Ronald Martinez, Getty Images The Broncos' Mike Anderson celebrates his second touchdown against the Patriots with teammate Rod Smith Saturday in the AFC playoff game at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver. Click photo for larger image.

After putting in an impressive performance to knock out New England, the Broncos sat home yesterday and watched the Steelers upset Indianapolis, the previous odds-on favorite to win it all.

Now, the Broncos get a home game Sunday against the Steelers in the AFC title game, where they've been established as a 3 1/2-point pick.

And yesterday afternoon, Vegas oddsmakers said Denver would be favored in the Super Bowl against either of the NFC teams still in the hunt, Carolina or Seattle.

"The Broncos have been flying under the radar the whole season, with the likes of the Colts out there, but now, they're looking better," said Jay Kornegay, who runs the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton.

The numbers: Denver is now the 3-2 favorite to win the Super Bowl. Seattle and the Steelers were both 5-2 and Carolina was 6-1.

Kornegay said if the Broncos win next week and play the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, they would probably start as a 3 1/2- or 4-point favorite. If they played the Panthers, they would be favored by about 5 1/2 points.

"The NFC is definitely, I believe, a couple notches below the AFC," Kornegay said.

As ticket-buying fans lined up outside Invesco Field yesterday, suddenly Denver's season could be seen in a completely new light.

Sure, the 13-3 record, the first division title, first home playoff game and even the first playoff win in seven seasons turned the 2005 season into something special.

But with Indianapolis looming -- the team that had beaten Denver by a combined score of 90-34 in the past two postseasons -- there was a sense the season was destined to end a week short of the ultimate destination.

Now, the Broncos have more reason to believe they could go all the way, win their third championship since 1997 and -- yes -- match the New England "dynasty" for the most titles over the past 10 years.

The Broncos weren't available for interviews yesterday, although after their 27-13 victory against the Patriots, a few were very candid about who they wanted to play next.

"I've got to get the Terrible Towels out to root for the Steelers so we can play at home," receiver Rod Smith said. "Nothing against the Colts, but I just want to play at home."

It made a difference all night Saturday, as the Patriots got flagged for four false-start penalties and Tom Brady had trouble changing plays at the line of scrimmage. The result: five New England turnovers that resulted in 17 Denver points. The biggest was Champ Bailey's 100-yard interception return that took the Patriots out of scoring range and set up a touchdown to make the score 17-6 in the third quarter.

Through it all, Invesco Field rocked like it hadn't in the five years since it opened.

Many around Denver, including none other than John Elway, complained that the new stadium was too comfortable and too full of cushy creature comforts to be as noisy as it needed to be.

Now, however, none of the Broncos are complaining about playing there.

They'll be back home next weekend, as the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

"To be honest, I was a little upset last year" with the crowd, safety John Lynch said. "It was kind of a downer. But I think we just changed the course of Invesco Field being a wine-and-cheese crowd. That was something special, a lot of fun."