THE Denver Broncos without John Elway at quarterback are a bit like a party without drink. But a 41-6 rout at the hands of the Green Bay Packers was a more sobering experience than the Broncos bargained for.

The Broncos have emerged as the pride of the American Football Conference with a powerful running game to back up the strong arm of Elway. They arrived at a freezing Lambeau Field having already clinched their division and homefield advantage through the playoffs. That impressive performance has made the Broncos the team most likely to end a 12 year losing streak in the Super Bowl for the AFC, especially with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers suspect this year. But there is the slight problem of the Green Bay Packers, the most likely contenders from the National Football Conference.

Of course the Broncos can say they were a different team without Elway after being pulverised by the Packers. But even with Elway, the Broncos would have been hard put to contain a rampant Pack.

With their emphatic win, the Packers clinched a second consecutive NFC Central title and took a step closer to homefield advantage in the playoffs - the Packers have won 14 in a row at Lambeau Field.

They started slowly as Brett Favre spent much of the half collecting his senses after being knocked silly in Green Bay's first possession. But once everything was in order, Favre hit his stride. The deluge began just before the half with a 73 yard drive that consumed only 34 seconds. It ended with Favre sidestepping a Bronco defender and hurling a 14 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman to give Green Bay a 13-3 lead.

Favre went on to throw four touchdown passes, including a 51 yard scoring pass to Freeman, a one yarder to Keith Jackson, the tight end, and a 25 yarder to Freeman yet again, playing with a cast on a broken forearm. Favre's two interceptions paled in comparison.

Elway's backup, Bill Musgrave, meanwhile, was blitzed ragged by the Pack defence, completing only 12 of 21 passes for a measly 101 yards while Elway nursed a strained hamstring on the sidelines. The Packers were equally stingy against the run, confining Terrell Davis to only 54 yards, although that was enough for Davis, one of the best runners in the NFL, to clinch a new team rushing record. With two games left, Davis has ran 1,437 yards, beating the old record of 1,404 held by Otis Armstrong dating back to 1974.

"Right now it doesn't mean anything," said Davis, "This was just a test of character of our team.

While the Packers bolstered their Super Bowl credentials, the San Francisco 49ers faltered against division rivals, the Carolina Panthers, who beat them 30-24. The Panthers have now beaten the 49rs twice this season and are playoff bound in only their second season.

"They played like the team with tradition. We came unglued,". George Seifert the 49ers coach, said.