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Denver Broncos logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If disposing of the two previous Super Bowl champs in the first two weeks of the 2013 season is any indication, the Denver Broncos may be on the fast track to playing in this year’s Super Bowl.

The Broncos defeated last year’s champs, the Baltimore Ravens, 49-27 in Week One and then beat the 2011 season champs, the New York Giants, 41-23, yesterday.

Not that the Bronco faithful need any more ammunition to ignite their Super Bowl fever for this year, but here’s a couple of stats that will fuel their excitement.

Scoring 40-plus points the first two weeks of the season. By scoring 49 against the Ravens and 41 against the Giants, the Broncos became the seventh team in the Super Bowl era to open the season by scoring 40 or more points in their first two games. The last team to do so were the 2009 New Orleans Saints who just happened to win the Super Bowl that season.

Here’s a look at the teams that opened their season by scoring 40-plus points in their first two games and their season record.

1968: Oakland Raiders (finished the season 12-2; lost in the Conference Championship Game)
1971: Dallas Cowboys (11-3; won the Super Bowl that year)
1972: New York Jets (7-7; missed playoffs)
1975: Washington Redskins (8-6; missed playoffs)
2001: Indianapolis Colts (6-10; missed playoffs)
2009: New Orleans Saints (13-3; won Super Bowl)
2013: Denver Broncos (??????)

Winning first two games of the season by 17 or more points. The Broncos won their first two games this season by margins of 22 points and 18 points. They became the 14th team since 2000 to open the season with two wins of 17 points or more. Of the 13 teams to accomplish this feat prior to this year (and beginning in 2000), 11 went on to make the playoffs that season; three went on to play in the Super Bowl, New Orleans (2009), New England (2007) and Pittsburgh (2005). The Saints and Steelers won the Super Bowl that season.

Here’s a look at the teams that started their seasons with two wins of 17 points or more and how well they finished that season (scores of their first two games of the season are listed in parentheses).

2013: Denver (49-27, 41-23) ????????????
2012: Houston (30-10, 27-7) Ended season 13-3
2009: New Orleans (45-27, 48-22) Ended season 13-3/Won Super Bowl
2007: New England (38-14, 38-14) Ended season 16-0/Lost Super Bowl
2007: Pittsburgh (34-7, 26-3) Ended season 10-6
2006: San Diego (27-0, 40-7) Ended season 14-2
2006: Baltimore (27-0, 28-6) Ended season 13-3
2005: New York Giants (42-19, 27-10) Ended season 11-5
2005: Pittsburgh (34-7, 27-7) Ended season 11-5/Won Super Bowl
2003: Buffalo (31-0, 38-17) Ended season 6-10
2003: Denver (30-10, 37-13) Ended season 10-6
2003: Seattle (27-10, 38-0) Ended season 10-6
2002: San Diego (34-6, 24-3) Ended season 8-8
2001: Green Bay (28-6, 37-0) Ended season 12-4

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