[Quesadilla Joe]

Careful Houston: Denver can play D now too.

If Denver makes a deep run in the playoffs, it won't be solely on the strength of Peyton Manning's right arm. Have you seen them play defense? Von Miller in particular? Miller was a one-man wrecking crew at Carolina Sunday from his strongside outside linebacker spot, sacking Cam Newton once, tackling three other Panthers for loss and dragging Newton down while he ill-advisedly tried to complete a pass; it was intercepted by Tony Carter and returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

In all, Denver held Carolina conversion-less on 12 third-down tries. "Von Miller is just playing out of his mind,'' coach John Fox told me. "If he hadn't gotten hurt last year, he definitely would have shattered the rookie sack record, and he's playing even better this year.'' He's got 21.5 sacks in his first 24 pro games. Miller's had help; Denver's allowed just 289 yards, on average, in beating the Saints, Bengals and Panthers in the last three weeks. With the news that fellow pass rusher Elvis Dumervil (seven sacks, five forced fumbles) has a strained shoulder but not serious damage -- he hurt it Sunday in Charlotte -- Denver should be in good shape down the stretch to pressure the quarterback.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ger/index.html