Four without fear

So it’s not quite Jacksonville-Kansas City-Pittsburgh-Green Bay, but the Broncos are nonetheless coming up on their most exciting four-game stretch in years, and I can’t wait.

This Sunday: Indianapolis at Denver. The Broncos host the Colts in Denver’s first real test of the season. (Unless you count the Rams.)

The Colts’ perfect 6-0 mark does include road wins against both New York squads, but the horseshoe-shorn squad has already played half its home games. The Colts had an easy early schedule? Could the NFL front office be looking to do them some kind of favor?

Indianapolis brings the third-ranked offense (and the fourth in scoring) into the home of the league’s stingiest defenders. But forget the numbers-this matchup is interesting because of certain recent postseason events I’d prefer not to mention. In like fashion, Denver has owned the regular season matchups, but this is the first recent in-season meeting to hold significance for both teams.

Nov. 5: At Pittsburgh. After destroying the Colts, the Broncos move on to Pittsburgh, where they’ll dishonor Heinz Field in much the same way their foes despoiled the sacred grass of Invesco last January.

The Steelers are weird. Their stopgap quarterback, Charlie Batch, has almost twice the quarterback rating of superstar Ben Roethlisberger (136.8 to 74.5). They’re ninth in offensive yardage and twelfth in defensive, and they’ve outscored opponents by nineteen-but the defending champions are just 2-4.

Pittsburgh’s dangerous, but they’ve struggled against good defenses this year-and the Broncos certainly qualify on that count.

Nov. 12: At Oakland. Unfortunately, Oakland failed in their glorious quest for winlessness. Now that they’ve sampled the sweet nectar of victory, are the Raiders a formidable opponent for the Horsemen? No chance! Expect Art Shell, Andrew Walter, and Randy “Never Die Easy” Moss to remain gainfully employed during this contest, and expect Oakland’s season of futility to nadir with a devastating defeat at the hands of their most hated rival.

Oh, I suppose it has all the makings of a “trap” game, but I don’t gamble and don’t intend to get you to start, so why make something out of nothing? On a side note, I did make note of the NFL’s thoughtful nature, scheduling this game two weeks after Halloween so as to allow Bay Area costume shops to restock Darth Vader outfits in anticipation of kickoff.

Nov. 19: San Diego at Denver. The Chargers are perhaps the surprise of the NFL season. (Or, more accurately, Philip Rivers is.) I hope the punishing Denver defense can accelerate Fill-up’s transition into his post-football career as a service station attendant, because I can never remember if it’s Philip or Phillip.

However, with a sparkling 96.3 rating twenty-three days in advance of the AFC West’s showcase showdown, this appears unlikely. It appears LaDainian’s career may yet not be in vain, for San Diego has finally found the passer they’ve sought since running Drew Brees out of town so many seasons past.

With a powerful offense ranked fourth in the NFL, surely San Diego must thirst for improvement on the ball’s opposite side, yes? Nay, for the Chargers are No. 1 in the NFL’s yards-allowed standings, though they give up almost twice as many points as the Broncos.

San Diego is very good-perhaps the most complete team we’ll face this year.

You know what else is good? 9-1.