The Scariest Team in the NFL

I woke up this morning after watching the Houston-Chicago game a bit depressed. My Bears lost at their own game, namely: the turnover battle. In slippery "Bear-weather" (quoted for absurdity), it was Chicago, not the visiting Texans, who couldn't hold onto the football.

But this game did answer a few questions, most notably among them being this: neither of these teams are that scary. The Texans have a mauler offensive line and arguably the best running back in football, but their offense is very one-dimensional. I don't see the Texans keeping up with other teams in a shootout. I just don't. Their defense was just good enough and benefited from some very sloppy Bears ball security and another Jay Cutler concussion.

So, if not the Texans and if not the Bears (and their terrific defense), who is it? Who is the team that no one wants to play right now? Who is the best scariest team in the NFL? The Giants looked very November-y last week, the 49ers couldn't even put away a divisional opponent they have recently dominated in the Rams, and the Packers have certainly seemed vulnerable at times but also are dealing with injuries to key players on both sides of the ball.

No, it's not the bruising 49ers. It's not the Aaron Rodgers show. It's not the one-dimensional Texans or the Bears, with all of their question marks. It's not the under-performing Giants or the off-and-on Ravens.

None of the above.

The scariest team in the NFL right now, the team that nobody wants to face by a wide margin, is the Denver Broncos. That's right. With the recent acquisition of Trindon Holliday, who has scored two return TDs in the past two weeks, the Broncos are now clicking in all three phases of the game. Peyton Manning is playing at an MVP level and has really brought out the talent in Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas. Defensively, the Broncos have also been amazing, ranking in the top-10 in all four major categories: points against, total yards against, pass yards against, and rush yards against. Remember all those years of the Peyton Colts? Everyone always wondered what it would be like if those Indianapolis teams had a defense to back up Manning. Now, we get to see that. Admittedly, it's not the Peyton of his prime, but nonetheless he is still clearly capable of playing at a high level. This may be the best overall team that Peyton has ever been a part of, and in a league with no clear favorites in either conference, the Broncos are certainly making the case to become one.

And even if their not a favorite team just yet, they remain the scariest.