Mark Cannizzaro

Mark Cannizzaro

NFL

Giants should be bucking scared of Peyton’s Broncos in Week 2

DENVER — As if the Giants did not already have enough on their plate and in their minds with their season opener looming Sunday against their bitter NFC East rival Cowboys in Dallas, the Broncos had to go and do this — literally throwing an unneeded distraction their way.

The Broncos, whose next game is a week from Sunday against the Giants at MetLife Stadium, might not be squarely on the radar of the Giants, but the damage Denver did to the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens in Thursday night’s NFL season opener has to be occupying a part of head coach Tom Coughlin’s peripheral vision.

Because the Broncos didn’t just look good against the Ravens, they looked downright dominant, dusting the defending champs 49-27 with a second-half offensive explosion that would make Mike Ditka, Buddy Ryan and the ’85 Bears shuffle nervously.

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes, becoming the first to accomplish the feat in 44 years.

Had it not been for kickoff being delayed 33 minutes due to dangerous lightning in the Denver area — something Manning believed threw his offense out of rhythm early — he might have thrown a dozen touchdown passes.

Retired Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, the rock behind what has been one of the NFL’s top two defenses for the last decade, must have thrown up in his mouth watching the Broncos dismantle his once-proud unit.

What was probably most scary about the Broncos’ performance Thursday night was the fact that they entered the game short-handed.

Their best cornerback, Champ Bailey, was out with a foot injury, a development that had many believing Ravens gunslinger quarterback Joe Flacco, who loves to throw deep the way Rex Ryan used to love Mexican food and making bold guarantees, would have his way with the Denver defense.

Because the Broncos were seemingly devoid of a pass rush with Von Miller, their top threat, serving a six-game NFL suspension, and Elvis Dumervil, who used to be their best pass rusher, now playing for the Ravens, the expectation was reigning Super Bowl MVP Flacco would be pretty comfortable in the pocket. But he was sacked four times, harassed many others and threw two INTs.

 

More scary details for the Giants and the rest of Denver’s opponents this season: Between Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and the newly acquired Wes Welker, the Broncos have what many consider to be one of the finest trio of receivers in the league.

So what does Manning do? He throws the first two of his seven touchdown passes to a backup tight end named Julius Thomas, who entered the game with all of one career reception in two NFL seasons. Thomas was as hot on the fantasy football participants market last week as my 86-year-old father-in-law.

Manning also threw two touchdown passes to Welker and two to Demaryius Thomas and one to Andre Caldwell, the fourth receiver on the depth chart, who had one catch in 2012. This is what Manning does as well as perhaps anyone in the game outside of Tom Brady: He makes everyone around him better.

Manning, who finished with 462 yards, looks as if he might make 400 yards per game the new 300. He looks as if he might turn the sexy read-option offense that took 2012 by storm into a mere footnote in 2013.

Welker, who spent the last six seasons catching 672 passes from Brady in New England, found himself awed by Manning Thursday night.

“It didn’t seem like that many,” Welker said of Manning’s seven touchdown passes. “You’re just sitting there like, ‘That was seven?’ It’s a huge achievement. But he was so nonchalant about doing seven touchdown passes that you didn’t even really notice it.”

Coughlin, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and the defense, even with the Cowboys occupying most of their attention, surely noticed. You can count on that.

So now the 37-year-old Manning comes to New Jersey a week from Sunday with a chance to outshine his younger bro, Eli, who has one more Super Bowl ring than he does. Manning the elder will arrive for the Giants home opener on pace to make Brady’s NFL record of 50 touchdown passes in 2007 look as small as he made the Ravens’ post-Ray Lewis defense look Thursday night.

 

For Denver dreamers and statistical nerds, 15 more performances like Thursday night’s will have Manning throwing 112 touchdowns. Even for the most focused, such as Coughlin, human nature makes you take notice of that.