Season ends in Denver, 23-16

Peyton Manning earned one more and possibly final game against his rival by leading the Denver Broncos to a come-from-behind 23-16 win over Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Sunday’s game will be the fourth AFC Championship game between Brady and Manning, and the 17th meeting overall between the iconic quarterbacks.

The last time Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came to town, Peyton Manning watched the game on television from inside the locker room. We had some good field position early and we had to settle for field goals. And it’s why the Broncos ignored chatter to start backup young gun Brock Osweiler over the veteran against the Steelers – the most important game in their 12-4 season – underwhelming postseason record be damned. Pittsburgh’s defense forced Denver to punt three plays later, but the controversy still stood as a plot point in the the Steelers’ 23-16 playoff loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday.

But he held firm with Peyton, the decision paid off, and now the Broncos are back in the AFC title game, with the Patriots coming to town.

The defense, as usual, was carrying the Broncos. All three were unavailable for parts of the 2015 regular season game.

Peyton Manning is 10/19 for 95 yards – I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I’d imagine about 4 or 5 of those incompletions were drops. But on fourth-and-one, Mike Tomlin opted not to try a 50-yard field goal with the wind to Boswell’s back in the high altitude.

Manning, several weeks since returning from his latest ailment in old age, came through, meticulously orchestrating a 13-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in C.J. Anderson’s go-ahead touchdown to set Denver up for the victory over an undermanned Pittsburgh team, which could only last so long without Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams.

But with the Broncos in desperate need of a big play on offense, Manning reached back and threw a fastball inches beyond the reach of diving cornerback Brandon Boykin.

“Ben was healthy as hell, man”, Talib said. Denver linebacker DeMarcus Ware recovered the fumble at the Broncos 35-yard line with 9:52 left to play.

The Broncos converted just one of eight third downs in the first half, and the Steelers weren’t much better, converting two of eight.

The NFL playoffs are down to its final four teams after the weekend’s Divisional round. Anderson had 72 yards on 15 carries. “We never really got frustrated and that served us well tonight and it served me well this season”. Fowler made up for it with his 31-yard catch on third-and-12 to set up Denver’s only touchdown. “We’ve played against their offense billions of times, and we know they’re going to put us in a lot of motions and they’re going to check our tools and our coverage”. They could have home-field advantage, and they could play an uninspired game just as the Broncos did Sunday night.

“I think everybody understands when you’re in the fourth quarter that there’s a sense of urgency, especially when you’re behind, you’re losing the game and you realize your opportunities are getting fewer and fewer”, Manning said.