When Peyton Manning took the field last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, everyone's eyes were on him. Would he be the same quarterback he was in Indianapolis? Was he fully recovered from the four neck surgeries? Would he mesh well with his new Broncos receivers?
The answers to all those questions was emphatically yes, as Manning looked sharp as the Broncos beat the Steelers 31-19 to open their season. Before that game Manning hadn't played since January of 2011, in the playoffs against the New York Jets.
"It's just one game. I try to keep it in perspective," Manning told ESPN.com. "I know how hard I've worked to get to this point. I know how much help that I've gotten along the way, from a lot of people. I'm very grateful for that. It's special. I will definitely say it's special."
Manning passed for 253 yards against the Steelers and also added a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas that was the 400th of his career.
"He's made me a smarter receiver and taught me how to run routes the way he wanted them, the way to get open," Thomas said of Manning. "Basically, I had to change up some things that I wasn't doing before. Working with Peyton helped me."
The defense played very well for Denver against Pittsburgh, sacking quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times and also getting an interception return for a touchdown.
Manning and the Broncos are now set for a Monday night showdown against another team that had a great first week, the Atlanta Falcons, who stormed past the Kansas City Chiefs 40-24.
The team played on the road at Arrowhead Stadium, which is one of the toughest and loudest places to play in the NFL.
Quarterback Matt Ryan led the Falcons' high powered offense to gain nearly 400 yards, including 299 passing yards for Ryan. He also added three touchdowns, including two to receiver Julio Jones, who had six catches for 108 yards.
Jones and receiver Roddy White, who had six catches for 87 yards, make for one of the most explosive duos in the league. Along with the Giants' Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, there may not be a better set of receivers than the ones Matt Ryan throws to.
"We felt like we had all the tools," center Todd McClure said. "We knew if we executed right, we could have that type of production. But going into the game, we probably didn't think it would be that easy or we'd put up that many points."
The Falcons defense was solid throughout the game, but the biggest problem came running the ball. Running back Michael Turner only gained 32 yards on just 11 carries against the Chiefs.
"We want to be able to run the ball effectively," coach Mike Smith said. "But with our game plan, that was not the main thing we wanted to accomplish."
The Falcons will be a bit weaker in the secondary after losing starting cornerback Brent Grimes in the opening game with a season-ending Achilles injury and will have to deal with Denver receivers Thomas, Brandon Stokley and Eric Decker.
"This is like facing Mike Tyson in a 12-round bout, but I'm excited for the opportunity," Falcons cornerback Christopher Owens said. "It's unfortunate what happened with Grimes, but the next man's got to step up, and that's the mentality you've got to have with this team."
The Broncos will also try to hold back the Falcons defensive line from getting to Manning, including John Abraham, who will be matched up against left tackle Ryan Clady. Clady and the offensive line did a good job protecting Manning last week, only allowing two sacks.
The last time the two teams faced off was back in 2008 when Denver won 24-20 on the road. It was Ryan's rookie season and he had 250 yards passing with one interception. Denver has won four straight against Atlanta and is 8-4 all-time against the Falcons.
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