DENVER _ Bill Belichick was talking in that bored whisper of his, a perfectly pitched monotone. He was not dazzled by the performance of his Patriots, who plundered the Broncos on a quiet Sunday afternoon at Mile High.
"It was no masterpiece, but it was what it needed to be," Belichick said, looking sleepy.
A couple of minutes later, Belichick escaped from the interview room, walking slowly to the exit door.
Destination?
Unknown, but I'm thinking he'll arrive, once again, at the Super Bowl.
He left the Broncos in flames. Yes, the defending champs could revive and sneak into the playoffs, but this is the firm vision of only the most optimistic, or perhaps deluded. The Broncos have lost three of four. The Bronco offense is hovering just above deceased after scoring 13 points in the past two games.
It was thrilling for Broncos players and fans to fly in the Patriots' orbit. It was thrilling to rocket to the top of the NFL.
Sunday's loss served as a siren call of reality: The rocket ride is over.
For four hugely entertaining seasons, the Broncos were soaring along with Whispering Bill and his Patriots. During those four seasons, the Broncos traveled to two Super Bowls, and triumphed in one. Same with the Patriots.
Just 11 months ago, the Broncos barely conquered the Patriots for the AFC title. Peyton Manning shook hands with Belichick, and No. 18 told the World's Greatest Football Coach it might be on his last rodeo.
Manning soon limped into his football sunset. Meanwhile, Belichick just keeps climbing the ladder of football, and sports, history.
It's easy to overlook his utter genius. He's utterly lacking in charisma. He enjoys bending the rules. He might be America's worst dresser. He wins and wins and wins, but never stops looking miserable.
Here's a number to consider while we (reluctantly) applaud football's grim emperor:
Since the franchise's founding in 1960, the Broncos have competed in 10 AFC title games and won three Super Bowls.
Since Belichick's arrival in New England in 2001, the Patriots have competed in 10 AFC title games and won four Super Bowls. He's passed the Broncos, who were blessed with a four-decade head start.
It's hard to believe, it really is, that on the night of Nov. 27 the Broncos looked ready to continue their rocket ride. They were 7-3, and they led the Chiefs by eight points heading into the final minutes of regulation. A return trip to the playoffs looked virtually certain, and a Patriots-Broncos rematch in the AFC title game remained highly probable.
Since then, the Broncos have lost three of four and tumbled out of the NFL's elite.
Von Miller has worked diligently to avoid becoming the Voice of Doom. Last week, he said it was too early to even consider the Broncos missing the playoffs.
On Sunday night, Miller said it was premature to arrive at any "conclusions" about the Broncos.
I'm going to disagree with Von. Here are a few conclusions:
The Broncos are severely lopsided, powerful and swaggering on defense and weak and timid on offense. The Broncos rushed for 34 yards in the first quarter and crawled to 24 more yards in the final three quarters.
Coach Gary Kubiak has lost his nerve, a requirement for winning. In the second quarter, Kubiak could have taken a slight risk and sent in Brandon McManus for a 55-yard field goal. The Broncos were stumbling. The stadium had gone quiet. A season was teetering. A jolt was in order.
Kubiak instead sent in Riley Dixon, his punter. The Broncos never again threatened the Patriots. The rocket ride ended with a crash.
A few minutes after the game, Belichick was talking in that mumble of his, a mumble calculated to put everyone, including Whispering Bill, to sleep.
He was talking about a crucial victory over a formerly mighty opponent.
