The NFL might be a quarterback’s league, but the personality of the Broncos is increasingly being shaped by Vonster, Pot Roast and the No-Fly Zone rather than Peyton Manning.

You don’t want to mess with Denver linebacker Von Miller. On the field. Or when he sits down to play Connect Four, the old-school kids game that becomes a no-holds-barred sport in the Denver locker room.

“I’m in your head,” Miller playfully teased teammate Emmanuel Sanders last week, as the linebacker dropped his first red disc in the blue grid during a lunch-time Connect Four showdown.

“Nobody but a brain surgeon ever gets in my head,” replied Sanders.

The game was on.

And the Vonster blitzed his teammate, beating Sanders soundly.

Any place, anywhere, at any game, the Denver defense can be intimidating.

When Broncos executive John Elway spent more $60 million in guaranteed money within a 24-hour span during the offseason to acquire pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward, the team bought more than talent. It bought a brand new attitude.

It took time for the defensive unit to gel. During the current four-game winning streak that put a prompt end to a midseason slump and re-established the Broncos firmly atop the power elite of Super Bowl contenders, it is the defense that has won the day more often than Manning. On the road against their toughest AFC rivals, the Broncos allowed Kansas City a mere 16 points and limited San Diego to 10. By any metric, that’s championship-caliber defense.

On the road to the Super Bowl a year ago, the story line was all Manning, all the time, so much so that the other 52 players on the roster sometimes seemed as if they were just along for the ride. But it was Terrance Knighton who made waves from Seattle to New England when the 330-pound man known as Pot Roast recently vowed to me the Broncos are going to win the Super Bowl. “It doesn’t matter what happens. At the end of the year, we’re hoisting that trophy,” Knighton said.

The outspoken Knighton and the old-pro cool of Ware have given Denver authoritative voices that allow Manning to hand the wheel over and let somebody else drive the Broncos bandwagon. But something more powerful is also at work. This defense has slowly become a band of brothers. They have fun together.

Here’s one small example: Denver basketball legend Chauncey Billups was a special guest of the Broncos on the trip to San Diego, where the AFC West was won. After the victory, Billups stood in the entrance to the visitors’ dressing room, talking about the football players he has befriended, and casually mentioned: “I know big Pot Roast says he can dunk. But he’s got a good jump shot, too. It’s the darnedest thing. I’ve never would’ve believed the big man could shoot the basketball until I saw it. But I’m telling you: He’s got a sweet J.”

When I relayed Billups’ compliment to Knighton, he was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning, excitedly walking around the dressing room, grabbing Talib and linebacker Danny Trevathan, then demanding that I tell everybody Pot Roast’s shooting touch had received Grade-A certification from a bona fide NBA star.

“What? Chauncey said that?” asked Trevathan. “Pot Roast has a sweet jumper? Well, if Chauncey said that, it must be true.”

It was a hilarious scene. It was also the very definition of that elusive thing we call team chemistry.

“It’s huge. It’s huge to have that chemistry. You’ve got to love to play with your brothers in the locker room,” said Chris Harris, whose influence has grown stronger as he has risen to the top level of cornerbacks in the league. His new, $42.5 million salary and his No Fly Zone T-shirts are evidence Harris has indeed arrived.

Maybe the real story of this NFL season in Denver is how the Broncos have evolved to be more than No. 18. Oh, Manning is the star. But his teammates have stepped from behind the long shadow cast by the veteran quarterback’s greatness.

“What we’re trying to do is play complementary football,” Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. “That means offense, defense and special teams working together, picking each other up.”

The Broncos are more than Manning.

With a burden lifted off the 38-year-old quarterback’s shoulders, there’s no limit to how deep a playoff run the Broncos can make.

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or twitter.com/markkiszla