Broncos get #1 seed, set more records

Broncos get #1 seed, set more records

They were ahead 31-0 at halftime when they rested the starters.

Manning set the record for most passing yards in a season.

The Broncos set the record for the most points scored in a season.

Manning was just about perfect: 25 for 28 with 4 more TDs, even though he only played the first half. That extended his annual TD record to 55, which easily bested the old record of 50.

The Broncos also got the #1 seed, which means they will not have to play a game in Foxboro.

In other news:

The Chargers slid past the Ravens and Dolphins to take the second wild card spot in the AFC. They deserved it. After starting 4-6, they won five of their last six, including a win over the Broncos and two over the Chiefs. During that streak, they held the Broncos, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, to 20 (and they also held them to 28 earlier in the year). Their victory means that both AFC wild card teams will come from the West!

The Pack made the playoffs with an uninspiring 8-7-1 record. They won't have an easy go of it. As the fourth seed, they will have to face the fifth seed, which happens to be the red-hot 49ers, arguably the best team in the league lately, after having won their last six and eleven of their last thirteen.

The Saints barely made the playoffs. They had to settle for the second wild card slot, and therefore the worst seed in the NFC. They'll play the Eagles in Philly.

Carolina and Seattle got the first round byes in the NFC. Denver and New England got them in the AFC.

Hard luck team: the Cardinals missed the playoffs with a better record than three of the teams that made it. Give a tip o' the hat to them, because they played great in the second half. In their last nine games, they lost only two three-point games to San Francisco and Philadelphia, the two hottest teams at the end of the year. (The Niners won their last six while the Eagles won seven of their last eight.) Those Cardinals' wins included a solid win over the top-seeded Seahawks and an absolute slaughter of the playoff-bound Colts.