Drained but exhilarated after beating the defending Super Bowl champions Sunday afternoon, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer wasn’t worried about how the rest of the season will unfold.
“I don’t even know who we’re playing next week,” Plummer said after the Broncos’ 28-20 victory over New England at Invesco Field at Mile High.
It’s the Giants, Jake. It’s at their place.
“I know we got the Giants this week,” defensive end Trevor Pryce said Monday. “But I can’t tell you who we have after that. I’m concentrating on the Giants this week. That’s the way it has to be.”
It’s the Eagles, Trevor. It’s at home.
Don’t mistake Plummer and Pryce as being indifferent or lackadaisical. It’s just the Broncos’ way this year. At 5-1 for the third consecutive season, the Broncos, who enter the road-heavy portion of the schedule, don’t want to say this year is going to be different from the past two seasons when they went 5-5 over their final 10 games to qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card team playing on the road.
The Broncos believe they have more juice on defense, more execution on offense, more stability on special teams and more depth – everywhere. In addition, the Broncos seem to have more serenity this season.
“I don’t see guys worrying about what’s ahead like we did in the past,” kicker Jason Elam said Monday. “Even last year, guys were talking about playing Indy in the final game of the season four weeks ahead. This year, we know the season will play out and we have to just really worry about what’s ahead that week.”
Still, he knows the schedule gets tougher.
Six of Denver’s remaining 10 games are on the road. Like every team in the NFL, the Broncos aren’t exactly road kings. They have finished 4-4 on the road each of the past three seasons. The Broncos are 1-1 on the road this season, but have parlayed an early slate of home games into a 4-0 start at Invesco Field in their quest to host their first playoff game at the 5-season-old stadium.
“If you can go perfect at home and split on the road, that’s 12-4 and you have a pretty special team,” Pryce said. “Playing on the road isn’t easy, but we have to go out and take the crowd out of the game. We know we have a lot of road games ahead of us.
“But we’ve made it easy on ourselves so far. I’d hate to be 2-2 at home right now. We had four of six at home and we took care of business at home. It’d be tough if we didn’t do that.”
With four of their next six games on the road, Denver knows it’s in for a tough haul. But it also takes solace knowing its 5-1 start wasn’t built on what receiver Ashley Lelie described Sunday as “rinky dink” teams. The combined record of the five teams Denver has beaten is 16-12. None of the teams has a losing record and three have winning records.
Now, the Broncos have a rash of road tests, but the mantra remains the same.
“Whatever’s next, I’m ready,” cornerback Champ Bailey said. “Road? I don’t care where I play, I just want to get a win. On the road or at home, we got to get it done.”
Staff writer Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
