Orange Colored Glasses: Hello there, Adversity.
“But, “almost” perfect is not going to be enough for any team wishing to topple these Denver Broncos. The stars must align. The big white one in the middle of the field in the house that Jerry built wasn’t enough.”
Read More …
It was bound to happen eventually. After basically cruising to a 4-0 record, your Denver Broncos were introduced on Sunday to a concept that had before been lost on them; it’s called adversity. And, as it turned out, watching them cope with it was great fun. The Broncos’ week five tilt with the Dallas Cowboys became the stuff of NFL lore and will certainly be looked back on as one of the finest television games of 2013.
With all of America watching (save for a small section of the Southwest), an amazing ninety-nine points were scored. Perhaps Scott Hastings best summed up the afternoon on Twitter when he quipped about the “Enver / Allas” game in which neither team had any “D”.
With a who’s-who of defensive starters, Champ Bailey, Von Miller, Wesley Woodyard and Chris Harris limited to cheerleading duties, Denver was unable to keep Dallas’ offense from matching them literally point-for-point. It seemed as though Tony Romo had Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and some guy named Beasley wide open every single time he stepped back to pass.
The Cowboys opened up an almost instantaneous 14-0 lead in the game, forcing the Broncos to take to the air early and often. Peyton Manning was his other-worldly self, expertly dismantling the questionable Dallas secondary both with quick passes and with accurately-thrown bombs. But the old man also showed a measure of vulnerability not only with his first interception of the season, but with a few long passes that widely missed their marks.
Naturally, Manning was the hero of the Broncos’ 51-48 victory. But he is not the only reason that the Broncos are a perfect 5-0.
Matt Prater did his part yesterday, proving that the investment the Broncos made in his huge leg was a smart one. Julius Thomas has continued to display his long-term value and good old Knowshon Moreno has, to the surprise of many, emerged as the best Broncos running back of the past many years. He is running with anger and determination. Perhaps Denver’s pursuit of backs through the draft finally triggered something inside Moreno’s soul, because he is a changed player. This is a sentiment shared by former Denver Post beat writer and current USA Today scribe Lindsay Jones who yesterday Tweeted, “Knowshon Moreno is a completely different player than he used to be. Remarkable maturation.”
Emerging victorious from 51-48 shootout wasn’t the Broncos’ ideal scenario in their game against Dallas, but a win is a win and the Broncos are still perfect. Adversity paid them a visit and they found a way to beat it. Ultimately this one came down to Tony Romo’s proclivity to make costly errors. Yes, he was nearly perfect yesterday, Romo threw for over 500 yards and five, yes FIVE, touchdowns. He made his fantasy football owners very happy. But, “almost” perfect is not going to be enough for any team wishing to topple these Denver Broncos. The stars must align. The big white one in the middle of the field in the house that Jerry built wasn’t enough.
*Take notice, Chiefs fan. We realize that your team is undefeated, too. But it has squeezed out some close ones with teams like the Titans. By what score do you think the Chiefs would have lost by in Dallas yesterday? I project a sweep of the Chiefs by the Broncos this season. Hopefully that will shut you people up.*
