* And my realization that the league has changed, probably forever.

For various technical and ESPN-related issues (their abandonment of the Europe and Middle East markets during the summer), I had not seen an NFL game this season. Maybe a few seconds of video, here and there, but not one game from start to finish. Or even for five minutes straight.

I worked at The National till midnight tonight, which was right around when the New England Patriots game against the Denver Broncos was kicking off.

And we took advantage of a kind invitation from a couple of Yanks and NFL fans to go over to their place, in the middle of the night, to see how long we could absorb the game, with the AFC title game to be followed by the NFC version, running till about 7 a.m. here.

We lasted the length of Game 1, and I was impressed by several aspects of it, including the “four-layer dip” whipped up by the host.

But by this above all:

The NFL has gotten noticeably softer.

To be sure, this is not yet a professional sports organization to which we would apply the words “kinder and gentler” because people are still banging into people, and guys seem to get hurt every minute or three. (I recall a sequence of three plays that each ended with a Denver defender hurt.)

But, from the perspective of someone has not watched the NFL for a full season, I can promise you the collisions have diminished markedly in ferocity and force since the 2012 season.

Maybe you have noticed, back at home, but it may not be as obvious if it has been a gradual process … from watching games from Week 1 right on through to the Super Bowl semifinals tonight.

The big collisions seem almost to have disappeared.

The shot to the head nearly doesn’t exist.

Defensive players seem to be doing calculations in the middle of a play on how they can best take to ground a guy by tackling from the waist. Or lower.

I remember a Peyton Manning pass, first half, over the semi-deep middle to a receiver, and the defensive guy dead ahead of the pass-catcher all but ran a circle around him looking for a way to grapple with the guy — instead of exploding into him, face to face, with his shoulder, as we would have seen in the recent past.

“Blowing him up”, the expression was.

You know, like he would have two years ago. Maybe last year.

I know this has to be about concussions. The NFL has too many of them. It is a game that uses up a man’s body, but it is the abuse to the head that is becoming a major problem. With ex-players who are depressed, or have brain damage or are dealing with Alzheimer’s at a young age.

So, the league is telling players to back off, and fining those who do not.

And it has changed the game.

Some no doubt rue the change. I mean, it is about halfway to flag football, at this point.

I am OK with that. Still a lot of speed and color and deep thinking going on, and I do not need highlight reels of monster hits/knockout shots.

But it is obvious. So, so obvious. The big hits, nearly all of them … gone.

Manning was impressive, of course. I can remember keeping track of those that were anything less than right on the money, and I think my count got to about five. Out of 43, for 400 yards.

Tom Brady wasn’t on the field long enough to do much damage. Because Manning was leading the Broncos in holding the ball by passing it, as well as running it. Like the first half of the third quarter — gone, as Manning led the Broncos the length of the field.

I was impressed by packed stands (rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic, unless you are at an English Premier League soccer game), how everyone was wearing orange, the intricacies of the game, the layer upon layer of strategy and tactics.

But what will stick with me is this: The violence level has been turned down. Way down.

Guys still get hurt, but it seems more like a function of large people running in a confined space, and when they bump into each other a lot of force is transferred into energy.

But the notion of “someone could get killed today” … I never felt that. By the end of the game, which was a bit after 3 a.m. in the UAE, I wasn’t really worried about the big injury I would have been waiting for, in the recent past.

I’m OK with the softer NFL. If you are a regular follower of the league, I bet you haven’t really even noticed the difference.

Which means you are OK with it, too.