Strength or vulnerability; which characteristic did the Broncos display in their win over the Cowboys?

Great football teams beat the opponents they’re supposed to beat and limit mistakes against other top-tier teams. Then, there’s the Denver Broncos.

Against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Broncos were able to absorb the best the Cowboys had to offer, yet it still wasn’t enough for Dallas to overcome the Broncos’ offense.

Peyton Manning had an off day too. He threw only four touchdowns and even tossed a ball to the Cowboys. Tony Romo had a very similar day, but the difference was Romo’s lone mistake on the day. Deep in their own territory, Tony Romo gave away a turnover right at the two minute mark in the fourth quarter, and the Broncos were able to milk the clock down to just two seconds and kick a chip-shot winning field goal.

In their win Sunday, the Broncos didn’t display their own vulnerability to the rest of the league. True, Denver could lose a game to a solid team playing out of this world football, but consider this. The Broncos’ offense was its usual self, and the defense had a very bad game. In addition, the Broncos played against an offense that could, almost, do no wrong.

The misconception here is that the Broncos are some invincible team that is just now showing weakness. That’s never been the case in the NFL, and it never will be the case. The Broncos are an amazing team, but they’re still only human.

The problem, at least the problem for the rest of the NFL, is Denver’s ability to overcome difficult circumstances. Whether it was because the Cowboys’ offense was that good or just bad planning combined with injuries, the Broncos played terrible defense Sunday, but they still won.

No team in the NFL will ever be unbeatable. Had the ’72 Dolphins played enough games, they would have eventually lost one, and the same goes for this year’s Broncos. The question that remains is simple. How long can the Broncos go without losing a game? At their current rate, that number may be well over the magical 19-game mark.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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