Orchard Park, N.Y.
Forgive the Broncos. Warming up to playing the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night took some doing.
Warming up, period, was a test.
It was 28 degrees at kickoff and it grew colder as the night progressed and the Broncos just chilled. They fell behind 7-0, ripped by Buffalo’s opening drive. And the Broncos just chilled.
Denver’s first offensive possession was a three-and-out. Near the end of the first quarter there was a lost Denver fumble. There was another Denver three-and-out to start the second quarter. The Buffalo offense owned the ball for nearly 17 minutes in the first half.
And the Broncos just chilled.
The Broncos entered with one fewer losses (3) than the Bills had victories (4), but that was not evident early. The Broncos had to warm up to this thing – traveling and playing in December in the frosty Northeast, confronting a team used to this cold, clinching a playoff spot against a bunch quite blue and embarrassed over another dud season.
That is one thing about the Broncos we should all appreciate.
Even with the crushing playoff losses to the Colts and no home playoff games since they moved from old Mile High, even in their own patches of misery, the Broncos have not dealt with this. Not with what the Bills are, floundering and ready for more change at the end of this season at the top and in the middle and at the bottom of the organization. Out of it before getting a chance to get in it.
Iced.
Chilled.
No, this 28-17 victory gave Denver its third straight postseason berth. It came in a way we have not seen much from these Broncos this season.
Denver played its best ball late, tying the game in the second quarter on a lob pass, end-zone takeaway by receiver Rod Smith over cornerback Troy Vincent. That play warmed the Broncos.
In the second half the Broncos kicked their execution and performance into higher gear. A second-half push of 21-3 built late into the fourth quarter proved just the salve needed for a slow, cold start from a team that is used to burning it up early.
Thus, the Broncos continue their growth. They continue evolving into what they will become.
They are a team that melted in the heat of Miami on opening day, but recovered and worked and improved and reached the playoffs on this night in shivering cold. They have won on Thanksgiving Day and now finish the regular season with this the first of three consecutive Saturday games.
There is nothing routine about this 11-3 Denver season.
All the more reason to appreciate it.
Actually, this place is known for weather much worse, much colder, with wind and snow barreling throughout some games. It was not like that for the Broncos.
By the end of the night it was entertaining all around for them, with a fan running onto the field with 1:36 left and the game in hand, tearing off his shirt while being chased by security. Only a few thousand fans were left in the stands by then.
The Broncos had already sent the rest of them home in a hurry and in a huff.
The Broncos’ defense found success placing eight and nine men at the line of scrimmage and then backing off that many into layered pass coverage. It threw confusion at quarterback Kelly Holcomb, and he never quite solved it. So, as the game rolled on, the Broncos rolled more with that defensive tactic and it kept clicking.
The Denver defense has been at its best when aggressively blitzing.
In this game it excelled by backing off.
As for the offense, well, it was all cold thumbs for much of the first half but became heated in the second half. The Broncos began to focus and produce, to simplify and pound the ball. It worked beautifully. It put pressure squarely in the face of the Bills’ defense. A 4-10 defense that is part of a 4-10 team. That is exactly what you want to do to a 10-loss team.
Hit the core of what they are.
The Broncos did that.
We do not know how the Broncos will fare against the Colts or the Bengals or any other playoff team. We know their season has been a tapestry of building identity within, of hiding weak spots, of creating a force that will be battle-tested for the postseason.
Win their final two games and the Broncos gain the AFC’s No. 2 seed.
A bye week. A first-ever playoff game in their 5-year-old stadium.
It would be cold next month in their home, too, but a different kind of cold.
A nice, rewarding chill.
Staff writer Thomas Georgecan be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
