DENVER -- The Indianapolis Colts knew about the criticism of their defense.

They actually deserved the criticism after they were picked apart by the likes of Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo during the regular season.

That’s why you wanted to chuckle when safety Mike Adams said last week that those things happened in the regular season, and that’s where they were leaving it.

Turns out Adams was right.

The Colts made Manning and the Denver Broncos look ordinary in their 24-13 victory on Sunday.

“We had times during the year where we struggled and weren’t playing well against the elite quarterbacks in the league,” Colts cornerback Darius Butler said. “This was a big challenge we put on ourselves, as a team, as a defense and we stepped up to it.”

Stepped up is an understatement. Domination is a better word, from the front seven to the cornerbacks blanketing Denver’s receivers. They made open-field tackles that they missed earlier in the season.

The only time the Broncos scored a touchdown was on their opening drive, and that came after the drive was extended following a roughing-the-passer penalty on Arthur Jones on third down that gave Denver a first down.

You immediately thought back to the Dallas game in Week 16 when the Cowboys extended their drive following a taunting penalty on linebacker Jerrell Freeman.

Not this time.

“We put the play behind us,” defensive lineman Cory Redding said. “You can’t dwell on the negatives. If we would have dwelled on that we would have lost the game. We knew all the things we were up against, but this team didn’t waver. We knew it was going to be a slugfest, 60 minutes, everything you’ve got. We wanted it more.”

The Colts held the Broncos to only 288 yards of total offense.

And Manning, the player who picked them apart in Week 1?

Manning constantly tested the Colts’ secondary, but cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Greg Toler locked up Denver’s receivers all game.

“Seattle made the blueprint in the Super Bowl,” Davis said. “It was similar to what Seattle did as far as taking the receivers away. We’re the last line of defense. That’s why we get paid the big bucks.”

Adams added, "We disguised things and we were able to confuse them."

Here’s a further look at how the Colts dominated Manning and the Broncos:

-- According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Colts blitzed Manning on nine of his 15 third-down dropbacks. He was just 2-of-8 passing and lost a fumble on a sack against third-down blitzes. Rookie Jonathan Newsome got the strip sack of Manning in the first half.

-- Manning was only 6-of-21 for 107 yards on throws longer than 5 yards downfield.

-- Manning was 2-for-12 for 49 yards on throws at least 15 yards downfield, his lowest completion percentage on deep throws in a game since Week 12 of 2013. He had eight overthrown passes, all of which were at least 15 yards downfield.

-- The Colts sacked Manning twice.

“Normally you hold your breath when Peyton is back in the pocket,” Colts defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said. “We didn’t have to hold our breath. We knew we could get after him, get him off his spot. We knew we could frustrate him and get in his head, get him out the pocket. We did everything that was asked of us from [defensive coordinator] Greg Manusky.

“Week in and week out, he sleeps in that meeting room and when you see him wake up the next morning, you don’t want to disappoint a guy like that, who could have been home with his family, but he’s in his office from when we finish practice until the next morning trying to come up with an effective game plan.”

That game plan worked to perfection Sunday.