Read More: Brian Dawkins (S – DEN), Andre Goodman (CB – DEN), Quinn Johnson (FB – DEN), Kyle McCarthy (S – DEN), Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers

With both Brian Dawkins and Andre Goodman getting nicked up in the Denver Broncos victory over the Chicago Bears last week, the Broncos elected to add some more depth to the secondary, as Kyle McCarthy was signed from the practice squad. According to the Denver Broncos Twitter page, Quinn Johnson was released to make room for McCarthy:

@Denver_Broncos: The have signed S Kyle McCarthy to the active roster from the practice squad and waived FB Quinn Johnson.

McCarthy, who played his college football at Notre Dame, appeared in eight games last season for the Broncos, recording four tackles. McCarthy has made two appearances this season for Denver, with the most recent coming against the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson is in his fourth season in the NFL, with this being his first with the Broncos. He has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans.

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FOXBORO — 

We all know, or at least are getting familiar with, Tim Tebow magic, mania, magnetism — whatever you want to call it — and all of these fascinating fourth-quarter comebacks that he has fueled in recent weeks.

But Denver’s defense has been as big a reason for the Broncos’ current six-game winning streak as anyone or anything.

Sure, the unit ranks in the middle-to-bottom of the league in the four main defensive categories (total, pass and rush defense and points allowed), but it has shown great improvement over the second half of the season.

The Broncos allowed an average of almost 29 points in their first seven games. They’re giving up only 17 over the last six. They’ve gotten stingier in the total and pass defense categories as well.

“It’s a fast defense overall,” Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said. “We’re going to have to do a good job, especially early in the game of getting used to the speed of the game. It’s a real challenge, especially on the road with the crowd noise and all those different things that will go into the game plan.”

Of course, the Patriots have scored at least 31 points in each of their last five games — all wins — and continue to be one of the top offensive teams in the league.

“When you’ve got No. 12 (Tom Brady) operating it, you’re going to be pretty successful,” Denver coach John Fox said. “That’s no different this year than in years past.”

Up front, defensive tackles Marcus Thomas and Brodrick Bunkley have helped the Broncos limit opposing rushers to 4 yards a carry and have allowed just six rushing touchdowns.

Sensational rookie linebacker Von Miller and defensive end Elvis Dumervil have been tremendous rushing the passer — the Broncos are tied for fourth in the league with 37 sacks — and Denver, with its heavy blitz scheme, obviously wants to get after Brady.

Miller and Dumervil have combined for 18 sacks and both rank in the top 20 in the league in that category.

Dumervil, who missed all of 2010 with a pectoral injury, picked up where he left off in 2009 when he led the NFL with 17 sacks. Miller, the second overall pick in April’s draft, has burst on the scene and his 11.5 sacks are tied for the most by a rookie in Broncos history. Getting after the quarterback isn’t all he’s good at.

“He’s very quick and athletic,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “but he’s got good power and he’s a really strong player, too. You can’t just sit back and wait for him to make some kind of athletic move. He’ll run them over. He’s very good in pursuit. He makes a lot of plays downfield after the ball is thrown. He’ll chase a guy down and try to strip the ball as he’s tackling them. He’s not out of a lot of plays.”

Belichick said veterans Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins have hardly lost a step in the secondary.

Bailey, who has earned 10 Pro Bowl selections in his 13 seasons, has a pair of interceptions on the year and his 50 career interceptions rank first among active cornerbacks.

Dawkins, in his 16th season, has seven passes defensed, a forced fumble and 48 tackles. Denver’s strong safety returned to practice yesterday after missing Wednesday’s session because of a neck injury suffered early in last week’s game against the Bears.

Denver’s other starting corner, Andre Goodman, also returned to practice yesterday. He sat out Wednesday because of a concussion, also suffered in the Bears game. Goodman has one of three Broncos interceptions returned for touchdowns this season. Before this year, Denver had gone four seasons (2007-10) without an interception returned for a TD.

“Goodman and Bailey do a nice job outside,” Belichick said, “and Dawkins is smart, anticipates well, gets a good jump on plays, as do Goodman and Bailey. They’re savvy players. They have a lot of experience and they take advantage of it.”

Read More: Brian Dawkins (S – DEN), Andre Goodman (CB – DEN), Robert Ayers (DE – DEN), Von Miller (LB – DEN), Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos had three players missing from Wednesday’s practice. Safeties David Burton and Brian Dawkins both sat out the day, the latter having injured his neck when he hit his neck into the back of teammate Robert Ayers. Andre Goodman missed practice because he has yet to pass his concussion tests.

Rookie linebacker Von Miller should be good to go against the New England Patriots. He had a full practice on Wednesday and hasn’t had any issues with his surgically-repaired thumb. Spencer Larsen also had a full practice after hurting his hamstring.

Wide receiver Eddie Royal was limited in practice as he comes back from a concussion.

Not listed, running back Willis McGahee appears to be fully over his knee injury from last week.

For more updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more on this game, visit Mile High Report, SB Nation’s Denver Broncos blog. For news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

Yet, it wasn’t long ago that the 10th-year veteran was wondering whether his years as a pro were over. That lingering doubt extended well into the early part of Denver’s season, which began with four losses in five games.

Coming off a 2010 season during which he was forced to miss significant time because of injury, there was reason for his skepticism. Add to that his age, 33, and a new coaching staff coming into this season, and it was clear why Goodman was wondering.

“When we reported and I walked into the building there was still uncertainty on my part whether I’d still be here or not,” Goodman said. “At any moment, they could trade for a guy, bring in a free agent. There was just so much uncertainty walking into the building and I never felt comfortable until they put out the final roster before the first regular-season game. I think that’s when I realized, ‘I’m going to be here.’”

New head coach John Fox and his staff had done some housecleaning. Holdovers like Renaldo Hill, Nate Jones and Perrish Cox — all members of last year’s secondary – were cut. Goodman survived in part because of his deep resume as a cover corner and because Broncos staff went back to the 2009 tape, when he played his second straight 16-game season, to get a better read on his abilities.

“Obviously just watching him in camp, without having an offseason, I think all of our guys were a little rusty coming in initially,” Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “But I think probably about halfway through camp you realized he still had the ability to cover and he was getting his legs back under him.”

Those legs spent much of the offseason on the track, as Goodman ran countless sprints and did endurance work to try to strengthen the muscles that had failed him the previous season.

Even so, when Denver opened the season with a 1-4 start, Goodman was struggling. He wasn’t making plays that were there for the taking. Yet, again, the Broncos stood by him.

“I wasn’t sure they would have,” he said. “I was questioning that, telling myself, ‘Dre, you’ve got to get going because your window is closing. You’ve got to get going.’ I think what I did was stop trying to press … and I’ve been able to make a couple plays since then.”

An increase in man-to-man coverage helped him rediscover his comfort zone.

“One thing I know about him: His memory is very short,” Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. “He doesn’t worry about what’s happened, bad or good. He just keeps pushing to the next play.”

Goodman’s play against the Vikings demonstrated that. By his own account, he was having a poor overall game. Ponder was in the midst of setting a team record in passing yards. But with Minnesota taking over possession with a chance to win, Allen sold man coverage with the play of the safeties, but dropped Goodman in zone. The bait worked.

“There’s just a quiet confidence Goody brings to us where they might throw the ball over there, but at some point, he’s going to make them pay for that,” Denver safety Brian Dawkins said.

NOTES: Linebacker Von Miller will play Sunday, one week after he missed his first pro game due to surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb. Miller has experimented with several casts this week but said he’ll play with a club cast that won’t expose his fingers. . WR Eddie Royal (concussion) missed practice for a third straight day and is unlikely to play. . RB Willis McGahee (knee) was limited but is expected to start Sunday.

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