You have a bad altitude

Rocky Mountain High. Mile High. Whatever you want to call it, a trip by the Patriots to the rarefied air of Denver is always a big game and almost always a loss. Since I started watching the Pats in the early '70s I have seen them lose in the most excruciating of ways. I'm still trying to erase the image of Mosi Tatupu fumbling in 1984 to blow a crucial game that the Pats had in their grasp. They have made the journey to Colorado 23 times and have come away with only 8 wins. And most of them happened in the '60s.

The two teams play each other so often it feels like they are division rivals. But they're not. The Colts and Steelers have been the Pats main adversaries this decade as the three have taken turns at the top of the AFC, but the Broncos have been the team's arch nemesis outside the AFC East for decades. The Patriots aren't the only team that the Broncos have owned through the years. With Hall of Famer John Elway at the helm the Broncos didn't lose too many games to anyone in the '80s and '90s. Elway, in fact, was a perfect 11-0 against the Pats. From Shannon Sharpe's "Mr. President, call in the National Guard because we are killing the Patriots!" mock 911 call to the playoff game in 2005 when the Pats' bid for a third straight Super Bowl died in a hail of turnovers like Sonny at the tollbooth, the team from Foxborough has suffered some of its ugliest loses against Denver.

But oddly enough Denver is also the site of one the Patriots' greatest regular season victories. The 6-2 Pats and the 5-3 Broncos faced off on a Monday night in 2003. It was a back-and-forth affair and Bergs and I called each other from our couches whenever there was a big play. The Pats trailed 24-20 entering the fourth quarter and Bergs and I were on the line for the final 15 minutes. And what a 15 minutes it was. Trailing 24-23 with just over two minutes to play, the Pats were backed up to their own goal line and had to punt. It was looking like another heartbreaking loss to the Broncos. Belichick was not waving the white flag however. He ordered an intentional safety by having the ball snapped out of the end zone. Two more points for the Broncos and the Pats still had to kick the ball away. "What the hell is Belichick doing?'' Bergs and I both asked. Belichick knew what he was doing. The Pats kicked from better field position and pinned the Broncos deep, held their offense, and got the ball back. As Brady drove the Pats down the field with the clock ticking Bergs and I were hoping for a field goal to tie the game at 26-26. Instead, with 30 seconds left, Brady hit David Givens at the front corner of the end zone for a clutch TD and gave the Pats a huge road win. Belichick was so happy he and Charlie Weiss embraced with joy at the end of the game. Bergs and I still think that win was the one that made the players total believers in Belichick -- it sure did it for us -- and set them on their path for back-to-back titles. It was that big a game.

And Sunday's game should be no different. The Broncos are the surprise of the early season at 4-0. Granted, those wins have come against four weak teams. But under former Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Denver has moved past the offseason turmoil of the McDaniels-Jay Cutler fued that ultimately led to the unexpected trading of the QB. It was a rough start for the young coach. But McDaniels, showing that he learned a hell of a lot more from Belichick than Mangini, has steadied the team and has them playing solid defense (allowing a ridiculous 6.5 points per game) and has Kyle Orton doing his best Phil Simms impersonation by taking good care of the ball (no picks) and making the plays when he has to.

For the Pats, the loss of Fred Taylor to ankle surgery hurts more than it might seem. In the Ravens game, there was a 2nd-and-10 just outside the Baltimore 10-yard line late in the first quarter. 2nd-and-10. That's a passing down. A Wes Welker down. Instead, the Pats lined up in a regular formation and ran a draw play to Taylor who slashed through the hole for seven yards. The Pats went on to score on a Brady sneak a few plays later. It was a key moment for the offense to be able to run the ball in for a score. Their red zone offense looked much better from that point on because by showing they could run they opened up everything else. It was key. And Taylor was a big part of it. Can Sammy Morris or Lawrence Maroney fill that role? Maybe. I was looking forward to watching Taylor get better and better as the season wore on. On the bright side, this might mean the return of Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis. You can never get enough of the man with four names.

I wrote after the win over the Falcons that the Pats offense was on the verge of a 40 point game. Even though the Denver D is a solid one, this could be the game the Pats offense breaks out. Then again, my confidence has been mile high going into a game in Denver many times before.