Playoff Time

I've been backing off from blogging lately. Not necessarily because I don't have anything to write about or because I don't want to write about them, but because life is busy and in evaluating activities that deserve less attention this blog is right near the top of the list.

But I do have to do a post today because the Broncos ended their five-year playoff drought yesterday - thanks only to the fact that the Raiders could not beat the Chargers. I kind of feel like their should be an intermediate four-team playoff between the AFC West teams to determine who should really be the division champ. The Broncos, Raiders, and Chargers finished tied for first - each with an 8-8 record, and the Chiefs finished one game back at 7-9. Neither the Broncos or Raiders seemed all that excited about making the playoffs yesterday. But they decide things like this on a system of tiebreakers, and the Broncos won on the basis of the third tiebreaker.

The 2011 Broncos rank as probably the least threatening Broncos playoff team in history, beating out the 1983 Broncos, who were led by a quarterback duo of rookie John Elway and Steve DeBerg. I'd feel a lot better about their chances next weekend if Von Miller didn't have that cast on his hand, if Brian Dawkins were healthy, and if Chris Kuper hadn't broken his leg yesterday. Oh, and also if they hadn't played like crap for the last three weeks.

But I am a fan, and so I will be supporting them and hoping they can pull off an upset victory against the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Fact: This will be the Broncos' 27th AFC playoff game in their history, and the seventh against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They haven't met any other team more than three times in the playoffs (Cleveland Browns, Houston Oilers).

The Broncos' very first playoff game, back in 1977, was played against the Steelers. The Broncos won on Christmas Eve, 34-21, and later advanced to Super Bowl XII.

The next year, the Broncos repeated as AFC West champs, but were crushed 33-10 by the Steelers, who were on their way to winning Super Bowl XIII.

The first Broncos playoff game I personally witnessed was in January 1985, when the Broncos, coming off a stellar 13-3 season, were upset by the visiting Steelers 24-17.

Five years later, the Steelers again visited the favored Broncos and gave them a good game with the Broncos managing a narrow 24-23 victory on their way to Super Bowl XXIV.

In January 1998, the Broncos beat the Steelers 24-21 in Pittsburgh in the first AFC Championship game between the two teams and advanced to Super Bowl XXXII, which they won.

In January 2006, the Broncos had the path to their seventh Super Bowl laid out neatly in front of them. The week prior, the Steelers had upset the Colts, who had destroyed the Broncos in the playoffs in consecutive seasons. However, the sixth-seeded Steelers came to Denver and made easy work of the Broncos, winning 34-17.

So the series is tied all time, three games apiece. I would expect the Steelers to gain the upper hand come this Sunday and wouldn't be surprised with a final score that read something along the lines of Pittsburgh 34, Denver 13. And there will be thousands of Pittsburgh fans in the stadium because all the Bronco ticket holders will probably sell their tickets to them.

And just when it looked like Tim Tebow had answered all his critics, we will be in for another eight months of debate about his future. I may just disconnect the radio in my car.