When a football team is reminded of the principles of life and death, when the game they play becomes more than a mere game but also an expression of life, well, grand things can happen.
The Broncos and the Giants experienced this in separate places on Sunday afternoon after an odd meeting in New York the Sunday before.
For the Giants, the wounds and sorrow were worse.
Their beloved owner, Wellington Mara, died last week.
For the Broncos, the shock mixed with hope was jarring. They lost teammate Dwayne Carswell for the season when he was seriously injured in a car accident last week. Carswell remains hospitalized.
The Giants united and whipped the Redskins, 36-0.
The Broncos bonded and junked the Eagles, 49-21.
There was a symmetry in these games, and with these teams that cannot be ignored.
Lessons of life and death shake the young as well as the old among pro football players. The realization is reinforced that the game they love to play, that rewards them handsomely in finances, respect and stardom, is a privilege more than a right.
The nicks and bruises do not seem to hurt so badly. The focus and attention to detail during games and the spirit and camaraderie among them increases.
The goals become clearer.
The desire intensifies.
For the Broncos, it clicked.
“Really, it can go one way or the other way,” Broncos offensive tackle George Foster said. “You start to think about what happened to Dwayne and you can become saddened and go in the tank. Or you can be thankful to God and start to rise from it, for him, for yourself, for your team. He is a tough, tough, tough guy. We didn’t need to go out there today and perform magic. We just needed to play tough the whole game, like he always has.”
They call Carswell “House,” as in big as a house.
There was a sign in the Broncos’ locker room, near an exit, that offered “A Mile High Salute” to Carswell and “Get Well Soon.”
Darrent Williams and Al Wilson tapped it before heading to the field for the game. They were in the team meeting early Thursday morning when coach Mike Shanahan informed his players of Carswell’s accident. A hush fell over the room. It was followed by tears from some players and a practice that was not as crisp.
An eye-opener.
The Broncos kept using that word to describe their emotions, their feelings about “House,” about their jobs, about this game, about their season.
“I went to visit him Friday and Saturday, and I am heading over there right now to watch Sunday night football with him,” linebacker Keith Burns said after the Broncos’ victory. “I came into the NFL with him. We have a friendship beyond football. It’s the mental thing that will challenge him most now. He can’t play anymore this year. I have to lift his spirits. He has already lifted ours.”
The Broncos built a 28-0 lead and we got the feeling early that they came to compete. On the sixth play of the game, receiver Ashley Lelie fought in midair with nasty safety Brian Dawkins, and Lelie won the battle and gained a 32-yard catch. Lelie out-duking Dawkins? Not the outcome most would expect. That led to the Broncos gaining a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive.
What the Broncos defense did for much of the game against the Eagles offense looked similar to the relentless style Jim Johnson, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, has long employed. He must have been impressed. The way the Broncos offense flowed for much of the game looked similar to the way Eagles coach Andy Reid has watched his team perform in recent years. Reid must have been in awe.
The Broncos score 28 straight, the Eagles score 21 straight and then the Broncos finish with 21 straight.
The day started cloudy, then the sun broke through, then it rained heavily, then drizzled, then it was dry skies again.
Domonique Foxworth made a late, game-swinging interception.
Todd Devoe put the slip on the Eagles for a late touchdown, his NFL-first.
Tatum Bell once again showed he is a special running back with the game’s final points, two rushing touchdowns, one a 67-yarder.
Through it all, Dwayne Carswell, “House,” was in the Broncos’ hearts, in their heads. There was a burden on their shoulders.
For the day, it was lifted.
As was Carswell.
“1-2-3 House!” is how the Broncos celebrated with a chant in the locker room afterward.
The Broncos found additional purpose. It will last, they say, for the entire season.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
