If the AFC championship game comes down to quarterback Peyton Manning dueling against New England counterpart Tom Brady, Denver is going to lose. Brady owns Manning. The Broncos' best shot of beating the Patriots rests on the tender left shoulder of cornerback Chris Harris. And he's hurting. Big time.
Harris is the most valuable player on a team whose championship dream is built on defense. He's the flypaper in the No-Fly Zone. Without Harris, who played a team-high 96.99 percent of the defensive snaps during the regular season, the Broncos' swagger slowly begins to disappear, along with their ability to use the intimidating man-to-man coverage, from which their confidence flows.