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2. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post) The devil wears purple. Ed Rydberg strolled down 16th Street Mall, when he suddenly said: "What the ..." There was Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, featured on a banner on a light post. Flacco quarterbacked the Baltimore Ravens to a playoff upset in Denver in the previous season, but because this Broncos-Ravens game was the NFL’s season opener, the league put up promotional banners of both teams around town. "It's really weird," Rydberg said. "I don't understand it. I think it's kind of stupid. I think it should have just been Broncos. It's our town." ( cd05BRONCOS_HHR_8219 )

3. (Photo by Tim Rasmussen/The Denver Post) Revenge is a dish best served bold. Peyton Manning threw seven touchdown passes in the season opener against the Ravens, and the Broncos won 49-27. Manning became the sixth quarterback in NFL history to throw seven TD passes in a game -- the first since a guy named Joe Kapp in 1969. Tight end Julius Thomas had his coming-out party, catching five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Demaryius Thomas also had two touchdown catches in the raucous win. ( SP06FBNBRONXTR2_4485 )

4. (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post) From Denver to New York and down to New Orleans, everyone was talking about the Manning Bowl. Peyton vs. Eli. Broncos vs. Giants. Back before we found out that the Giants were spectacularly abysmal, this looked like a tough matchup for the Broncos. But Peyton got the best of his kid brother, throwing two touchdown passes in the 41-23 Denver home victory, putting the Broncos at 2-0. ( SP16FBNBRONX_JA12488 )

5. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) Against the hated Raiders, the Broncos tied their team record for 14 consecutive regular-season victories, set in 1998, the team’s second Super Bowl championship season. Manning threw three touchdown passes for Denver (3-0), giving him 12 on the season, one more than Tom Brady’s record for touchdowns to start the season. Denver wide receiver Eric Decker made eight catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. ( SP23FBNBRONX_AO23597 )

6. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post) After the 52-20 Broncos victory against the Eagles put Denver at 4-0, a reporter told Manning that 52 was a Broncos' franchise high. Peyton quipped, "May have to give ol' Thunder an IV after that one." But with a happy laugh, the rider of the Broncos’ horse, Ann Judge-Wegener, put everyone's mind at ease: “Thunder is in great shape! Thunder didn't have any adverse effects, but the team of two-legged friends were feeling it by the end of the day." Indeed, three members of her team — including her husband, Terry, the "pooper-scooper" — sprint down the sideline with Thunder.”They were huffing and puffing. Between scores, they were all doing knee bends and stretches, trying to keep their legs loose. It was really a crack-up.” ( SP29FBNBRONX_JA17469 )

7. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) In perhaps the wackiest game of the season, the Broncos came out of Dallas with a victory. Manning passed for 414 yards, and Tony Romo passed for 470 in what was something out of an Xbox game. This 51-48 victory was Denver’s first on the road, and the Broncos remained undefeated (5-0). Danny Trevathan's diving interception in the final two minutes ultimately gave Denver kicker Matt Prater the chance to kick the game-winning field goal. ( SP07FBNBRONX__AO15136 )

8. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) Heading into the game against winless Jacksonville, the question was not if Denver would win, but if Denver would set the NFL record for points scored. During one newscast, 9News showed Broncos players speaking kindly about Jacksonville, and on the bottom had the line: “Broncos Pretend Jaguars Are Good Team.” Denver did win the game, 35-19, but it wasn’t a clean effort and they didn’t come close to the record. Nevertheless, Denver took care of business, heading into the biggest game at that point in the season. ( SP13FBNBRONX_AO16315 )

9. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) Peyton Manning’s constellation of Colts stars – and their intergalactic passing offense – was the subject of attack by an unlikely source. Heading into Manning’s first game at Indianapolis since being released by the team, Colts owner Jim Irsay told USA Today: "You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin (Harrison) and Reggie (Wayne). Mostly, you love this (flashing his lone championship ring).” ( SP21FBNBRONX_2JL8019 )

10. (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post) Before the game at Indianapolis, Manning was greeted to a standing ovation and a video tribute. Irsay, though, also had the stadium roof open on the chilly night (Manning doesn’t enjoy throwing in the cold). The Broncos (5-1) made numerous mental errors, and Manning’s successor, Andrew Luck, beat Manning, 39-33. A sack-fumble proved costly for Denver. After the game, Colts defensive end Cory Redding was asked about the defensive pressure on Manning: “Oh gosh, we were hitting that boy, and hitting him, and hitting him. And if we weren’t hitting on him, we were stepping on his feet. Pushing him. Breathing on him. Letting him know we’re there. That gets to him.” ( SP20FBNBRONX_JA34137 )

11. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) Each week seemed to have a huge storyline, from revenge with the Ravens to Eli Manning to Peyton Manning’s return to Indianapolis. This week was no different, as legendary coach Mike Shanahan returned to Denver to coach for the first time against his old team. The Washington Redskins coach had no match for the team built by pupil-turned-exec John Elway, and the 6-1 Broncos won, 45-21. Manning threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns – and, uncharacteristically, three interceptions -- and the Denver defense came up with a season-high five turnovers. ( SP28FBNBRONX_2JL1627 )

12. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post) This was the ultimate “next man up,” as coach John Fox says. The Broncos kept on winning, despite losing Miller (suspension) and Pro Bowl left tackle Ryan Clady to a season-ending injury. But Denver was dealt a suckerpunch of a blow during its bye week of all weeks – Fox needed to undergo heart surgery, after collapsing on a golf course. "We're on a mission to carry on and continue the things that coach Fox has instilled and started with this football team," said interim coach Jack Del Rio, the Broncos defensive coordinator. "This is coach Fox's team, I'm merely the person who is able to keep it running while he's leading." ( SP28FBNBRONX_JA18421 )

13. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) In the first game under Del Rio, the Broncos (7-1) picked up a tricky road win at San Diego, 28-20. Demaryius Thomas caught three touchdown passes, and Julius Thomas made a 74-yard catch-and-run on Denver's first drive. It was a short pass from Peyton and the galloping Thomas ended up with the second-longest play by a Broncos tight end. The victory against the Chargers put Denver at 8-1, heading into the unlikeliest biggest game of the season. ( SP11FBNBRONX_2JL2675 )

14. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) Who? Really? Yep, the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of only two games in 2012, were 9-0 heading into the Chiefs-Broncos game, scheduled for Sunday Night Football on NBC. The fear in Denver was that Kansas City’s pass pressure would penetrate, a la the Colts, causing Manning a multitude of problems. But Denver’s valiant offensive line, with Chris Clark emerging at left tackle during the season, kept Manning’s jersey clean all night. The Chiefs were the last undefeated team in the NFL. but were exposed by the Broncos, who became 9-1 with the 27-17 home victory. It produced the highest TV ratings for a November NFL game in 17 seasons. ( SP17FBNBRONX_AO17087 )

15. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) Manning can’t play in the cold. That’s what they’ve said for years. And on a freezing, windy night in Foxboro, Mass., Manning had his worst game of the season, losing to longtime nemesis Tom Brady and the Patriots, 34-31 in overtime. It was the most disheartening loss in recent seasons, because Denver had a 24-0 lead at halftime – 24-0! – until Brady started being Brady. New England coach Bill Belichick actually gave Denver the ball in overtime, knowing Manning would have to throw into the howling wind. Denver didn’t score and ultimately, the Patriots punted the ball -- but returner Wes Welker, the former Patriot, bungled the call, and the ball accidentally hit teammate Tony Carter. The Patriots soon won on a field goal, spoiling Knowshon Moreno’s night of 224 rushing yards for the Broncos (9-2). ( SP25FBNBRONX_1JL0059 )

16. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) Call it The Crying Game. Before the Broncos’ rematch with the Chiefs at Kansas City, cameras caught Moreno crying during the national anthem, but his tears were so thick, they looked like shoestrings dangling from his eyelids. Moreno admitted that he gets outrageously emotional before every game, and this was a big one, with the division lead on the line. Denver won at Arrowhead Stadium, 35-28, and Decker scored four touchdowns for the Broncos, now cruising at 10-2. Manning finished the day with another 400-plus yard passing game. ( SP02FBNBRONX_1JL1259 )

17. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) Manning can play in the cold! At least against the Tennessee Titans. It was only 18 degrees in Denver at kickoff, but Manning seemed unfazed for much of the afternoon, completing 39 passes – a Broncos record. Fox returned to the sideline to much fanfare. Denver (11-2) had only played 13 games, but Manning already had set the NFL record with seven four-touchdown games. Denver won the game 51-28, giving the Broncos their third 50-point game of the season, the first time a team had done so since the NFL merger. ( SP08FBNBRONXHC2_8385 )

18. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post) The hero was transported home in a chariot of Lucchese leather, his prized right foot (and, for symmetry, his irrelevant left one, too) nestled inside size-10½ brown boots. "Regular leather boots, real comfortable," said Broncos kicker Matt Prater, sounding something like Brett Favre in a Wrangler commercial. "You get a nice pair of boots, there's nothing better. Now I'm going to have to wear those boots to every game." They're Lucky Luccheses. Prater kicked an NFL record 64-yard field goal to end the first half of the Titans game — holder Britton Colquitt quipped, "The longest hold in NFL history" — and Prater did so in 14-degree weather. "The temperature takes out the altitude factor, I'd say,” Prater explained. ( SP08FBNBRONX_JA24420 )

19. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) This was weird. The Broncos were the talk of the NFL, but lost – at home – to the San Diego Chargers on a Thursday night game, 27-20, putting Denver at 11-3. Former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, now the head man for San Diego, cooked up a game plan that gobbled up clock – nearly 39 minutes in total. And longtime Denver enemy Philip Rivers picked apart the Denver secondary when needed, keeping the Chargers’ playoff hopes alive with a victory that surprised most folks in football. And running back Ryan Matthews, ugh, decimated Denver with 127 ground yards. ( SP012FBNBRONX_2JL1774 )

20. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) An hour after Manning made an indelible mark, an indelible mark remained – the footprint divot in the end-zone turf, where Julius Thomas caught the record-breaking touchdown. Thomas’ haul in Houston was Manning’s 51st this season, an NFL record, surpassing his longtime rival Tom Brady, who threw 50 for New England in 2007. Oh, and Manning threw No. 51 in the 15th game of the season, whereas Brady used all 16. Oh, and Denver (12-3) clinched the division title, and earned a first-round playoff bye with its 37-13 victory against the Texans. "I really feel like it's a team accomplishment, an offensive accomplishment, because a lot of people played roles in it," said Manning, who was 32-for-51 with four touchdown passes (Nos. 48-51) and a tidy 400 yards. ( SP11FBNBRONX_1JL6550 )

21. (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post) No, Von Miller wasn’t Von Miller. The Broncos linebacker, upon returning from his suspension, didn’t dominate games the way he had in previous seasons. But Miller still graded out as one of Denver’s better defenders, which made his season-ending injury devastating for those at Dove Valley. In the victory at Houston, Denver lost Miller, who tore an anterior cruciate ligament. He finished with five sacks in nine games, three forced fumbles and a pass deflection. He joined other defensive starters Rahim Moore and Kevin Vickerson on injured reserve. ( SP22FBNBRONX_JA29092 )

22. (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post) In the last game of the season, Denver had to win to clinch home-field advantage, and the Broncos indeed outscored the Raiders, 31-0 … in the first half. Any concerns about blowing home field were whisked away by Manning’s passes into the Oakland sky. Manning threw four touchdown passes in the first two quarters, and he didn’t even need to take a snap in the latter two, as Denver cruised to a 34-14 win, finishing the season with 606 points, the most in league history. Manning also set the single-season record for passing yards (5,477), Star Wars numbers, to be sure. The Broncos headed into the playoffs 13-3 with the No. 1 seed in the AFC, just like the previous season. ( SP29FBNBRONX_JA29802 )

23. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post) For the Broncos, it's all about the Super Bowl. For the San Diego Chargers, Denver’s division-round playoff opponent, it's all about the super bolo. Rivers, this country-and-western cognoscente, wore bolo ties in postgame news conferences, and over at the Rockmount store, Steve Weil said with a grand guffaw: "If we win on Sunday, it's because Philip Rivers (ticked) us off by wearing what's ours. He's riled us up. This is our deal, not theirs!" Weil's grandfather, the late Denver legend Jack A. Weil, made the bolo the bolo. In the 1940s, "Papa Jack" became the first person to commercially sell bolo ties, which are a type of necktie with a thin cord or braided leather, clasped together with a decorative piece. Since then, his company, Rockmount Ranch Wear, has sold millions internationally. ( SP12FBNBRONXDSC_0396 )

24. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post) Redemption. Yes, it was only one game – Denver needed two more to win the Super Bowl – but the playoff victory against the Chargers at least exorcised the demon that was the Ravens game a January ago. For three quarters, the once-porous Denver defense looked like it was something out of 1977. The Broncos led 17-0 heading into the fourth quarter, but a season-ending knee injury to cornerback Chris Harris led to chaos. The Broncos wedged the rusty Quentin Jammer into the backfield, and Chargers bolted past the former Charger for numerous key catches. Denver held on to win, 24-17, and Manning made two imperative third-down throws to seal his first playoff victory in orange. ( SP012FBNBRONX_1JL2892 )

25. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post) One Boston writer penned it “the biggest non-Super Bowl game in NFL history.” The buildup for the AFC championship game was epic, as media and fans talked all week about Brady vs. Manning. The Patriots quarterback had a 10-4 advantage in games against Manning -- most coming from Peyton’s days in Indianapolis -- and each guy had legacy on his mind as he prepared for the game in Denver. With a victory, Brady would have a chance at his fourth Super Bowl title, tying him with Terry Bradshaw and boyhood idol Joe Montana. And a win would give Manning his third trip to a Super Bowl with a chance at his second Lombardi trophy, the same season he’d win his record fifth MVP. ( SP12FBNBRONX_CW15784 )