‘D’ saves Broncos as Peyton bests Brady

And it is the Denver Broncos – and not the defending champion Patriots – who are headed to Super Bowl 50.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) speaks with Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson following the AFC Championship game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, in Denv…

Finally, after Brady connected with Gronkowski for the touchdown that cut the lead to 20-18 with 12 seconds left, it was again Talib who broke up the Brady two-point conversion pass to Edelman. The Broncos recovered New England’s ensuing onside kick and the celebration began.

Those who did come out to support their team in the AFC Championship Game in Denver were optimistic that quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski would carry the team to Santa Clara, Calif., for the Super Bowl.

Manning threw two first-half touchdowns to tight end Owen Daniels with Brandon McManus adding two field goals and Denver’s defense did the rest as they harassed Brady from start to finish.

“When you play quarterback”, Brady said, “you’re going to take hits and that’s part of it. You’ve got to stay under there and make the throws”. Gronkowski finished with eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown.

A fair share of football fans were rooting against the Patriots advancing to the Super Bowl.

Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski shares his emotions about missing a PAT in the first quarter against the Broncos, saying he “let a lot of people down”.

“A couple of plays here and there, where they made better plays, really were the deciding factors of the game”, Patriots safety Devin McCourty said.

The Patriots were just 2-for-13 against the Broncos in their Week 12 loss in Denver.

The defense held strong, forcing two consecutive three-and-outs from Brady, but the Broncos weren’t able to capitalize and, instead, gave all of the momentum back to the Patriots when Ronnie Hillman thought a lateral pass was incomplete and Jonathan Freeny scooped it up.

If this was the last time we’ll see Tom Brady play against Peyton Manning, then we got one to remember.

Brady, who coming into this game had been playing some of the best football of his career and is one of the front-runners for the NFL Most Valuable Player award, was intercepted twice in the second quarter. “They fought to the end like they always do we just couldn’t quite make enough plays”. In Denver’s two Super Bowl wins, they were 11-point underdogs to Green Bay (1997) and 7.5-point favorites over Atlanta (1998). I think you complement that with great coverage. We knew what the situation was.

Before the team took on the Patriots at Sports Authority Field, Miller said he only needs a second to get to Brady. I can’t even explain how I feel right now.