Before we get all caught up in the outcome of that game we’re all set to watch next Sunday, can we take a second and enjoy where we are? I mean, win or lose, this is insane!
How in God’s green earth did we get here? How are these Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl?
I have no freaking clue.
First and foremost — and let’s just get this out of the way now — our offense is bad. Maybe it shows flashes every once in awhile and maybe it gets things done when it needs to, but it’s bad, plain and simple.
And in today’s day and age, you do not make a run towards the Super Bowl, let alone earn a trip, when your starting quarterback is on pace to throw 14 touchdowns and 27 interceptions on the season. And, please, don’t try to make an argument for the ’00 Ravens, ’02 Buccaneers or the ’85 Bears; that was a different day and age. Quarterbacks were not nearly as important as they are now.
Plus, those teams scored a respective 34, 48 and 46 points in their Super Bowl victories; the Broncos have topped 30 points twice, and one required overtime and the other was secured by a game-winning fumble return.
There is no precedent for this Denver Broncos team. So how are they doing it?
The easy answer is the defense, and it’s easy to understand why. But if the answer is the defense, and the defense only, then the Broncos might as well just skip their flight to Santa Clara, because they’re not winning with defense — sorry.
The reason the Broncos are in the Super Bowl, and the reason why they have every opportunity in the world to bring a Lombardi Trophy home to Denver, is because they’ve perfected the art of “Kicking and Screaming.”
There’s no other answer. A defense alone cannot lead a team to 11 one-score victories; nothing can. There’s a reason it’s never been done before.
Think about it: Has this season, and all of these nail-biting victories, really been any different from Tebowmania? Have we been able predict what’s going to happen any better than we could in 2011? Sure, Peyton Manning sounds more appealing than Tim Tebow, but has the quarterback position really been all that more steady?
Heck, both teams beat the Steelers in the postseason!
Really, the only difference is that these Broncos beat the Patriots and moved on to the Super Bowl, while Tebow’s Broncos did not.
I’ve been sitting here, thinking, talking and writing about the Denver Broncos for the last five months, and throughout the whole time, I just kept asking my self, “Is this really happening?”
Have the Broncos really won seven straight games? Did Brock Osweiler really just beat Tom Brady and the Patriots in overtime? Can the defense really bail us out each week? Is Peyton Manning really coming back into the game? Are we really the No. 1 seed in the AFC? Am I really about to watch the Broncos play in the Super Bowl?
And every single time, the answer has been YES. And that’s why, when I ask myself, “Can the Denver Broncos really beat the Carolina Panthers,” the only logical answer is a resounding YES.
Two years ago, the Broncos lost to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and John Elway made a promise to build up this Denver defense to resemble that Seattle group; today, they may be even better.
Last year, the Broncos gave up against the Colts, and John Elway made a promise to build a team that would go out “kicking and screaming”; now, we have a team that doesn’t understand how to lose.
There are no more excuses. Elway has built his team, and now it’s their turn to finish the job.
I’m still not sure how we got here, but I’m positive we’re going to finish the job.
