Denver is going to be a very interesting team to watch this off-season and early next year.
Rebounding from the loss is going to be hard for that team - it's not whether you win or lose, but HOW you win or lose that matters. There was obvious tension between Sanders and Manning last year, with Sanders mouthing off to him. Then you have Demarius Thomas's admission that guys in the locker room were openly expressing their fears of going back to New England to play the Pats.
Add on top of that the one of the worst games Manning ever played - he was simply awful in that game.
When the Pats lost to Denver two years ago, most NE fans were wounded, but we all knew that it was a miracle that Brady and BB got that hospital ward of a team to the AFCCG...and we all understood that just getting healthier in the off-season would make NE much better in 2014. Can Denver say that?
Let's throw in the very expensive Demarcus Ware's death spiral the last half of the year, key free agents in Thomas and Thomas and a team atmosphere that was shattered by season's end.
Denver looked like the team to beat for much of last season, and to the bitter end, I thought them (not the Ravens) to be the toughest out for New England. Now? I think they'll be fighting for their lives to win the West - San Diego and Kansas City are not pushovers.
Now? Well, let's just add in a new coaching staff to make things even more interesting.
Manning's better than Ostweiler, I expect, but should Denver even keep him at that cap hit with a new regime in place?