We anticipate a traditional game. We get unadulterated madness. Wil Lutz needed a routine PAT to lead. Justin Simmons had different ideas. He cleared the line like a protean athlete, blocking the attempt. The clandestine hero was the shoe color. Parks wore snow-white cleats. Replay officials couldn't distinguish his foot from the white sideline. The call stood because there was no "indisputable" proof he stepped out. It was a win via color palette. Simmons later noted, "We’ve been repping that play...

You will often see blog posts citing the "Spagnuolo Connection" as the tactical link here. This is a total hallucination generated by flawed aggregators. Steve Spagnuolo is with Kansas City. He is irrelevant to this matchup. The actual bridge is Dennis Allen. He was Denver's DC in 2011. He built their foundation before eventually leading New Orleans. That is the tactical narrative that matters. When you watch his defensive schemes against his former employers, you see the genuine history true historians care about.
Empty stadiums and roster flux were the norm. Nothing captured that desultory time like the November 29 clash. COVID protocols eliminated every Denver QB less than a day before kickoff.