On Sunday, January 24, 2016, the Denver Broncos will face the New England Patriots in the team's tenth AFC championship game. Despite having a running game that has greatly improved after being week earlier in the season, Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Peyton Manning, and a great field goal kicker, the team will win or lose that game and the Super Bowl, depended on whether its defense can carry it to victory. If it wins it all, the defense will carry it, just like the defense of the Chicago Bears did during the 1985 season. That year the Bears did have Walter Peyton, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. It had Jim McMahon as quarterback. The team, which was rated as the top Super Bowl team in NFL …show more content…
Walter Payton was the Offensive Player of the Year with 1,551 yards, and the team had great receivers in Willie Gault and Dennis McKinnon. The team, which also had struggled to find an adequate quarterback, had McMahon, who was 11-0 as a starter for the team that wen 15-1 during the regular season. The defense was still the key, however, as the team outscored its opponents 91-10 after losing its only game to the Miami Dolphins, 38-24. It only gave up ten points in the playoffs, in the Super Bowl, as the New England Patriots scored against the Bears' second team. The defense had five teams on the Pro Bowl 20 interceptions, and 26.5 sacks by the defensive line alone. The old saying has always been that "defense wins …show more content…
The team was 12-4, beating playoff teams Kansas City (1-1 against the team), Green Bay, Pittsburgh (1-1, but winning in the playoffs), New England, and Minnesota. Three times the team came back from 14 point deficits against playoff teams. It ended the year with the best defense in yards allowed (283.1, something the team had never done before), was number one in giving up the fewest yards per play (4.4), gave up the fewest yards rushing per play (3.3), passing yards per game (199.6), and had the most sacks--52. The team was also tied for third in the league, with the Indianapolis Colts, in defensive touchdowns, with five--including four interception returns, and one fumble return. As for the offense, it struggled early in the year as it tried to adapt to new coach Gary Kubiak's new system which emphasized the run, and Peyton Manning played through injuries, before finally succumbing and going out in its second Kansas City game. It improved as Brock Osweiler took over for the injured Manning, and the running game improved but was still not always consistent four four quarters. In the Pittsburgh playoff game, the team's offense moved a good bit but still scored only field goals until a final game winning 65-yard