The evidence was laid bare as the snow gradually turned Sports Authority Field white. Danger was present and unavoidable, and it faced the Broncos early and often Sunday evening.

Three Broncos starters went down with injuries in the first half against the Patriots as the temperature dropped into the teens and snow turned the field into a slip-and-slide. Nose tackle Sylvester Williams and safety T.J. Ward were the first to fall, both succumbing to ankle injuries in the second quarter on the same play.

Slow to get up, Williams grimaced as a trainer on each arm gingerly helped him off the field, then onto a cart that carried both him and Ward back to the locker room. The pain was intense and visible as Williams rode off with a towel draped over his head.

Read more from this Denver Post story here.