Oh, this will tick off everybody in Broncos Country. The proud men on the NFL’s No. 1 defense are certain to cry disrespect. But try not to get your orange knickers in a knot as I dispense the cold, hard truth.

The Broncos are not going to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

During the upcoming season, Denver will go 11-5 and lose in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

That’s not disrespect. It’s math.

With a final score that actually counts in the NFL standings more than 100 days away, there’s a silly little game being played by the Broncos at Dove Valley. Players see a prediction that calls Denver a one-hit wonder destined to fall back to earth in 2016 and feign outrage.

It was the turn of Broncos safety Darian Stewart on Wednesday to fire back at the doubters.

“We still have to go out there and play and keep proving them wrong. It is what it is. Everybody is entitled to their opinions. We’re just going to keep working and keep getting better,” he said.

Then Stewart made a promise that sounded more like a warning from a Denver defense that he believes does not get proper respect: “It’s going to be hell for teams this year.”

News flash: The rest of the country does not hate the Broncos. Smart football analysts simply have calculated the odds of repeating, which are stacked against Denver.

The Broncos won Super Bowl 50, upsetting Carolina so badly that it made Cam Newton pout. The league’s MVP was hit so often and so hard by Denver linebacker Von Miller that he realized the harsh reality that he wasn’t actually Superman.

But that kind of magic will be nearly impossible for Denver to recreate. Of the previous 49 Super Bowl champions, eight have won back-to-back titles. And 15 have missed the playoffs. You don’t need to have a math degree from MIT to understand it’s twice as likely the Broncos will fail to qualify for the Super Bowl tournament than enjoy consecutive victory parades with 1 million of their closest friends in downtown Denver.

The Broncos were the NFL’s best team in 2012, during Peyton Manning’s first season in town. Then Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco threw a prayer into the Colorado night, safety Rahim Moore made a stupid mistake and Denver got upset in the playoffs. Hey, stuff happens.

The Broncos were not the NFL’s best team in 2015. But they earned the championship by playing out of their minds during the playoffs. They over-achieved, which is the greatest compliment any team can be paid.

And Denver also got lucky.

Before general manager John Elway hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in honor of franchise owner Pat Bowlen, three very fortunate things had to happen:

1) A concussion prevented Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown, the best player I saw in the NFL last season, from suiting up for a playoff game against the Broncos; 2) In the AFC championship game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered brain freeze on a two-point conversion that could have tied the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter, when he inexplicably failed to spot tight end Rob Gronkowski running free in the end zone; and 3) Jonathan Stewart, the leading rusher for Carolina, suffered a serious foot injury in the first half of the Super Bowl and limped through the remainder of the game, finishing with 29 yards on 12 carries.

None of that amazing good fortune takes the shine off the Broncos’ trophy. But when the over/under for Denver victories in the 2016 regular season is listed at nine by oddsmaker Bovada, that’s not disrespect. It’s level-headed analysis of a team whose offense probably will be led by journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez or rookie Paxton Lynch.

Oh, the Broncos could be the first team to win back-to-back championships since the New England Patriots pulled off the mean feat during the 2003 and 2004 NFL seasons.

Of course, I might also wake up tomorrow morning and see George Clooney staring back at me in the mirror.

It’s a beautiful dream.

Then the alarm clock rings.