ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos had their top three defensive players on the field together Wednesday for the first time since training camp. Now, the question is: will they have Elvis Dumervil (shoulder), Champ Bailey (hamstring) and D.J. Williams (elbow) suited up to face the Green Bay Packers (3-0) this weekend? “We need to be at full throttle against this team,” Dumervil said. That’s something the Broncos (1-2) haven’t been all season. Williams, their weakside linebacker and leading tackler in three of the last four seasons, went down in the preseason with a dislocated right elbow. Dumervil, their relentless pass-rusher who led the league in sacks in 2009 before missing last season with a chest injury, got hurt in practice before the opener and played only sparingly against Oakland after aggravating the injury, which kept him out the next weeks. Bailey, their perennial Pro Bowl left cornerback who added nickel back duties to his plate this year, has also missed the last two games after pulling his left hamstring making a touchdown-saving tackle on Darren McFadden. “Like anything else, you feel more comfortable in the fight when you have all your troops with you,” coach John Fox said. “So I think they were a welcome addition, for sure.” Although Denver has allowed back-to-back 300-yard passing games and dropped winnable games to the Raiders and Titans, the trio’s understudies had held up nicely, thanks to some creativity from defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the team with 28 tackles, cornerback Jonathan Wilhite recorded the first two sacks of his career on well-timed blitzes in each of the last two games and defensive end Jason Hunter has 11 tackles and a sack. “I think the (second-stringers) stepped up and did a good job,” Dumervil said. “But it’s always good to have all your guys in there.” Dumervil also practiced Wednesday and Thursday of last week only to shut it down Friday and miss the Broncos’ 17-14 loss at Tennessee. He said that shouldn’t be the case this time. “It felt good today going out to practice, I didn’t feel anything, so I’m looking forward to playing this week,” he said. Williams was the only one of the three who wasn’t limited in practice, but even with his return to health, the Broncos will try to find ways to keep Woodyard on the field as much as possible. “I was already coming in on third down. But you never know how things go. My job is to come out there and play as hard as I can and what decisions that the coaches make, that’s not in my hands,” Woodyard said. “So, whether he’s out there or I’m out there, we’re both going to play hard and that’s the only thing that matters.” Also returning to action Wednesday was defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, who had been sidelined since Aug. 15, when he strained his right pectoral muscle, then pulled a groin during his rehab earlier this month. “It was pretty good, went well,” said Thomas, who got hurt on the same day starting nose tackle Ty Warren suffered a season-ending torn triceps. “I’m just working myself back in, basically getting in better shape. I did a lot of the scout team reps to get back into game shape. It felt pretty good.” Thomas said he hopes to play Sunday, but that’s unlikely given the nearly seven weeks he’s been out. His replacement, Kevin Vickerson, has led a patchwork D-line that held Chris Johnson to 21 yards on 13 carries last week. “That would help our defense tremendously, just to have all our guys back and to be out there as a unit, like how we started in camp,” Thomas said. “That’s what we built around. Basically right now, we’ve had guys stepping up. But when everybody gets back, we’ll have our full piece together.” Bailey, Dumervil and Williams have a better chance of leaving the sideline Sunday. “We’re planning for all three of those guys to play,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “And if they don’t, we’ll react accordingly.” Rodgers said he’s been watching film of the Broncos both with and without Dumervil, who led the NFL with 17 sacks two years ago. “Elvis is a difference-maker, a big-time player,” Rodgers said. “He’s fun to watch when he’s on TV. … It’s exciting to watch Elvis come off the edge and wreak havoc. So, it will be interesting to see what his status is for the game.” Notes: Hunter played three seasons for the Packers and in `08 he returned a Kyle Orton fumble for his first NFL touchdown, celebrating with a Lambeau Leap. “He might vaguely remember it. I don’t even try to mention it to him,” Hunter said of the Broncos’ QB, who used to play for the Bears. Orton remembers: “Now that you brought it back up, I do. Turning around and watching a guy go into the end zone is never a good feeling as a quarterback.”

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The Denver Broncos had their top three defensive players on the field together Wednesday for the first time since training camp.

Now, the question is: will they have Elvis Dumervil (shoulder), Champ Bailey (hamstring) and D.J. Williams (elbow) suited up to face the Green Bay Packers (3-0) this weekend?

“We need to be at full throttle against this team,” Dumervil said.

That’s something the Broncos (1-2) haven’t been all season.

Williams, their weakside linebacker and leading tackler in three of the last four seasons, went down in the pre-season with a dislocated right elbow.

Dumervil, their relentless pass-rusher who led the league in sacks in 2009 before missing last season with a chest injury, got hurt in practice before the opener and played only sparingly against Oakland after aggravating the injury, which kept him out the next weeks.

Bailey, their perennial Pro Bowl left cornerback who added nickel back duties to his plate this year, has also missed the last two games after pulling his left hamstring making a touchdown-saving tackle on Darren McFadden.

“Like anything else, you feel more comfortable in the fight when you have all your troops with you,” coach John Fox said. “So I think they were a welcome addition, for sure.”

Although Denver has allowed back-to-back 300-yard passing games and dropped winnable games to the Raiders and Titans, the trio’s understudies had held up nicely, thanks to some creativity from defensive co-ordinator Dennis Allen.

Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the team with 28 tackles, cornerback Jonathan Wilhite recorded the first two sacks of his career on well-timed blitzes in each of the last two games and defensive end Jason Hunter has 11 tackles and a sack.

“I think the (second-stringers) stepped up and did a good job,” Dumervil said. “But it’s always good to have all your guys in there.”

Dumervil also practised Wednesday and Thursday of last week only to shut it down Friday and miss the Broncos’ 17-14 loss at Tennessee. He said that shouldn’t be the case this time.

“It felt good today going out to practice, I didn’t feel anything, so I’m looking forward to playing this week,” he said.

Williams was the only one of the three who wasn’t limited in practice, but even with his return to health, the Broncos will try to find ways to keep Woodyard on the field as much as possible.

“I was already coming in on third down. But you never know how things go. My job is to come out there and play as hard as I can and what decisions that the coaches make, that’s not in my hands,” Woodyard said. “So, whether he’s out there or I’m out there, we’re both going to play hard and that’s the only thing that matters.”

Also returning to action Wednesday was defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, who had been sidelined since Aug. 15, when he strained his right pectoral muscle, then pulled a groin during his rehab earlier this month.

“It was pretty good, went well,” said Thomas, who got hurt on the same day starting nose tackle Ty Warren suffered a season-ending torn triceps. “I’m just working myself back in, basically getting in better shape. I did a lot of the scout team reps to get back into game shape. It felt pretty good.”

Thomas said he hopes to play Sunday, but that’s unlikely given the nearly seven weeks he’s been out. His replacement, Kevin Vickerson, has led a patchwork D-line that held Chris Johnson to 21 yards on 13 carries last week.

“That would help our defence tremendously, just to have all our guys back and to be out there as a unit, like how we started in camp,” Thomas said. “That’s what we built around. Basically right now, we’ve had guys stepping up. But when everybody gets back, we’ll have our full piece together.”

Bailey, Dumervil and Williams have a better chance of leaving the sideline Sunday.

“We’re planning for all three of those guys to play,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “And if they don’t, we’ll react accordingly.”

Rodgers said he’s been watching film of the Broncos both with and without Dumervil, who led the NFL with 17 sacks two years ago.

“Elvis is a difference-maker, a big-time player,” Rodgers said. “He’s fun to watch when he’s on TV. … It’s exciting to watch Elvis come off the edge and wreak havoc. So, it will be interesting to see what his status is for the game.”

Notes: Hunter played three seasons for the Packers and in ’08 he returned a Kyle Orton fumble for his first NFL touchdown, celebrating with a Lambeau Leap. “He might vaguely remember it. I don’t even try to mention it to him,” Hunter said of the Broncos’ QB, who used to play for the Bears. Orton remembers: “Now that you brought it back up, I do. Turning around and watching a guy go into the end zone is never a good feeling as a quarterback.”

The Denver Broncos had their top three defensive players on the field together Wednesday for the first time since training camp.

Now, the question is: will they have Elvis Dumervil (shoulder), Champ Bailey (hamstring) and D.J. Williams (elbow) suited up to face the Green Bay Packers (3-0) this weekend?

“We need to be at full throttle against this team,” Dumervil said.

That’s something the Broncos (1-2) haven’t been all season.

Williams, their weakside linebacker and leading tackler in three of the last four seasons, went down in the preseason with a dislocated right elbow.

Dumervil, their relentless pass-rusher who led the league in sacks in 2009 before missing last season with a chest injury, got hurt in practice before the opener and played only sparingly against Oakland after aggravating the injury, which kept him out the next weeks.

Bailey, their perennial Pro Bowl left cornerback who added nickel back duties to his plate this year, has also missed the last two games after pulling his left hamstring making a touchdown-saving tackle on Darren McFadden.

“Like anything else, you feel more comfortable in the fight when you have all your troops with you,” coach John Fox said. “So I think they were a welcome addition, for sure.”

Although Denver has allowed back-to-back 300-yard passing games and dropped winnable games to the Raiders and Titans, the trio’s understudies had held up nicely, thanks to some creativity from defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Linebacker Wesley Woodyard leads the team with 28 tackles, cornerback Jonathan Wilhite recorded the first two sacks of his career on well-timed blitzes in each of the last two games and defensive end Jason Hunter has 11 tackles and a sack.

“I think the (second-stringers) stepped up and did a good job,” Dumervil said. “But it’s always good to have all your guys in there.”

Dumervil also practiced Wednesday and Thursday of last week only to shut it down Friday and miss the Broncos’ 17-14 loss at Tennessee. He said that shouldn’t be the case this time.

“It felt good today going out to practice, I didn’t feel anything, so I’m looking forward to playing this week,” he said.

Williams was the only one of the three who wasn’t limited in practice, but even with his return to health, the Broncos will try to find ways to keep Woodyard on the field as much as possible.

“I was already coming in on third down. But you never know how things go. My job is to come out there and play as hard as I can and what decisions that the coaches make, that’s not in my hands,” Woodyard said. “So, whether he’s out there or I’m out there, we’re both going to play hard and that’s the only thing that matters.”

Also returning to action Wednesday was defensive tackle Marcus Thomas, who had been sidelined since Aug. 15, when he strained his right pectoral muscle, then pulled a groin during his rehab earlier this month.

“It was pretty good, went well,” said Thomas, who got hurt on the same day starting nose tackle Ty Warren suffered a season-ending torn triceps. “I’m just working myself back in, basically getting in better shape. I did a lot of the scout team reps to get back into game shape. It felt pretty good.”

Thomas said he hopes to play Sunday, but that’s unlikely given the nearly seven weeks he’s been out. His replacement, Kevin Vickerson, has led a patchwork D-line that held Chris Johnson to 21 yards on 13 carries last week.

“That would help our defense tremendously, just to have all our guys back and to be out there as a unit, like how we started in camp,” Thomas said. “That’s what we built around. Basically right now, we’ve had guys stepping up. But when everybody gets back, we’ll have our full piece together.”

Bailey, Dumervil and Williams have a better chance of leaving the sideline Sunday.

“We’re planning for all three of those guys to play,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “And if they don’t, we’ll react accordingly.”

Rodgers said he’s been watching film of the Broncos both with and without Dumervil, who led the NFL with 17 sacks two years ago.

“Elvis is a difference-maker, a big-time player,” Rodgers said. “He’s fun to watch when he’s on TV. … It’s exciting to watch Elvis come off the edge and wreak havoc. So, it will be interesting to see what his status is for the game.”

Notes: Hunter played three seasons for the Packers and in ’08 he returned a Kyle Orton fumble for his first NFL touchdown, celebrating with a Lambeau Leap. “He might vaguely remember it. I don’t even try to mention it to him,” Hunter said of the Broncos’ QB, who used to play for the Bears. Orton remembers: “Now that you brought it back up, I do. Turning around and watching a guy go into the end zone is never a good feeling as a quarterback.”

___

Connect with AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—Just when it looked as though the Denver Broncos
were finally returning to health, coach John Fox went over the injury list
following practice Friday.

Eddie Royal(notes)—out.

Julius Thomas(notes)—out.

Elvis Dumervil(notes)—out.

In all, there were eight players listed as either out or questionable for
the game Sunday at Tennessee.

Royal (groin) and the rookie tight end Thomas (high ankle sprain) were
hardly surprises. But Dumervil was a little bit of a stunner.

His dinged-up left shoulder looked to be on the mend and the Pro Bowl pass
rusher appeared to be on his way to chasing around quarterbacks again.

Sure, Dumervil was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday but that
looked to be more precautionary than anything.

On Friday, he went through early stretching exercises and then didn’t take
any reps.

Did Dumervil have a setback?

“I wouldn’t call it a setback,” Fox said. “This is a physical game. It’s
hard to play with one (healthy) arm.”

The Broncos also are taking a cautious approach with leader and top
returning linebacker D.J. Williams after he dislocated his right elbow in a
preseason contest.

Williams, the team’s top tackler in 2010, missed the opening two games, but
has returned to practice in a limited capacity this week. He’s listed as
questionable for the Titans game.

“If we deem him healthy … obviously he’ll play,” Fox said.

Knowshon Moreno(notes) and Champ Bailey(notes), who both have hamstring ailments, also
were listed as questionable. Moreno went through a partial practice Friday,
while Bailey had to observe from the sideline.

“I’m trying to be smart about this,” Bailey said.

The perennial Pro Bowler has done some light running and cutting, just to
test out the hamstring. Bailey said he needs to fully push it in order to
declare himself ready for Sunday.

“At this point, I’m still working toward that,” Bailey said. “We all want
to be back as soon as possible.”

Almost lost in the litany of players either “out” or “questionable” was
that receiver Brandon Lloyd(notes) could be back on the field Sunday.

Lloyd has been dealing with a nagging groin injury that led him to be a late
scratch in a win over Cincinnati last weekend. Lloyd made quite a few leaping
catches in practice Friday and is listed as probable.

Asked if he was healthy enough to play as he made his way into the training
room, Lloyd simply responded, “I don’t know yet.”

The declaration of Dumervil being held out caught some of the Broncos off
guard. Linebacker Joe Mays(notes) hadn’t heard the news yet as he slipped into a suit
and tie for the team’s plane ride to Tennessee.

“It’s difficult,” Mays said. “We definitely want our leaders out there on
the field. When one of our leaders goes down, another guy has to step up.”

Williams could be quite an addition to the defense, provided he’s healthy
enough to play. An eighth-year linebacker out of Miami, Williams was counted on
to patrol the weak-side linebacker spot in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s
scheme.

It’s yet another switch for Williams, who has constantly been shuffled
between linebacker spots as different coordinators have attempted to shore up
Denver’s leaky defense.

“D.J.’s an outstanding football player,” Allen said. “He’s kind of one of
our leaders on the team and so having a guy like that back would be real
beneficial for us.”

In the absence of Williams, Wesley Woodyard(notes) has stepped in and the team has
hardly missed a beat. Woodyard had a team-high 13 tackles against the Bengals.

“Wesley just shows our depth at linebacker is pretty good,” Mays said.
“When D.J. returns, it will help a lot. Guys feed off the way he plays. It
boosts you.”

Notes: The Broncos have won three straight over the Titans. … Broncos P
Britton Colquitt(notes) averaged a net of 51 yards on six punts against Cincinnati, the
second-best performance in team history. Tom Rouen averaged 52.3 yards against
San Diego on Nov. 11, 2001. … K Matt Prater(notes) is the franchise’s leader in field
goal percentage, hitting 74 of 91 of his attempts (81.3 percent) for Denver.

DENVER — Not to jump the gun …

The Denver Broncos think they have an answer to the NFL’s most feared pass-rushing tandem of Pro Bowlers Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis in Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller.

“Fastest dudes I done seen off the ball,” Broncos middle linebacker Joe Mays said after watching them sandwich Tarvaris Jackson all night in Denver’s 23-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night. “They can rival the Colts’ defensive ends right now as fast as they can get off the ball.”

The Broncos (2-1) sacked Jackson five times, with Miller getting two and Dumervil 1½, and knocked him around plenty of other times just as he got off the pass.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a pass rush like that, period,” Champ Bailey said. “And if we can keep that up all year, we’re going to have a good year.”

Dumervil missed all of last season after tearing a chest muscle in training camp shortly after parlaying his 17-sack season into a big contract. The Broncos nose-dived without him, and they chose Miller out of Texas A&M with the second overall draft pick in April.

“Those guys did a great job,” Jackson said. “They came off the ball. They were ready. They’re some talented guys on the edge. That’s what they do, they’re very good at rushing the passer.”

And the Seahawks played right into their hands without much of a ground game.

Miller has three sacks in the preseason and Dumervil is picking up where he left off in 2009.

“They were able to create some havoc,” Mays said. “So, today was a great day.”

Except for the injuries.

They lost Brodrick Bunkley to a right knee injury on a chop block by Robert Gallery, and linebacker D.J. Williams to a sprained right elbow.

Williams, who has led the Broncos in tackles in three of the last four seasons, had a sling on in the locker room and his arm was heavily taped up past the biceps. He said he’ll be all right but didn’t elaborate as far as a timetable for his return.

Bunkley is the third run-suffer sidelined in the last two weeks following injuries to starters Ty Warren and Marcus Thomas.

Bunkley’s teammate Kevin Vickerson was hot in the locker room afterward, saying the chop block “was just something that wasn’t called for, especially in the preseason.”

Gallery insisted it was a clean play and said he’d do it the same way the next time, too.

“Look in the rule book. It was a completely legal block to me. The ref even said it,” Gallery said. “That’s football. I’d do it again. (I) don’t like that he got hurt, but that was a completely legal block and I’d do it 100 times again. Feel bad he got hurt, but that’s football.”

Bunkley, who said he wasn’t seriously injured, declined to call out Gallery for a cheap shot.

“It’s the game, man,” Bunkley said. “We’re in the trenches, and things like that are going to happen. I’m not going to say anything is dirty. That’s just the way the game is played.”

Kyle Orton led Denver back from a shaky start with two TD drives and Tim Tebow put the Broncos in position to win it after Jeff Reed tied it at 20 with a 53-yard field goal with 1:16 left in regulation. Tebow had a 19-yard scramble in leading the Broncos downfield for Steven Haushka’s 51-yarder as time expired.

The highlight of the night for Seattle (1-2) was Doug Baldwin’s 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on a re-kick following an offside call on Denver that moved the ball back to the 30. All 16 of the previous kickoffs at Sports Authority Field this preseason were touchbacks.

With Russell Okung out with an ankle injury, the Seahawks’ starting left tackle was Tyler Polumbus, a former Broncos lineman who was engaged with Dumervil in a 1-on-1 drill last summer when Dumervil’s right pectoral muscle snapped during training camp, ending his season.

Contending with Miller on the other side were two rookies: right tackle James Carpenter and right guard John Moffitt.

It wasn’t much of a contest.

Seattle’s starters finally scored on their 12th drive of the preseason, on Reed’s 52-yard field goal. Their first TD of the preseason came on their final possession, when Jackson found tight end Dominique Byrd behind Denver’s second-string defense for a 1-yard TD connection in the fourth quarter.

“We got some points on the board, so that was a good thing to show the guys we can do it,” Jackson said. After the first half ended with Denver leading 10-3 and Matt Prater’s 69-yard field goal coming up short, Orton guided an eight-play, 93-yard drive on the Broncos’ first possession of the second half, ending it with a 6-yard TD toss to Eric Decker.

“We wanted to come out and play really well this week, really our last tuneup,” Orton said. “And after the way we started, to not press, stay together, battle and grind one out is a great way to go into the season.”

Notes: Prater said he got excited about his 69-yard attempt and didn’t strike the ball correctly. “I tried to overkick it and I didn’t kick it as good” as his 57-yarder. Prater said he kicked a 70-yarder in pregame. … Seattle is 1-8 against Denver in the preseason. … Denver’s first-team defense limited Seattle to 53 yards on 30 plays. … Orton is 28 of 42 (66.7 percent) in the preseason. ___

Connect with AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton