What a wild season for the Denver Broncos. We saw it all: an offensive line that looked like it was plucked right out of a bad college football movie, the rise, fall, and resurrection of a legend, and a fifth straight AFC West title that ended with the top seed in the top seed in the playoffs.
The orange and blue have had tons of players on the A-team this season and Week 17 was no different. Here is the A-team for the regular season finale.
Ronnie Hillman:
I would be hard pressed not to start with the AFC offensive player of the week, Ronnie Hillman. The man was lights out in crunch time and scored a late game 23-yard touchdown to seal the AFC West title for the orange and blue. Hillman, who ended the contest with 117-yards on 17 attempts, has shared much of the carries with fellow running back C.J. Anderson. Both are healthy and looking ready to run through the playoffs, starting with a home matchup on January 17th.
Peyton Manning:
Finally, I get to put “The Sheriff” on this list! Manning came off the bench halfway through the third and lit a fire under a team that had committed five turnovers before the 18-year veteran galloped onto the field. Manning went 5-9 for 69 total yards with a “great handoff” to Hillman late in the contest. Manning, though, will not take credit for the play, even though he says he wants to. Manning has been named the starter for the playoffs and if he can keep his interception total to a minimum, he might just have one more ride in him all the way to Super Bowl immortality. Hmmm, an aging Denver Broncos quarterback playing for one more title, does that remind you of anybody?
Tyler Polumbus:
Sometimes not all 11 men on the field get the credit they deserve; Tyler Polumbus deserves all of the credit. Coming off the bench at the same time as Manning, Polumbus replaced the struggling Michael Schofield and completely changed the outcome of the game. Denver ran the ball with more efficiency to the right after the switch, and Polumbus was the main blocker when Hillman ran for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Sometimes the guys on the line don’t get the glory; in this case, the journeymen offensive brick house earned the glory.
Everybody wearing an orange jersey played with heart and tenacity this season. Now, just three games separate them from Football immortality.
