As a fervent Colts fan, I learned long ago that Peyton Manning’s first-quarter body language must be studied with great care. This is particularly true on a game’s initial offensive drive, when Manning probes the opponent’s secondary for vulnerabilities and gauges how many seconds of protection he can reasonably expect from his line. If he fails to move the chains a bit while conducting his surveillance, Manning’s shoulders will often curl forward a few degrees, or he’ll worriedly knead the lining of his hand warmer. Once he makes it to a bench, he’ll crane his neck to either side, as if looking for a poltergeist to blame for his slot receiver’s third-and-seven drop. All of these small signs of frustration portend a game in which Manning will be prone to miscues.
And so like a Kremlinologist poring over Pravda in the wake of Yuri Andropov’s death, I scrutinized Manning’s every muscle twitch after the Denver Broncos’ first drive stalled at the New England Patriots‘ forty-eight-yard line. As he did his typical stiff-legged trot to the sideline, I saw no trace of the trademark Manning pout but rather the confident posture of a quarterback who knew that he was fortune’s favorite. Though his first possession yielded no points, Manning had to be encouraged by what he saw: his oversized receivers had sticky hands; his linemen were exploding into their foes; his running backs were picking up rushers on the edge. The points would come.
A happy Manning is a trusting Manning, which is why he didn’t hesitate to opt for the draw on two critical third downs. The first of these runs, in the second quarter, in which Knowshon Moreno converted a third-and-ten, conjured up memories of Joseph Addai’s game-winning touchdown in the 2007 A.F.C. Championship—also against the Patriots. When Moreno used a Barry Sanders-esque burst of speed to skip over a tackle right next to the first-down marker, any objective viewer had to sense that the Broncos would be the ones to take the trip to the Meadowlands. The accuracy of that premonition was confirmed shortly afterward, when it became clear that the injured Patriots’ cornerback Aqib Talib would not be able to rejoin the game; contrary to what Steve Smith might believe, a quick application of ice is not always sufficient medical treatment.
Tom Brady’s failure to hit a couple of streaking receivers in stride will be the story of most post mortems, but credit is due to a Broncos defensive line that feasted upon space. The Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount, who was such a force against the Colts last weekend, was neutralized by the tackle Terrance Knighton. Knighton was also responsible for the game’s most delectable moment of speed, when he made the Patriots guard Logan Mankins appear to be more statue than man en route to a fourth-down sack of Brady. When a team can rely on its interior linemen to wreak backfield havoc instead of just clog up the middle, a victory is far more likely than a loss.
Yet, Denver’s defense is lucky that it never paid the price for its secondary’s daredevil ways. The cornerbacks are overly keen for interceptions—at one point, I began to wonder if Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie owed someone a pick six. The Broncos got away with their dice tossing this time; they would be well-advised to consider toning down the bravado against the Seahawks in New Jersey.
Peyton Manning, however, will be content to remain aggressive—something that his Colts teams often neglected to do come playoff time, through no fault of his own. I have vivid recollections of an anaconda-sized vein throbbing on Manning’s forehead after Tony Dungy elected for a third-quarter punt while trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by eighteen points in a 2007 A.F.C. Divisional game. The Broncos coach John Fox is apparently wise enough to never hamstring his star with such conservatism, which means the team’s Super Bowl offense should feature plenty of risk-taking—thirty-five-yard jump balls to Demaryius Thomas, fourth-down running plays in lieu of fifty-five-yard field-goal attempts. The Broncos inarguably have the offensive talent to convert those opportunities more often than not, provided that Manning resists his Eeyore tendencies.
Photograph by Doug Pensinger/Getty.
