The Denver Broncos are a big television draw and were rewarded accordingly in the 2013 NFL schedule.

Thanks to Peyton Manning, and the fact they have a damn good team, the Broncos have five primetime games and the chance to be flexed into a sixth later in the season. Two of those five will be road games on Sunday Night Football; at Indianapolis on October 20th and at New England on November 24th.

Outside of their three AFC West road games, Denver will travel for five games against teams they don’t typically see every season. These contests are a good chance for Broncos fans to see cities and stadiums they haven’t seen before, and the two primetime matchups will provide even more incentive to make a trip with the team.

All five of these road trips have some great storylines and are worthy of a traveling weekend. Here are my rankings of the best roadies in 2013:

5) Houston Texans

Going up against longtime Bronco and current Houston Head Coach Gary Kubiak makes for a great game. Not to mention this is a matchup between two of the best teams in the AFC. The Broncos will be seeking revenge for their only home loss last season, a 31-25 defeat at Mile High in September of 2012.

The Texans play in Reliant Stadium which opened in 2002 and is a beautiful venue by most accounts. It hosted the 2004 Super Bowl and is home to the Meineke Car Care Bowl, among many other annual and special events.

The biggest negatives against this road trip are that Houston isn’t exactly a travel mecca and it’s in the early slate of games on a Sunday. If a game isn’t on primetime, you at least want an afternoon start so you can get ample time to tailgate and experience the pregame festivities that the stadium has to offer.

4) New England Patriots

Typically a Peyton Manning – Tom Brady matchup would be much higher on the list, but not with all the great games on tap this year.

This game will be on Sunday Night Football and Boston is one of the most enjoyable cities to visit in the country. Plus every game in Boston should have a little more meaning after the recent terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon.

The Broncos and Patriots will most likely be the two best teams in the AFC when the regular season winds down. Because of that this game could decide who gets home field advantage for a potential playoff rematch. Seeing a game of this magnitude in person is always worthwhile.

3) New York Giants

A Manning Bowl in New York City is hard to beat.

MetLife Stadium is pretty much brand new since it was opened in 2010 and it will be the site of this year’s Super Bowl. Could this be the first of two games Denver will play at MetLife Stadium this season? Time will tell.

It’s hard to argue against this road trip. New York is one of the greatest Cities in the world and the stadium is so new it is pretty much guaranteed you haven’t been there yet. The fact the Manning Bowl will be the focus of the football world that weekend is just icing on the cake.

2) Indianapolis Colts

The primetime game at Indy will be a truly unique experience. There will probably never be another game in NFL history where every fan in the stadium, home or away, loves the visiting quarterback more than any other player on the field. For one game the negativity between opposing fans will be very small if not completely nonexistent.

Peyton Manning is to Indianapolis what John Elway is to Denver. It will be an emotional game for everyone involved and is a must see based on the uniqueness of this matchup alone.

1) Dallas Cowboys

The game at Dallas makes it to the top of this list for one reason: Jerry World. By all accounts the new Cowboys Stadium must be seen to be believed. It’s been said that visiting fans can be so enthralled by the stadium experience that they end up missing most of the game.

Opened in 2009, Cowboys Stadium cost $1.3 billion. That’s billion. With a b.

It can handle over 100,000 people if you include standing room and the video board hanging over the playing surface is one of the largest high-definition TV screens in the entire world. If you include the Texas barbeque, the game day experience at a Cowboys game is one of a kind.

Since Dallas is an NFC team, there probably won’t be another chance to see Denver play in their stadium for eight years, so the time is now.

I know I’ll be in Dallas this season. Come join me so we can paint Jerry World orange for a day!

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Dec 16 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno (27) runs during the game against the Baltimore Ravens in the second quarter of the gam at M

The Denver Broncos finally secured their signature victory of the season and it should be the win that silences their few remaining critics. They recorded their first road victory against a team with a winning record since 2005 and it came against a team that had owned them in previous seasons, especially when they’ve played in Baltimore.

The win pushed the Broncos winning streak to 9 games and the New England Patriots loss on Sunday Night Football means the Broncos control their own destiny for a playoff bye. If Denver wins their final 2 games, both at Mile High Stadium against teams below .500, they will get to watch the Wild Card games on TV and play at home in the Divisional Round. It would also mean a potential New England-Denver playoff matchup would be played in Colorado.

Here are some thoughts on the Broncos 34-17 thrashing of the Baltimore Ravens:

• Chris Harris made as big a game changing play as one can make in the NFL and he essentially put the game out of reach by halftime. His 98-yard pick 6 was a 14-point swing and it gave Denver a 17-0 lead at intermission. It held even bigger significance when you consider Baltimore would have had the ball to start the 2nd half and had some momentum with a score. The undrafted standout has solidified the Broncos secondary. He should be a mainstay for years to come.
• Despite the great effort by the offense, they could have played even better. They converted only 5 of 16 third-down conversion attempts which isn’t up to their standard. Their red zone struggles continued early in the game when Denver had to settle for a field goal on their second possession. But in what has become the norm this season, they turned it on down the stretch and blew away the Ravens. It will be quite a sight when this offense figures out how to play a solid 60 minutes.
• The Broncos ran the ball 45 times against Baltimore! Its obvious things are going well if the offense can rattle of that many rushing attempts. Knowshon Moreno got most of the work and he made the most of his chances. He finished with 118 yards and a touchdown and went into beast mode late in the 4th quarter. The playoff outlook for this team will be much brighter if Moreno can continue this level of play.
• The Broncos took possession of the ball with 14:31 remaining in the game and a 31-10 lead. What ensued was the definition of a championship-caliber drive. They ran the ball on 13 of 14 plays and took about 10 minutes off the clock. The Denver lead was never in danger, but a quick 3-and-out in that situation would have given Baltimore some life. Instead, Denver extinguished any hope and demoralized the Ravens in the process. Seeing the offense impose their will like that was a thing of beauty.
• Peyton Manning is just amazing to watch. Sometimes there isn’t much more to say than that. He didn’t come close to playing his best game but he still posted a quarterback rating of 94.9 and didn’t turn the ball over. This team is never in trouble as long as he is in the game.
• The entire defense played nasty once again, and Harris had the play of the day, but Derek Wolfe should be recognized for his monster effort. He had 4 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. The rookie’s play has been huge for the defensive front seven and he is a great complement to Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil coming off the edge.
• Matt Prater missed another field goal in the 40-49 yard range. This one came with no pressure as it was attempted late in garbage time. Hopefully he can get it between the uprights when Denver needs him in a big playoff spot.
• Next up for the Broncos is a home game against the Cleveland Browns next Sunday. A win will put Denver on the doorstep of a playoff bye. Go Broncos!

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Dec 6, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno (27) carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Denver Broncos defeated the Oakland Raiders 26-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos just keep on rolling and it doesn’t look like anybody can slow them down. They took care of the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football 26-13 and won their 8th game in a row. Peyton Manning’s spectacular play continued as he racked up 310 yards, 1 touchdown, and a quarterback rating of 95.8 in front of a national TV audience.

Denver sits at 5-0 in divisional play after last night’s win. If they can beat Kansas City in the regular season finale they will sweep the AFC West for the first time since 1998. The Broncos now have a long week to rest up and prepare for the stretch run. If they can find a way to win out, and get a little help, they could earn a first round playoff bye which would go a long way towards a deep a playoff run.

Here are some thoughts on the Denver Broncos victory over the lowly Oakland Raiders:

• Denver outgained the Raiders by more than 100 yards and won the time of possession battle by an astonishing 37:19 to 22:41. It was a miracle that Oakland was within 2 scores at the end because the game should have been over at halftime. Manning was pressured into an interception in the second quarter that resulted in at least a 10 point swing, and the offense kept settling for field goals despite dominating the worst defense in the league. Even though it wasn’t pretty, Denver showed just how dangerous they can be. Imagine the result had they finished drives and not made any big mistakes.
• Knowshon Moreno had a monster game and finished with 119-yards rushing and a score. He also tacked on 4 catches for 48 yards. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter Moreno had 69 yards after contact, good for second-most by a Broncos running back over the past 4 seasons. He provided the running threat that makes the Broncos almost unstoppable. Hopefully he continues his impressive comeback throughout the playoffs.
• The Raiders game plan against Denver was reminiscent of the Chiefs game plan earlier this season. They tried to run the ball and threw quick passing routes to negate the Broncos rush. But as soon as they had to play from behind Denver was able to impose their will. A team has to play almost perfect football against the Broncos to even have a chance. During this winning streak it hasn’t been about if Denver will win, it’s about by how much.
• Surprise, surprise. Von Miller had a sack and a forced fumble. His stat line would have been even better had he not been held several times. Miller is only a sack away from the single season franchise record and continues his pursuit of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
• The Broncos defense held the Raiders to 61-yards rushing and most of those came on a single big run by Darren McFadden to start the third quarter. What followed after that run was a pivotal moment in the game. Oakland had the ball on Denver’s side of the field and was only down by 6 points. The Denver defense forced an Oakland punt and the Broncos scored the next 13 points to essentially end the game. The defense continues to come up big in key moments.
• Denver was 7 of 14 on third downs and Oakland was 2 of 8. That’s all you need to know right there. The best quarterbacks get the job done on third downs, and the others don’t.
• Joel Dreessen had only 30-yards receiving but he registered the lone touchdown reception of the game. Manning went to the tight ends early and often and they made a big difference in the passing game.
• It looked like the Broncos really missed guard Chris Kuper who sat out the game with a minor ankle injury. Denver gave up 3 sacks to one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to rushing the quarterback. They should be able to clean that up when Kuper returns next week.
• Matt Prater nailed all 4 of his field goal attempts and also added 2 extra points. If anyone needed a bounce back game it was Prater, and he had a great night especially considering the offensive struggles in the red zone.
• The Raiders yesterday reminded me of Raider teams from years past. Tons of penalties, 2 turnovers, dropped passes, dancing around like morons even though they’re getting beat, etc. But best of all, they lost to the Broncos, just like they should.
• Up next the Broncos get a mini-bye week and then they have a big road matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. It’s a must win if Denver wants a bye during the first round of the playoffs. Go Broncos!

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