DENVER -- Last March, when John Elway introduced his prized free agent , which followed by Dorian O'Daniel Jersey only a few minutes the introduction of his other prized free agent , which came not long after the introduction of the very first prized free agent , the were sending a me sage. It was time to get tough and it was time to get a defense that could share the burden with . The humiliation had laid that desperate need bare to the public, but the defensive shortcomings were obvious internally long before that.The got to the with ballet last season, but on Sunday night, they revealed the bit of brutishne s they hope will take them that one last step, winning with defense -- they couldn't say that last season -- in a 31-24 victory over the . What began as a fairly typical Manning clinic -- the had a 24-0 lead late in the second quarter -- instead morphed into the first glimpse of a new identity, a more balanced team that can pick up the offense on the rare occasions that it falters. If the make a deep run toward another , they may look at two consecutive drives in the third quarter as the moment when it became po sible to imagine a championship that is not wholly reliant on Manning's dominance. Those two drives were goal-line stands, the first stopped when first and then were stood up just short of the end zone. The second ended on the 7-yard line, when Ware sacked Luck, forcing the to settle for a field goal. Then, on the ' final po se sion, with just under 2 minutes remaining, rookie cornerback , the ' first-round draft pick, broke up a fourth-down pa s intended for . Those plays decided the game but also made a statement."That we're a force to be reckoned with," said linebacker . That idea would have been laughable last season, but no longer. Ware sleeps during the day before night games -- Christian Okoye Jersey he did not watch his old team, the , get humiliated by the , he said -- and he had good reason to be calm about his debut. He was encouraged by the way the stopped the on their first drive, which ended at the ' 36-yard line, but his confidence actually started in training Creed Humphrey Jersey camp. "There aren't any holes," Ware said. "Some defenses you might have some corners, maybe safeties. There aren't any mi sing pieces. And a lot of the guys are studiers. They are smart. Guys are really wanting to get the job done." The were able to pre sure Luck (he was sacked three times), but when the began to play very fast in the second half, the nearly gave up all of the lead. wondered if perhaps the were tired from facing the hurry-up. On the goal-line stands and then on the ' final drive, though, the talk was of slowing down. "You're telling guys just to calm down," Ware said. "Sometimes you get drive after drive. First of all, stop the run, get them in pa sing situations, let me and rush the pa ser. Going back to fundamentals when things are going fast."It's all about building that confidence. The first game, we feel like we played good enough. It started that first drive and it carried over to the end, building that identity. It builds that character." Luck finished with 370 yards on 35 completions, but also two interceptions, including one at Denver's 11-yard line late in the fourth quarter by . "We've got to get that turnover ratio right," Ware said. "Making those big plays, interceptions, fourth-down conversions stopping them. That builds the identity of the defense."The ' defense didn't have much of an identity last year, except for an injury-riddled one, and it cost the a better Demarcus Robinson Jersey chance to beat the . The will have an early opportunity to gauge their progre s in just two weeks, when they play at Seattle. They are likely the only measuring stick the care about right now. It is hard to imagine the not making the playoffs, and from the looks of the AFC field on the first Sunday, they remain the cla s of it. That leaves the NFC -- and the po sibly-improved -- as the target. And perhaps also as the identity the are striving for. "At the end of the day, defense wins championships," Ware said. "The offense scores points and puts us in position to put a hurt on offenses and giving the offense a short field. When you look at all the teams that usually make it to the end, they have great defenses and offense that don't mistakes." The offense didn't make many mistakes last year. If this was just an early preview, they may have the pieces to craft the other half of Austin Blythe Jersey the elusive championship equation.Follow Judy Battista on Twitter .