Broncos hang on to beat Patriots, earn spot in Super Bowl

Manning and the Denver Broncos are heading to the Super Bowl, thanks to his efficient offense and a big-play defense that saved a 20-18 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Manning, who had been plagued by injury and questionable form all season, turned in a performance worthy of a five-times NFL Most valuable player, tossing a pair of first half touchdowns to Owen Daniels. There’s a chance of rain later in the evening, but the game should be over by then and one of these teams will be on their way to the Super Bowl.

Despite a putrid first half by the New England Patriots quarterback, Brady recovered in the second and nearly forced overtime, finding tight end Rob Gronkowski in the back of the end zone with 12 seconds remaining. Compensating for a missed extra point earlier in the game, the New England Patriots attempted a 2-point conversion to tie the game in the final seconds of the fourth quarter – an attempt that failed. It was at its worst Sunday in the Patriots’ AFC Championship Game loss to the Denver Broncos, when he was sacked four times and hit 20. “I know his season ended a year ago [with Baltimore] in New England and for him to have two touchdowns in this game, I’m very happy for him”.

“He has always been a great game manager”, John Elway said, “but I think even more so now”.

Manning improved to 6-11 in his vaunted series against Brady, but 3-1 with the AFC title on the line.

“You’ve just got to go out there and make more plays”, Gronkowski said. “A couple of plays here and there where they made better plays really were the deciding factors of the game”.

Another gasp. Another sign of life for New England.

The big question mark is under center, where Manning may be done after the impending contest for the Lombardi Trophy.

“We just kind of held true to what we are”, Kubiak said.

Brady had a miserable day mostly courtesy of Denver outside linebacker Von Miller. At least, fans get to wait until the Super Bowl for Manning’s last hurrah.

That’s where the storylines start for Super Bowl 50, but it’s far from the only intriguing angle of a game pitting the No. 1 seeds in each conference against each other.

“They’ve been challenging to go against in practice, going back to training camp, but it is special to watch them work and watch them perform on Sunday”, Manning said. Gronkowski battled cramps and the altitude all game, but finished with 143 yards receiving, including a 40-yard reception on fourth down and a touchdown reception, also on fourth down within the final two minutes to bring the Patriots to within two.

The victory means Denver will play in its first Super Bowl since losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.