All afternoon, almost all the bounces had seemed to go against the Denver Broncos. Pittsburgh fumbles kept finding their way back to their original owners. Penalties hurt. And dropped passes. And bad passes.
This surely wasn't the way Peyton Manning's certain Hall of Fame career might come to an end, was it? This was for journeymen and clipboard carriers pressed into emergency action, not the possible swan song of one of the top five NFL quarterbacks ever.
Manning deserves to go out on the shoulders of his teammates, if he ultimately decides to hang it up after this season. Or at least to announce his retirement after staging some final heroic, super-human effort that comes up just short through no fault of his own - like what happened to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers late Saturday night in Phoenix.
But those options didn't look realistic entering the final half of Sunday's fourth quarter against visiting Pittsburgh. With the Broncos having earned home-field advantage for the entire AFC playoffs - and having been granted the rather large gift of not having to defend stunning Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, out with a concussion courtesy of a cheap shot from the Bengals - the Denver offense nevertheless seemed incapable of getting out of its own way for so much of this wind-whipped game.
Then came the kind of miracle happened that has seemingly happened for Manning too seldom in his career - a fortuitous bounce of a Steelers fumble that not only became the only turnover of the day, but the lone break he needed to produce another AFC title showdown with New England quarterback Tom Brady.
On third-and-12, he zipped the ball to Bennie Fowler, who had dropped two earlier passes but held on to this one and carried it another 20 yards to keep the game-winning drive alive. Later, Manning handed the ball to C.J. Anderson, who scored from the 1 with three minutes left to give the home team all the points it would need to set up another Brady-Manning matchup.
Not that the 39-year-old Manning wanted to discuss that dream duel in the moments immediately after Denver's 23-16 win.
"It will be the Broncos versus the Patriots," he told CBS after completing 21 of 37 passes for 222 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. "I think you probably expected that answer."
Unlike last week, when all four road teams won their wild-card games, this weekend's divisional games gave us the victors most expected - save, perhaps, the Carolina Panthers' 31-24 win over Seattle. And that result was more shocking for the fact that Carolina and quarterback Cam Newton built a 31-0 halftime lead over the Seahawks than that they ultimately won.
Still, all four home teams won, though arguments could be made that neither the Arizona Cardinals' overtime classic over the Packers nor Denver's victory over Pittsburgh necessarily assured anyone the right teams advanced.
In fact, at the risk of showing my Packer Backer bias, it would seem the NFL should consider doing away with the luck of a coin flip - especially a coin that fails to flip, as happened at the start of the Green Bay-Arizona overtime - in favor of a 15-minute extra period more like overtime in basketball or an extra inning in baseball.
If, after that initial extra period, you want to make the first team to score the winner, so be it. Or perhaps you could borrow from the college model, starting possessions at the opponent's 25. But it seems a bit unfair to end a playoff game without one team getting the ball in overtime.
Still, six days from today figures to produce two wonderful conference title games in Carolina and Denver. We'll be treated to Newton versus the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald - perhaps the best playmaker in the NFL - in the NFC title game. And Brady versus Manning in the Mile High City could produce bigger ratings than the Super Bowl.
The Denver defense must try to do what no other team has this season and slow down Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. After all, it was the Gronk's fourth-quarter knee injury that probably led to Denver's regular-season win. If the Broncos can't find a way to defend him this time, Manning should again come up short against his nemesis.
Then again, neither quarterback has won a playoff game on the other's home field. With this game in Denver, Manning just might have all the intangibles he needs to reach the fourth Super Bowl of his career.
Moreover, he seems to understand and appreciate that if these Broncos haven't exactly reached this point in spite of him rather than because of him, he's certainly not the primary reason for their spot in the AFC title game.
"I think our defense is guiding us," he told CBS. "Let's make that clear. I'm just honored to be a part of it."
As CBS was wrapping up its coverage of the Broncos' win, color analyst Phil Simms said of Manning's performance against Pittsburgh: "It was about patience. And Peyton showed it all afternoon."
Now the rest of us need to find the patience to wait until Sunday for another Brady-Manning AFC title game as we worry whether it might be the last one ever between the two best quarterbacks of their generation.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.