Peyton Manning against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos’ greatest home field advantage is the fact that they play in the oxygen-deprived sky. When visiting teams come to play at 5,280 feet above sea level, particularly at the beginning of the season, it’s difficult for them to perform at a high level for all four quarters of play.

Look no further than the oxygen mask on Troy Polamalu’s face in the first half, or the Broncos’ 17 fourth quarter points against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers, meanwhile, put up just six points in the fourth quarter and converted on just one third down.

That’s where the no-huddle offense comes into play. The Broncos moved the ball in the first quarter, but the rushing game struggled. The team had 8 carries for 16 yards rushing in the first quarter, which also included a Willis McGahee fumble.

Once the Broncos went to the no-huddle in the second quarter, that’s when the offense started clicking. Manning led the Broncos on an 80-yard drive which was capped off by a Knowshon Moreno touchdown in the Broncos’ first no-huddle series.

“It’s something that we pull out every once in a while,” John Fox said about the no-huddle. “He’s (Peyton Manning) definitely smart enough and mature as a quarterback enough to do it. He probably does it as well as anybody and it’s a huge weapon.”

The no-huddle means that Manning is fully in charge of the offense. Bring the NFL to London? The audio of Manning’s play calling at the line of scrimmage should be an exhibit in the Tate Modern.

The second no-huddle series occurred on the Broncos first possession of the second half. Manning needed just two plays to work his own Mile High Magic. He passed to Eric Decker to pick up 9 yards and then tossed the ball over to Demaryius Thomas to let him run it 71 yards for the score.

“I think it made a difference,” Peyton Manning said of the no-huddle. “I think it did sorta give our offense a little boost. I can’t speak to them, to how they felt about it, whether it fatigued them or not. I don’t know that. It did give our offense a little boost where we got into a little rhythm…I think it still comes down to the execution whether you huddle or no huddle, it’s still kind of basic fundamental football.”

The no-huddle was undoubtedly great for the Broncos offense, but what about the defense? It didn’t give them much time to rest. That’s where all those Steelers’ third down conversions come into play, right?

“Some of those wounds were inflicted by ourselves as far as defensively,” Fox said. “That’s a good offensive football team in a lot of ways.”

The Steelers’ offense was good, but on opening night in Denver, the Broncos’ offense was better.

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September 9, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

The moment Peyton Manning ran onto the field on Sunday night is something fans will never forget. The nationally televised prime-time atmosphere always makes for a good time, but throw in Manning’s first game as a Denver Bronco and it becomes one of those events where people save their ticket stubs.

Pre-game activities started early for thousands of Denver fans. The home opener for any season adds some excitement and flair to tailgating rituals, but things got taken up a notch for the beginning of the Manning era. Despite the late kickoff time several parking lots were packed early in the afternoon. Those tailgaters started funneling into the stadium a little bit earlier than usual to see the new Denver Quarterback, and by the time the national anthem began there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.

It was a big day in the history of the franchise. Hope has been revived in a team that has been also-rans for several seasons, and the result on the scoreboard made everyone believe this year can be very special. A statement was made to the nation last night. The Denver Broncos are a force to be reckoned with.

Here are some thoughts on the Denver Broncos victory over the Steelers:

• Peyton Freaking Manning! He finished the game 19 for 26 passing with 253 yards and two touchdowns. His rating for the game was 129.2. Any way you look at it, Manning was spectacular. He made all the throws and led the offense with impressive authority. He took several big hits and won the game with his play in crunch time. You won’t be seeing any more stories about what Manning can’t do because he just showed the entire country that he can still do it all.
• The defense gave up 284 yards and allowed Pittsburgh to convert 11 of 19 third downs. Despite those numbers they did a great job limiting the Steelers to field goals and they came up with the one key turnover when they needed it. There is still some work to be done on the defensive side of the ball but they flashed some of their potential.
• Denver’s running game was surprisingly effective despite going up against one of the better defenses in the league over the last few years. The work load was split amongst several running backs and Manning himself and they totaled 94 yards. It looks like Tebow wasn’t the sole reason for the success of the running game last year after all.
• The Steelers are going to start having nightmares about Demaryius Thomas. The man who torched them in the playoffs last year took a short Manning pass and went 71 yards for the score in the third quarter. It is becoming common to see Thomas running free down the sideline with Pittsburgh defenders in his wake.
• Denver lost the time of possession battle by a wide margin on Sunday night. The biggest reason behind that was the Steelers ability to consistently convert third downs and the impressive play of Ben Roethlisberger. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping Pittsburgh in the game.
• The home crowd was electric all night and gave the Broncos an edge on the field. It seems the old Mile High home field advantage is back.
• The replacement refs struggled to keep pace with the no huddle offenses employed by both teams and they got bogged down during the Pittsburgh coaches’ challenge. The Steelers shouldn’t have been awarded the challenge since Manning quickly ran another play but the refs allowed it anyways. Luckily for the Broncos the play stood as called and it didn’t cost them.
• The Broncos don’t waste any time before they return to the national spotlight. Their next contest is against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football one week from today. Hopefully Denver can keep this early momentum going. Go Broncos!

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Peyton Manning greets Ben Roethlisberger following the game at Sports Authority Field. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

It had been 610 days since Peyton Manning last played a down of football in the regular season. It took one quarter to get back on track, and one touchdown pass to make it No. 400 in his career. Dan Marino and Brett Favre are the only other two quarterbacks in NFL history to reach that mark and it took them 227 and 228 games to do it, respectively. Manning did it in 209 games.

In Manning’s regular season debut with the Denver Broncos, he went 19-for-26 for 253 yards, and 2 touchdowns to help lead the Broncos to a 31-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“That guy is a great competitor. I’ve never seen anybody better. – Champ Bailey on Manning (Denver Post)

We can remember Demaryius Thomas stiff arming Ike Taylor last season as he ran in for the game winning touchdown in overtime to beat the Steelers in the wild card round of the playoffs. Sunday night was just a continuation of that as Thomas had 5 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. The score came off of a 71-yard run that did a lot to jar the old memory bank. The Broncos only dressed four receivers on the night. Turns out that’s all they needed. Well, that and the no-huddle.

Much of the talk was about Manning during the game, but the Broncos’ defense can’t be forgotten when it counted most. With the score 25-19 after a Matt Prater field goal in the fourth quarter with three minutes remaining, the Steelers, led by Big Ben Roethlisberger, were ready for revenge. Tracy Porter had other plans. He intercepted Roethlisberger at the two minute warning and ran it back 44 yards for the score. The guy came to the Broncos from New Orleans during the off season, and he wants to get back there as soon as possible. He added 8 tackles and 4 pass deflections which must have made Big Ben at least a little tempted to throw to Champ Bailey’s side.

“I think I made a pretty good statement.” – Tracy Porter on his interception on Roethlisberger (Denver Post)

The Steelers were hungry as they chewed big chunks of time off the clock in the second and third quarters. The best defense against Manning is to keep him off the field, right? The Steelers had the ball for 14:24 seconds of the third quarter and for 9:38 of the second quarter. The Steelers’ third-down conversion rate was down right scary. Roethlisberger completed six third down passes from distances of 9 to 18 yards. The team went 11-for-19 on third down for the night.

All that was a wash with big play after big play down the stretch. The Broncos had five sacks on the night and won the battle in the most important category.

When all is said and done, the Broncos are right where they need to be. 1-0 with 15 left in the regular season.

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