Broncos headed to Super Bowl, beat Pats 20-18 in AFC Title Game

THE DENVER BRONCOS ARE HEADED TO THE SUPER BOWL! They hold off a late rally from New England, win AFC Title Game 20-18.

PREGAME:

Broncos inactives include RB Juwan Thompson and QB Trevor Siemian. That means CB Chris Harris Jr. will start (as expected) and the lone man backing up QB Peyton Manning will be Brock Osweiler.

Also, after showing up on the injury report late in the week with a quad injury, CB Bradley Roby is ACTIVE today against New England.

One thing to keep in mind today – New England LB Jamie Collins was inactive for the first Broncos/Patriots game in November. Collins missed four games this year yet still played the most snaps on the Pats’ defense – he’s the motor that makes the unit tick.

Also inactive for that first NE/DEN match-up: DeMarcus Ware. Considering how poor New England’s offensive line has played of late have to imagine Ware will be able to create pressure in spots. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray get a bit of run to keep Ware/Von Miller fresh.

You won’t see any predictions coming from me – but I will say this should be a close game. Don’t see either New England or Denver running away with it, wouldn’t be surprised if Brandon McManus and Stephen Gostkowski play large roles in the outcome.

FIRST QUARTER:

New England wins the toss and (shockingly) decides to take the ball in the 1st Half.

First play: Brady to Gronk (no surprise) – good coverage by LB Danny Trevathan. 4 yard gain.

DeMarcus Ware already making an impact: pressures Brady, makes him step up and release the ball earlier than he wanted to, almost picked off. Forces 4th Down.

Denver D holds strong on Pats’ first drive, here comes The Sheriff.

First drive for Broncos also earns first third down conversion – good throw by Manning and a tough catch by Emmanuel Sanders at the sticks.

So far, not so good for the Denver running game. O-Line having trouble establishing line-of-scrimmage, not much room to run.

Umm, Peyton Manning looks extremely sharp today. From the pocket, on the bootleg, wow.

BRONCOS TOUCHDOWN! Denver scores first, Petyon Manning to Owen Daniels for a 21-yards TD strike. 7-0 Broncos lead Pats!

Manning on Broncos’ first TD drive of the AFC Championship: 4/6 for 60 yards and the 21-yard dart to OD. I’m telling you, he looks fantastic.

Another 3rd Down stop for the Broncos’ defense – Gronk wanted a penalty and referee Ed Hochuli said “No Sir!”

Three-and-out for Denver leads to a Britton Colquitt punt – Danny Amendola creates a nice return and sets up the Patriots with their best field position of the afternoon at their 40-yard line.

Tackling has been superb for the Broncos so far in the first quarter – Wolfe comes up with a sack on 3rd and 14 to force the 3rd New England punt of the day.

Tom Brady is 0/3 on 3rd Down so far today, overall 4/8 for 26 yards. Denver defense smothering New England receivers.

Bizarre: Ed Hochuli overturns call on the field of a forward pass – New England ends up recovering fumble on the winning challenge.

Steven Jackson sighting folks – the all-pro back plunges into the end zone for the score, but Stephen Gostkowski misses the extra point. Broncos retain lead 7-6.

Deep ball under-thrown to Emmanuel Sanders, but #10 goes up and gets it over the Patriots Super-Bowl-Savior Malcolm Butler to convert on 3rd Down.

SECOND QUARTER:

VON MILLER! Who says the linebacker can’t cover Gronk? Miller comes up with the interception of Tom Brady, sets up the Broncos offense in the red zone.

BRONCOS TOUCHDOWN! Peyton Manning to Owen Daniels for the 2nd time today – Denver extends lead to 14-6.

Manning: 8/14 for 114 yds and 2 TD’s. My goodness.

Owen Daniels such an unsung leader on this Broncos team, coming up huge in the biggest game of the season (so far): 2 catches for 33 yards and 2 scores.

Both defenses playing very well against the run so far – 28 yards total in the running game COMBINED between Denver and New England through roughly two-and-a-half quarters.

BRADY SACKED! Ware and Miller have a very important meeting in the Pats’ backfield, sack Tom Brady for the 2nd time by Denver’s defense. Stephen Gostkowski comes on and nails a 46-yard field goal to make it a 14-9 game.

Tom Brady at the 6:00 point in 2nd quarter: 9/18 for 87 yards, 1 INT (QB Rating = 40.7).
Manning: 8/15 for 114 yds and 2 TD’s (QB Rating = 117.8).

Oh goodness – Malik Jackson just CRUSHED Tom Brady as he released a pass, ball picked off by Darian Stewart. Sets up Broncos with a good chance to score before halftime – 4:00 left in 2nd Quarter.

Speaking of crushed, after false-start penalty Patriots come up with first sack of the game on Manning. Alan Branch gets credit. Hit looked painful, but what do I know.

At the 2:00 warning, teams have still only COMBINED for 58 total yards rushing.

How good is Brandon McManus? Two playoff games, two 50+ yard field goals! 52-yard field goal is good, Broncos go up 17-9 with about 30 seconds to go in the first half.

New England kneels to end the half – Broncos are 30 minutes of football away from Super Bowl 50! Denver leads 17-9.

HALFTIME STATS:

Manning: 10/20, 128 yards, 2 TD’s (QB Rating = 103.8)

Brady: 9/20, 87 yards, 2 INT’s (QB Rating = 18.1)

C.J. Anderson: 7 rushes, 28 yards

Emmanuel Sanders: 2 catches, 45 yards

2 sacks by Broncos defense, 1 sack by Patriots defense – but Denver’s D seems to be putting more pressure overall on Brady than New England is on Manning.

THIRD QUARTER:

Broncos receive the 2nd half kickoff, will start with the ball on the 20 yard line.

I mentioned Jamie Collins pre-game and he comes up big at the beginning of the second half. Sacks Manning, forces 3rd and 23. Broncos punt away first possession of 2nd half.

Rob Gronkowski rumbles through the Broncos’ secondary for a 31-yard reception, but he comes off the field a little gimpy. Scott Chandler in the game at TE for New England.

The Patriots drive stalls, Gostkowski comes on and hits a 38-yard field goal to cut Denver’s lead to five, 17-12.

They may attract 15-yard flags, but having Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward in the back end of a secondary must be terrifying for opposing receivers. Laying some seriously big hits on the Pats today.

Peyton Manning just ran for a first down? PEYTON MANNING JUST RAN FOR A FIRST DOWN! Gets up jawing at Pats defenders too. Love it.

From Broncos PR: “Peyton Manning’s 12-yd rush was the 2nd-longest of his playoff career. He had a 15-yd TD run vs TEN 1/16/00.”

Manning’s game-high 12-yard rush can’t spark a Broncos scoring drive, Colquitt punts back to New England.

Von Miller straight schools Patriots’ RT Cam Fleming, sacks Tom Brady, then dances like only Von can dance.

Apparently Peyton Manning’s top speed on that 12-yard run was 16 miles per hour.

Injuries beginning to stack up on Denver defense – Safety Darian Stewart on the sidelines, now Derek Wolfe laying on the field with trainers around him.

Unbelievable. Von Miller with another huge play, his 3rd sack of the game, forces a punt while Wolfe and Stewart on the sidelines dealing with injury.

We’re headed to the 4th Quarter! Broncos lead the Patriots 17-12. Von Miller: 3 Sacks. Manning: 13/24, 156 yds, 2 TD’s

FOURTH QUARTER:

C.J. Anderson breaks off a 30-yard scamper, by far the longest rush of the game by either team.

What a tough catch by Emmanuel Sanders to convert that 3rd down. He may be a speed guy, but his toughness is what makes him such an asset in the Broncos’ offense.

Broncos can’t convert in the red zone, McManus hits a 31-yard field goal (his 2nd of the game) lead now back to 20-12 in Denver’s favor.

Ugh. Now T.J. Ward dinged up. The good news is Wolfe is back on the field and looks fine, Stewart hasn’t returned to action yet.

RB James White just had LB Danny Trevathan beat by about three yards, but Brady can’t connect and the ball falls incomplete.

Looks like the Pats just ran the same White/Trevathan play towards the end zone, better coverage this time around.

Belichick, in true Belichick fashion, goes for it on 4th and 1 … and Chris Harris Jr. makes a HUGE stop on Julian Edelman. Broncos get the ball back on offense, 5:56 to play in the 4th Quarter.

Broncos unable to even get a first down after big defensive stop, punt back to Brady and the gang with 4:35 to play.

Brady to Gronkowski over the middle and the big polar bear gets loose for 31-yards down near the red zone. It’s nervy time in Denver, folks.

Good call on the field in my opinion by the officials, Amendola never had the ball in control before Webster knocked it out.

Another huge 4th down stop by the Broncos defense! Good pass rush forces Brady to just throw one up to Gronk, ball falls out of the end zone. Broncos are a couple first downs away from a trip to Super Bowl 50.

Well, so much for that. Pats will get the ball back before the 2 minute warning with 1 timeout remaining.

Holy Gronk. 4th and 10 with the game on the line. Broncos defense needs to hold strong!

The AFC Championship (as far as the Patriots are concerned) comes down to 4th and Goal.

Robert. Gronkowski. What in the world was that? Pats are a two-point conversion away from tying this game up.

DENVER’S DEFENSE STANDS STRONG! Pass broken up at the goal line on New England’s two-point conversion, Broncos lead 20-18. Onside kick to come.

THE DENVER BRONCOS ARE HEADED TO THE SUPER BOWL! They hold off a late rally from New England, win AFC Title Game 20-18.