Luck

Here’s the deal: The Broncos have been lucky. You can call it Mile High Magic or a hardened desire to win, but when it comes down to it, the breaks have all gone Denver’s way.

From the Jamaal Charles’ fumble in Week 2 last season to the Andrew Luck fumble in Week 2 this season, every ball that squirts out of a defender’s hand has an uncanny ability to land in the gut of a Denver Bronco — I’m sure AJ McCarron and Fitzgerald Touissaint would agree with me, too.

Honestly, I thought fate would catch up to the Broncos this season, but that hasn’t been the case. Graham Gano doesn’t miss that kick against most teams. The Bengals cornerbacks don’t drop those picks against most teams.

For as good as the Denver Broncos are — and they’re very good — turn a couple of those season-defining moments on their head and suddenly there’s no championship and there’s no undefeated record.

But that’s football, right? You need to be lucky to win it all, and that’s what makes winning a second all the more difficult.

The Broncos can’t rely on luck this season; they have to be dominant, with or without a favorable bounce. That’s what they did against the Bengals last week, and that’s what they’ll have to continue to do the rest of the season.