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When asked about Denver’s continuously improving rushing attack, head coach Bill Belichick pointed to their week 12 match up and said “probably the best it was [was] against us”.

“I’ve really tried to take it one week at a time all season long, through the injuries and all the things that have gone on”, Manning said. But these are the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots – two franchises built to overcome problems big and small. They won the Super Bowl a season ago with an interception at the goal line in the final seconds against Seattle.

Much like Tom Brady did in his first Super Bowl, Manning just needs to manage the game and play mistake free, while the Denver defense tries to limit Tom Brady. New England should win this one in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots put together a long drive in the fourth quarter, and got inside the Broncos’ 20-yard line.

They’ll have the winter to debate it in New England.

Let’s face it – love him or hate him, Tom Brady is the best quarterback in this game. But it’s also their uncanny ability to plug seemingly random players into their system.

“They’re moving guys around”.

“I never doubted Peyton since all the little buzz has been going on about him, ” Butler said. The Cardinals will need to do better than that if they hope to win this game. It seems like “50” (defensive end Rob Ninkovich) has been around there for 15 years. “We just didn’t play very well”.

New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins is reportedly good to go for Sunday’s AFC Championship game.

The Broncos, meanwhile, have had to adjust to Manning’s injuries and his declining skills.

The Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 in the divisional round.

All week, every sports station you watch and listen to, it’s been Brady v.s Manning XVII. One guy has got to play one, and the other guy’s got to play the other. To play against those Peyton Manning-led teams, you know you’ve got to play 60 minutes, and you’re going to be in for a tough game.

Brady led the league with three dozen touchdown throws and he passed for 4,770 yards despite seeing his receivers and running backs limp to the sideline seemingly as often as they spiked the ball in the end zone. Not only is Harper off the roster, but the combination of Danny Amendola, Keyshawn Martin, and Julian Edelman are battle-tested and reliable when it comes to the return game. If Brady and the offense can avoid turnovers and give Brady the ball at the end of the game, the Patriots have a great chance of winning on Sunday. Manning, in five games at home, has thrown just one touchdown. One. Gronkowski is a nightmare matchup for any defense, and stopping him will be a huge focus for the Broncos.

Whether it’s been Manning lining up under center, or Brock Osweiler, who took snaps while Manning was injured for six weeks toward the end of the season, the Broncos have depended on a defense that gave up the fewest yards this season and came up with game-saving plays time and again.

But don’t expect the quarterbacks’ teammates to get caught up in all of the hype. Third-year RB C.J. Anderson rushed for a career-high 113 yards in that game and has averaged 80 yards per game on the ground in Denver’s past three contests.

So, instead of some story about a relative newbie making the Super Bowl, as we’ll hear when either Carolina or Arizona makes it in the NFC, this will be a story of franchises that have found a way to stay in the hunt for years, even decades.