Brady: ‘I never imagined’ playing in 10 AFC title games

It is a competition that Brady has dominated, winning 11 times to Manning’s five.

When he arrived in Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in the AFC championship game, Brady couldn’t believe he was there.

That is more than fair, even though it’s unlikely to end up being the story.

New England: The Patriots couldn’t run the ball against Kansas City, and Denver had the best regular-season defense in the NFL. “These two guys going against each other is like an epic battle where you get to go out and see whose general wins the war”. “We’re going to talk a lot about the two quarterbacks and this great history between them”. On each of those drives, they were held to just a field goal, but those drives still produced three points each, which was more than the ultimate margin of victory.

NOTES: Steelers LB Arthur Moats went out in the first quarter with a pectoral injury. Both teams lost games to, shall we say, teams that were not quite playoff-caliber. Linebacker Arthur Moats injured his pectoral muscle in the first quarter and did not return to the game, leaving rookie linebacker Bud Dupree to take most of the snaps at left outside linebacker for the remainder of the game.

BUTTERFINGER BRONCOS: Denver’s biggest bugaboo this season has been dropped passes, and that trend continued, with Demaryius Thomas, C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman all letting passes bounce off their hands.

Now, realistically, those of us with actively working brain cells know that the coach doesn’t exactly go out there and tell his team not to give a crap during the practice week against an “inferior” opponent but perception is reality in the NFL. Pittsburgh surged in front with the help of a big play by wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who shook free for a 40-yard gain on a reverse play to the Denver 16.

Aqib Talib has a lot of opinions, but this one might not be unfounded. Unable to decide between “3” and “3 /2”, the oddsmakers opened New England -3/-120.

Ware’s sack ended Pittsburgh’s next drive and Brandon McManus kicked his NFL-record fifth field goal, joking it was such a tricky crosswind that he just kept aiming “at the guy holding the beer in the top left corner”. They were 10-0 at the time and the Broncos were starting backup QB Brock Osweiler.

The New England Patriots, who visit Denver for the AFC championship, are 6-3 in games decided by seven points or fewer, including a 30-24 overtime loss to the Broncos on November 29. Manning, 39, has even switched teams.

“I’m very proud of our organization and our team, but what you just said is exactly what we’ve been about all year”.

Kickers don’t always get the credit they deserve in the National Football League. Arizona’s win over Green Bay was everything you’d want in a football game, though it also showed some holes in the Cardinals.