Broncos Are Mirror Image of Last Year's Team, and That Is Scary for AFC

Most people look at themselves in the mirror every morning. On certain days, they don't recognize the face looking back at them. 

The reflection hasn't changed. The person has. 

This is the Denver Broncos' 2016 campaign in a nutshell. The roster may have gotten a face-lift, but the team is still winning games in the same manner as last year's improbable Super Bowl champions. 

Quarterback Peyton Manning retired. Backup Brock Osweiler left to become the Houston Texans' franchise signal-caller. Defensive lineman Malik Jackson signed a six-year, $85.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Linebacker Danny Trevathan also left via free agency to join the Chicago Bears. The front office revamped the offensive line. C.J. Anderson, who began the year as Denver's starting running back, is no longer in the lineup due to a meniscus injury. 

But a stingy and opportunistic defense remains. The special teams unit continues to make plays. And the offense, specifically the quarterback position, isn't often making crucial mistakes that lead to losses. 

All three phases were on display during the Broncos' 25-23 comeback victory Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. The biggest play of the game didn't even come from the offense or defense.

A pair of first-year players combined to make the improbable probable.

Safety Justin Simmons did his best impersonation of United States Olympian Devon Allen when he hurdled Saints long-snapper Justin Drescher to block the potential game-tying extra point with 1:22 remaining. 

After the block, Will Parks scooped up the ball, tiptoed down the sideline and raced 84 yards for the game-winning two-point conversion.

"I got the ball and I thought, 'Run like somebody's chasing you with a big ol' gun,'" Parks said after the game, per BSNDenver.com's Ryan Koenigsberg. 

The scoring play came under scrutiny because Parks appeared to step out of bounds on his way to the end zone, but officials couldn't overturn it due to a lack of definitive proof. 

The play exemplifies how the Broncos are built to succeed. Not everything will go their way, but they'll overcome obstacles in most instances due to an unyielding defense and an efficient offense. 

Unlike most NFL franchises, Denver isn't interested in how everyone else approaches today's game. General manager John Elway and Co. are only interested in building their team in the most effective way possible. The Broncos dictate how others play because of the talent they place on the field in all three phases. 

Everything starts with a true difference-maker in Von Miller.

Defensively, the Broncos remain one of the league's best, and Miller is a big reason why. His ability to turn a quarterback's existence into a living nightmare is as meaningful as any quarterback's MVP performance. Just ask the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton after his Super Bowl 50 experience.  

The team's $114.5 million man has been even more effective this season. Through 10 games in 2015, Miller accumulated six sacks and 37 quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. A year later, the Texas A&M product has already managed 9.5 sacks and the same 37 hurries. 

The outside linebacker isn't the only Broncos defender playing better this season. Safeties T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart have likewise improved.

Ward leads the team in tackles and already has more this season (66) than he had all of last year (61). Meanwhile, Stewart demonstrated his nose for the ball against New Orleans, per Patrick Smyth of the Broncos' official site: 

Overall, the Broncos surrendered 283.1 yards per game last year. They're allowing over 300 yards this season, yet the 2016 version has given up only six more points at the 10-game mark than last year's No. 1-ranked defense. 

Jackson and Trevathan are exceptional players, but Denver has overcome their losses with the remaining talent and overall team approach. 

"Man, we were amazing, man," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said after the defense forced four turnovers and held Saints quarterback Drew Brees to 303 passing yards, per Koenigsberg. 

Offensively, the Broncos aren't any worse off than they were a year ago. In fact, they're better. That seems unfathomable since the team transitioned from the most prolific quarterback in NFL history to a former seventh-round pick. 

But the Manning fans romanticize isn't the same one who took the field last year. The team's current starter, Trevor Siemian, has been better. 

David Zalubowski/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

Denver has scored 239 points through 10 games this season compared to 222 a year ago. 

Manning played in 10 regular-season games during his final campaign. His finished with a 59.8 completion percentage, 2,249 passing yards, 6.8 yards per attempt, nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions. 

Comparatively, Siemian has played in nine of the team's 10 games to date. Thus far, the Northwestern product has completed 60.1 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,028 yards, 6.97 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Plus, the second-year signal-caller adds an element of athleticism that Manning didn't. 

But having the future Hall of Fame quarterback had an impact on the organization's current direction. 

"Peyton was a serious calm," Anderson told ESPN The Magazine's Elizabeth Merrill. "Trevor is more of a funny-comedian calm. He's kind of like Peyton. In between those lines, it's business. Outside of it, it's all fun and games."

Siemian will never be Manning in his prime, but he can emulate Manning from a year ago, when the quarterback provided just enough to win a Super Bowl. 

"My mentality going into everything is, 'I'll be damned if I'm not prepared for whatever comes my way,'" Siemian told Merrill. "I'm going to do whatever I can to be ready for it."

The Broncos trailed the Saints 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter. From that point on, Siemian completed seven of his final 10 passes with a touchdown to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and two more drives that resulted in field goals. 

"What happened with Trev (this year), nobody expected that," second-year linebacker Shane Ray told Merrill. 

Even so, Siemian and the Broncos are 7-3 and appear just as good now as they were a year ago before going on a magical run en route to the Lombardi Trophy. 

The only ones who could have expected this are the Denver players who look at themselves in the mirror every morning.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.