It is the most irritating smile in the NFL.
And the Broncos wiped it off the face of New England quarterback Tom Brady.
He is Mr. Perfect no more.
But, as far as Denver was concerned, everything else about Saturday night was almost too good to be true. Go ahead, pinch yourself.
This town had endured six long years without reveling in the orange madness of a home playoff game. It was worth every minute of the wait.
In a 27-13 victory by Denver, cornerback Champ Bailey erased the painted-on smile of Brady, and turned the game inside out, with a 100-yard interception return that proved a dynasty can be turned to dust in the blink of an eye.
The champs are dead.
Long live the Champ.
The controversial trade coach Mike Shanahan made for Bailey in 2004 has never looked better, nor paid a bigger dividend. If you’re looking for an MVP of the Broncos, the ballot begins and ends with the Pro Bowl cornerback.
It turns out the legendary shoes that Denver has been looking to fill since John Elway hung up his spurs fit perfectly on this 6-foot tall, 192-pound veteran.
How does he do it? “Dream,” Bailey said.
How big do you have to be to make Mr. Clutch choke? Bailey stole the football and the night away from Brady.
“That’s something he has done all year,” Broncos linebacker Keith Burns said. “It doesn’t surprise anyone in this locker room.”
Way back in September, Bailey silenced hometown boos and got a grip on the regular season with his interception for a touchdown against San Diego. The Broncos wouldn’t be here without that play. And they could not have moved on against New England without him.
How far is the road back to the Super Bowl for the Broncos?
It’s every bit as long, as arduous and as full of unexpected pitfalls as the 100 yards Bailey huffed and puffed from his own end zone to within one stride of a touchdown after picking off a throw by Brady in the third quarter, with the Patriots down 10-6 and 5 short yards away from taking the lead.
After being as close to perfect as a team and a quarterback can be while winning three championships in the span of four seasons, Brady and the Patriots unraveled with an astonishingly bad display of five turnovers and lost composure.
The 14 points that proved to be Denver’s winning margin can – and will – be disputed.
A blatant mistake by a referee gave the Broncos their lone touchdown of the first half after a horrid pass-interference call in the end zone. And Bailey’s long interception return stopped a yard short of the end zone, because he was caught from behind by tight end Ben Watson, whose tackle caused a fumble that was perilously close to being bobbled through the end zone, which would have returned possession of the ball to the Pats.
Asked to assess the quality of those crucial decision by the refs, New England coach Bill Belichick curtly replied, “Go ask them.”
Let the fans of New England whine. It’s what makes them happy. It’s what they do best.
The Broncos now return to the AFC championship for the first time since Elway left the building.
Awaiting notification of the next foe, televisions in Denver will be tuned to today’s Indianapolis-Pittsburgh game. In these parts, it won’t be an impartial audience.
During the final, giddy seconds of the fourth quarter, with time remaining on the clock but the party already begun, the crowd started a chant in the stands. A salute to Bailey? No.
“Let’s go Steelers!” the audience shouted, in a loud group prayer.
After falling from the championship race with an ugly thud in Indiana each of the past two seasons, nobody in Denver really wants to go back there.
Beating the Brady bunch was one thing. Dealing with Peyton Manning and the Colts on their home turf is nobody’s idea of a good time.
Somebody asked Bailey if he had a preference for an opponent.
Without missing a beat, Bailey said, “I’d like to play at home.”
This Champ is no dummy.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
