Hey, we all know: The Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn’t like Denver Broncos or guys who played safety.

So there are two strikes against Steve Atwater, who should have been fitted for a gold jacket in Canton, Ohio, a long time ago.

But I’m here to help. We’ll start to make the case for Atwater, with this simple question:

Who was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XXXII, when the Broncos won the NFL championship for the first time?

“T.D.,” replies Atwater. “Terrell Davis. That’s easy.”

No, no, no. Work with me, Steve. That’s the wrong answer.

“What?” says Atwater. He’s perplexed.

Atwater, a defensive stalwart on two championship teams, knows very well Davis received the MVP award for gaining 157 yards on the ground in Denver’s stunning 31-24 upset of Green Bay on Jan. 25, 1998.

Well, I’m here to say when a vote is left to my brethren in the sports media, those knuckleheads often get it wrong, due to a stubborn refusal to see anything but the painfully obvious. (Come to think of it, those same blind spots might be the major reason the Broncos are so underrepresented in the Hall of Fame.)

The real MVP of Super Bowl XXXII was Atwater. That’s right. The Smiling Assassin killed the Packers. While nobody can forget the “helicopter run” by John Elway, and there’s no denying the importance of the three touchdowns Davis scored, it was Atwater who made the play that best illustrated why the Broncos shocked Green Bay, which entered the game as a prohibitive 11-point favorite.

“It was a beautiful play,” says Atwater, recalling a strip sack of Packers quarterback Brett Favre in the second quarter he recorded on a blitz. The resulting turnover set up a field goal that gave Denver a 17-7 advantage and left the Green Bay sideline in disarray.

“In my career, I blitzed plenty of times when it was blocked perfectly and a running back put me on my butt,” he said. “I like it much better when they never see me coming.”

Boom goes the dynamite! And down went Favre, hit so hard it wiped the smug off his face.

Why does Atwater belong in the Hall? Because the biggest hit of his career wasn’t the famous smackdown of Kansas City running back Christian Okoye that has been replayed so many times I’m surprised the videotape hasn’t broken. This hit in Super Bowl XXXII had far more impact, because it not only rattled Favre’s bones, it set the tone. The AFC had lost in the championship game 13 straight times. But Atwater and the Broncos didn’t give a hoot about history. They came to win.

The memory is sweet enough to make an assassin smile.

“We had showed blitz to Favre repeatedly early in the game, but I always dropped out of it in Cover 2, with deep half responsibility, before the snap,” Atwater recalls. “When we finally called the blitz for real, I think the Packers believed I was faking it again. I came free, unblocked. The ball came loose, and Neil Smith recovered the fumble. I thought: ‘Yes! It worked!’ ”

Now, let’s add two essential pieces of little-known background information.

No. 1: Despite being heavy underdogs, the Broncos were so confident coach Mike Shanahan had installed a game plan capable of shocking Green Bay that tight end Shannon Sharpe, after swearing me to secrecy, confided 72 hours prior to kickoff there was no way Denver would lose this game.

No. 2: Blind-side blitzes, like the one that allowed Atwater to dislodge the ball from Favre, proved to be a crucial part of that game plan, especially because Mike Holmgren stubbornly refused to adjust his blocking scheme, so intent was the Green Bay coach on flooding the secondary with five receivers.

“When you fail to adjust in critical situations, you’re going to lose, and that’s what happened,” general manager Bob Wolf told Bob McGinn, who has covered the Packers for nearly 40 years. “To be pig-headed about it …”

At his best when it counted most, Atwater recorded six tackles and broke up two passes against the Packers, including one in the final minute of the fourth quarter that saw him unload a hit so explosive it knocked three players unconscious: Green Bay receiver Robert Brooks, teammate Randy Hilliard and Atwater himself.

Hall of Fame voters will obviously consider Atwater’s eight Pro Bowl appearances, but let’s hope they don’t overlook the strip sack of Favre documented here. I humbly submit it’s the most underrated big play in Broncos history.

As the committee gathers next weekend to consider the qualifications of 15 modern-day finalists and select the Hall’s class of 2019, I will ask one more time:

With all due respect to Davis, who was the Broncos’ MVP of Super Bowl XXXII?

“You think it was me? Well, I appreciate it,” says the Smiling Assassin, allowing himself a chuckle.

Then, Atwater makes a request: “OK, if you really think I was the MVP, can you get me that trip to Disneyland?”

Know the only thing better than going to Disneyland?

Being fitted for a gold jacket in Canton.