NFL Playoff Picture: Broncos' Cinderella Story Has Rough Road to Super Bowl XLVI

Looking at the Denver Broncos' road to the Super Bowl illustrates that impossible is going to be fairly difficult to accomplish.

The end game is quite clear—just get to the Super Bowl. The Broncos can do that, and before you laugh, consider their ridiculous season up to this point.

We are not in the habit of spitting in the face of divine providence. The Broncos showed the nation they have the defense to make a hobbling Ben Roethlisberger stumble and a battered Steelers defense hurt.

Granted, the Steelers were missing some personnel. Those that did feature were not in tip-top shape, like Big Ben and his achy ankle.

However, the Broncos showed that the tough tandem of Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil has teeth. What is even more surprising is that Tim Tebow can put up some numbers though all four quarters.

With that, we investigate the rough road to the Super Bowl.

 

New England Patriots

First up after showing that the Broncos can pull off upsets quite well are the New England Patriots.

The Broncos have the defense to at least stifle Tom Brady to keep the score within human reach. The question is whether Tebow will show up on Saturday. He will have to put up even more touchdowns and yardage by air if he is going to keep pace with Brady.

The Patriots will put up a sick amount of yardage, but they will also give a lot, as the Patriots secondary is far from stout.

 

Houston Texans or Baltimore Ravens

This is where things get a little funky. Both the Texans and Ravens have defenses that could exploit Tebow.

These are two of the most versatile and tough defenses in the game. The Broncos will indeed need a miracle if they are going to get past either club.

While both have their question marks on offense, they have little to know holes on the other side of the ball. 

Updated NFL Playoff Bracket

Divisional Round (Jan. 14 and 15)	Conference Championships	Super Bowl (Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET)
	AFC Championship Game (Sun, Jan. 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET)
Denver
New England	TBD
		TBD
Houston	TBD
Baltimore
	NFC Championship Game (Sunday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. ET)
New Orleans
San Francisco	TBD
		TBD
New York Giants	TBD
Green Bay

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