FOXBOROUGH — For so long, it was all the same. The same team, the same city, the same receivers, the same system. There were changes, of course. But nothing like this. And so, five weeks into the regular season, the Broncos and Peyton Manning are still not up to the exacting standards of one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

That was evident Sunday afternoon, as the Broncos fell into a deep hole against the Patriots, coming back a bit in a 31-21 loss that dropped Denver to 2-3 on the season.