Unfortunately, as Broncos fans, we’ve been on the sour end of many Super Bowl blowouts. The Broncos first three Super Bowl appearances were lost by an average of 22.6 points per game. Then as we know, our back-to-back Super Bowl wins were won by 11 points on average.

This year’s Super Bowl was expected to be a close game. Experts expected a high scoring, Manning-ending TD to cap off a Colts victory. Instead, the city of New Orleans doesn’t know when the party for the Saints will end and Mardi Gras will begin. Beads abound, Drew Brees high on his mound, and Tracy Porter found - a Manning pass to solidify the Saints first ever Super Bowl win. After Porter’s pick, it was a Big Easy win for a city that got behind their football team right after Hurricane Katrina. As evident by the Saints performance over the past few years, the team got behind the city as well.  

There ain’t no more Aints and Lose-iana can be Louisiana once again because as far as most everyone is concerned, the Saints played the better game and deserved to win. 

In a brief tale of the tape, here’s the low-down on some big name players: 

Drew Brees, however, was the main character in this too good to be true Hollywood script. After leaving San Diego with a bummed shoulder, not many were interested in the QB. Miami took a brief interest, but it was New Orleans that signed him while saying a silent prayer that he would return to form. Not only did he come back, but he came back a better player. Brees is now considered one of the elite QBs in the league, and I would put him on the same scale as Manning and Tom Brady. He went 32 for 39 passing for 288 yards, and 2 TDs. Mistake free and all that jazz won New Orleans its first professional sports championship ever.

Who Dat nation can rest easy. Nawlins, don’t be fooled. The first rest day that they’ll get will come on February 17th when the confetti and beads are all that’s left after a 10 day long party. The Big Easy will take it easy not because of a natural disaster, but because of a natural healer; Saint ‘Saints’ of the diocese of New Orleans.

Offense

Broncos - There’s no way the Broncos offense can out produce the Colts’ offense. However, they need to at least put 24-27 points on the board to be able contend with them. Look for the Broncos to favor the run just to keep the ball out of Manning’s hands. However, I see them continuing to throw a lot of balls to the tightends and the backs to pick up 6-7 yards per play and keep the clock moving. Josh McDaniels is going to emphasize the short game at first and then take a few shots down field later on. Protection from the offensive line is key for this Broncos unit. Ryan Harris is done for the season which isn’t comforting knowing that the Colts’ have two of the quickest defensive ends in the league. Kyle Orton cannot be thrown off his game  just because the speed in which the Colts play is faster than most teams in the league. Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter will need to relieve the pressure put on Orton by getting the run game off to a great start early on.               

Colts- The Colts are so lopsided on offense being #1 in passing and #32 in rushing. One would think that would make playing defense much easier. However, when Manning is behind center he sees the blitz coming and then changes the entire play without any help from the sidelines. That’s why it’s so hard to prepare defensively when going up against him. You can show him different things right before the snap and he will call you out. Manning has three incredible targets in Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Pierre Garcon. Garcon is actually the guy that could torch the Broncos since a lot of focus will be placed on Wayne and Clark. Manning works his way down field, and then Joseph Addai is very capable of running it in for the score. The Colts capitalize on long drives by converting in the redzone. Even if coming from behind, the game is never out of reach because of this offense. Don’t believe me? Ask the Patriots.               

Defense

Broncos - This is the crew that wins the game for the Broncos. They only have a shot if they can force turnovers. Manning has thrown 7 INTs in his last 5 games, proving he’s prone to mistakes just like the rest of the world. Now, Kid McD was a QB coach. If he and Mike Nolan were to figure out how to rustle Manning’s feathers a little bit, I wouldn’t be at all shocked. One important aspect is bringing all different kinds of looks on defense. The Colts’ offensive line has been great this year. Manning has been sacked just 10 times and hasn’t lost a fumble. It’s going to be difficult for Elvis Dumervil, but I think he can wear down some linemen and put more pressure on Manning in the 2nd half of the game. Out of all things, I would allow Dallas Clark a little more room to work in the middle and really defend the sides of the field. The Texans did something similar and they lost by just 3 points and held the Colts to 20 points.               

Colts- They’re ranked 18th in rush defense and 19th in pass defense, but don’t let that fool you. They’re fast and they’re ranked 2nd in the league for points allowed. Big plays won’t come easy for the Broncos with Antoine Bethea (4 INTs), Clint Session, and Jacob Lacey covering down field. Both Session and Lacey have 2 INTs each and 1 INT returned for a TD each. The success in the secondary comes from the pressure up front. Dwight Freeney has 10.5 sacks on the year and Robert Mathis has 9.5. The defensive line gets off the line of scrimmage fast and they show different types of blitz packages. Orton cannot let the speed of the game throw him off his game. He kind of becomes a headcase once he throws a pick or gets sacked. Who can blame him after all the hits he took in Chicago. Bottom line is this defense is underrated, and they can easily create turnovers.      

Special Teams  

Broncos - Special teams is very important on Sunday. Punter Mitch Berger and kicker Matt Prater need to boot the ball as far as possible to make Manning and his offense work the entire field. Defensive coverage can’t let big plays break. That’s all we need – people other than Manning moving the ball down field.   

Colts-  Chad Simpson (long: 39) and T.J. Rushing (long: 22) handle kick and punt returns. Neither has returned one for a TD this season. Matt Stover replaced Adam Vinatieri in week 5 when he went down with a knee injury. He’s 9 for 11 on the year. Punter Pat McAfee, who probably has the easiest job in the league, has only punted the ball 44 times with 16 landing inside the 20 and 6 landing inside the 10.   

Coaching

Broncos -  Josh McDaniels loves these kind of games – The games that the media plays up for whatever reason. He’s coached against Manning plenty of times, and he’s treating this just like any other game. However, I think if the Broncos win, we’ll see some more fist pumping on the sidelines.  

Colts- Jim Caldwell is having the ultimate coaching experience as rookie head coach. His team is 12-0 and he made the transition from a Tony Dungy led team very easy for this already successful team. It helped that he was an associate head coach with the team last season, but still, taking full control over an NFL team guarantees nothing.  

 Go Broncos!

No one expected much from the Chiefs’ defense. Ranked 27th in rush defense and 30th in pass defense before today’s blowout, the only defensive highlight for the Chiefs came at halftime when they retired #58, Derrick Thomas’ number.

Correll Buckhalter (12 carries for 113 yds.) took the ball down the field while Knowshon Moreno (21 carries for 86 yds., 2 TDs) pounded it into the endzone. Game. Set. Match. Orton found his buddy, Brandon Marshall, 7 times for 94 yards and a score. Couple that with numerous short dump off passes to the tightends and the Broncos ability to catch the ball, and those 3 Orton turnovers didn’t mean a thing.

The Chiefs on the other hand couldn’t convert in the red zone, dropped wide open passes, couldn’t get a new set of downs, and turned the ball over 3 times, one fumble being returned for a TD by Andre Goodman. If anything could go wrong for the Chiefs, it did. They literally handed the game over to the Broncos after halftime when the Broncos put up 20 points in the 3rd quarter alone.

It was good to set the Chiefs straight. They may have beaten the Steelers and the Redskins which is something the Broncos couldn’t do, but make no mistake, the Broncos are the better team this year. If you still question that, get back to me on the night of January 3rd when the teams meet again, this time in Broncos country.

The stage has been set for next week. In fact, I can already smell the popcorn being popped. Could the Broncos be the team to snap the Colts’ 12-0 record? Could Dr. Doom take Peyton down to the ground. Can the Broncos experienced secondary stop Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon? Can the offensive line fend off Dwight Freeney? It’s all set to go down next week.

Do the Broncos have a good shot at winning in Indy next week? Leave a comment below.