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This, Broncos Country, is what an "A" effort by the Denver Broncos looks like, and it was against a quality opponent nonetheless! The score was lopsided, but the harsh reality for the 49ers was that the game wasn't even as close as the ridiculously lopsided score was. Holy cow was this a complete 180 degree difference from last week's victory.
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Peyton Manning made history tonight! 509 TD's. Any talk about a decline was obviously premature. Who would ever say such garbage in the first place? Whoever it was needs to apologize, and quick! So, I'm sorry. Peyton looked as deadly as ever. What I liked more than his 318 yard, 4 TD performance was the fact that he didn't let the pressure of the moment get the better of him. If this is a preview of the "Peyton under pressure" yet to come in the postseason, then I like our chances.
I don't know who hijacked our running game, but thank you! When was the last time the Broncos had a 37-yard TD run by someone not named Tim Tebow? I don't know who did what to our running game, but I'm gonna steal the moniker from McDonalds and say "I'm lovin it!" I should mention that I loved how hard Hillman ran, but I still think Thompson is the better back. But hey, I'm not about to start messing with this success.
If I wrote a sentence for every Broncos player that played well tonight, I'd have arthritis before I finished this post. I mean, this team DESTROYED the San Francisco 49ers. Complete destruction. They dominated a Super Bowl contender from the opening kickoff - now dubbed the beginning of a string of 3 & outs.
Who can we start with? Von Miller and his 2 sacks? DeMarcus Ware and his 3 sacks? Aquib Talib and his pick? Chris Harris Jr. and his typical dominance? How about Quanterus Smith and his endless harassment of Colin Kaepernick?
This might be the shortest instant reactions ever, but it is simply because there are only so many adjectives you can come up with for "The Broncos kicked the 49ers butts up and down the field for 60 minutes!" I mean, we even had Brock Osweiller play the entire 4th Quarter! If that doesn't say "blowout", I don't know what does.
Oh, and speaking of that. Way to go John Fox for pulling your starters after the 3rd quarter because there is a game in four days. Let's keep our players fresh and healthy and in sync. Everything I said last week about the Broncos playing at a C+ level have been rectified. This is what this team looks like when they play at an A level. When the Broncos play at that level, there is literally no team that can even pretend to hang with them.
All I know is that for all the dissatisfaction that I felt last week, I feel nothing but excitement about the direction of this team. Lets keep the momentum going. Lets keep ticking upwards (although it'll be pretty damn hard to top tonight) until we are consistently playing at an "A" level.
After tonight, I think there can be zero doubt as to who the best team in the NFL is. It's your Denver Broncos!!! No team can hang with these guys when they decide to give it their all. Keep up this momentum, and there's no stopping you!
"Everybody here tonight, gets a game ball." ~ John Fox 2010