker Mario Haggan said. ''We gave some effort for a little while, but at the end, it got out of hand.''

Denver scored on its opening possession when replacement kicker Steve Hauschka's 32-yard field goal try careened off the right upright and was good. Hauschka, signed Saturday after Matt Prater was hurt in practice on Thursday, also had a 30-yard field goal with 11:20 to play and missed a 40-yarder.

Arizona rookie Daryl Washington intercepted Orton late in the game and ran 39 yards, foolishly holding the ball high in one hand as he approached the goal line. Denver's Lance Ball stripped it from behind and Arizona's Darnell Dockett recovered in the end zone for the final score. Coach Ken Whisenhunt gave Washington a tongue-lashing on the sideline.

Broncos rookie cornerback Perrish Cox, arrested on Thursday for investigation into an alleged sexual assault, did not start but entered the game in the first quarter. Cox could face punishment by the NFL. He is free on $50,000 bail.

Derek Anderson was out with a concussion and backup Max Hall a season-ending shoulder injury, leaving the job to Skelton, a 6-foot-6 fifth-round draft pick out of Fordham.

''I'm very pleased with how he handled himself today,'' Whisenhunt said. ''That goes a long way. I think the guys in the huddle feel the same way.''

Whisenhunt wouldn't commit to Skelton as the starter for next Sunday's game at Carolina.

''There's no reason for me to sit here and make any kind of decision like that right now,'' the coach said. ''We're still going to look at the tape and evaluate it going forward.''

Fitzgerald caught six passes for 72 yards to break the franchise career reception record he shared with Anquan Boldin. Fitzgerald has 592 catches in seven seasons.

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