DENVER _ The Broncos sprinted into Mile High as mighty NFL champs. Winners of nine straight games. Darlings of the Front Range. Favorites to reign again.
It took one series to deflate all the fun.
Fans still were finding their seats when the Falcons rolled to a rapid 75-yard touchdown drive. On the third play of the game, a third and 7, quarterback Matt Ryan found Mohamed Sanu for a virtually instant 9-yard gain.
A long afternoon had begun. Ryan seldom was bothered by the Broncos' ferocious pass rush. The ball was out of Ryan's hands before Von Miller and his demolition crew could arrive.
"We weren't able to get our feet beneath us," Miller said in a calm voice after the 23-16 defeat.
Don't pay attention to the final score. It's deceptive. The Falcons dominated this game start to finish. The Falcons pulverized the Broncos.
Suddenly, the Broncos' 4-0 start looks vastly less impressive. The ultra-dramatic opening night win over Carolina looked impressive, at the time. The Panthers rampaged to the Super Bowl last season. The Panthers are 1-3 and on the brink of irrelevance this season. The Broncos' four victims have combined for six wins and 12 losses.
Quarterback Paxton Lynch's honeymoon lasted a week. Against the Bengals, Lynch was a fearless gunslinger, boldly challenging the secondary. He looked ready to tangle with any NFL defense.
Against the Falcons, Lynch looked confused and overwhelmed. He declined to throw deep balls. For three quarters, he delivered virtually nothing, stumbling to a 46.8 quarterback rating. He needs to spend a few weeks, at least, studying the game from the sideline.
But Lynch's struggles were no huge surprise.
The surprise was how adeptly the Falcons toyed with the Broncos' defense. Atlanta bolted to a 20-3 lead at the end of the third quarter, and it could have been worse. The Broncos were fortunate to remain within distant sight of the Falcons.
Here's the troubling question:
Did the Falcons reveal to the rest of the NFL the secret recipe of piercing the Broncos' seemingly invulnerable defense?
A few minutes after the game, Broncos great Karl Mecklenburg was stepping on an elevator at Mile High.
"You're going to see a lot of passes to running backs in the next few weeks," Mecklenburg said.
Here's what he meant:
Tevin Coleman, the Falcons' fleet halfback, caught four passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. Bronco linebackers had no chance in single coverage.
Aqib Talib, Denver's defiant cornerback, scoffed at the suggestion a weakness had been revealed to NFL offensive coordinators.
"Other offensive coordinators better have No. 26, who ran a 4.3 coming out of college," Talib said. Coleman wears No. 26, and Talib believes the man who sizzled the Broncos on Sunday is blessed with a rare, if not unique, skill set.
It's a mistake to leap off the Broncos' fun wagon because of one game. I understand that. The Broncos were sleepwalkers in a 29-13 loss to the Chiefs in November at Mile High. They were struggling along with Peyton Manning, a beat-up, limping, past-his-prime quarterback. They had lost two games in a row.
They were ignited to full power by the Chiefs. The humiliating loss served as fuel for the Broncos on their ride to the Super Bowl.
Demaryius Thomas was talking in a whisper as he reviewed the afternoon. His teammates were talking in similar low voices all across the big room.
"We're not perfect," Thomas said. "We got some work to do."
The champs suddenly look vulnerable. The Falcons reminded the Broncos, and their fans, of all the flaws on Denver's roster.
Humility is a powerful thing, even for the world champs.
