Through the majority of the NFL’s first four games of the season, Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton has been the league’s leading passer with 1,419 yards, 54 more than second-place quarterback Peyton Manning (via NFL.com). Orton’s 35-for-50 performance for 341 yards and two touchdowns yesterday gives the Broncos a 2-2 season record after a 26-20 win over the Tennessee Titans (recap via The Associated Press).

Orton’s big year so far has earned him national attention (Sports Illustrated wonders if he’s better than Jay Cutler), but his success is a double-edged sword for the team: He might not have big numbers if the Broncos weren’t such a dreadful running team.

Denver managed a putrid 19 yards rushing yesterday, and Orton lead the way with 11 yards. But running back Laurence Maroney promises The Denver Post, “We’ll get better. We have no choice. There’s nowhere to go but up.”

Meanwhile, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil is under fire, after becoming so frustrated with officials calling his team for penalties during yesterday’s game that he decided to flash them a middle finger in plain view of the CBS cameras (video below). The gesture could cost Cecil and the Titans a lot of money, notes Pro Football Talk, with the last NFL fine for the middle finger costing New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan $50,000—and that was for a finger that went up during a non-NFL-event.

Pro Football Talk also takes a swing at Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, calling him a terrible evaluator of talent who has managed to coach his way through his own drafting mistakes.