Brady, Patriots fall 20-18 to Broncos in AFC title game

Down eight in the fourth quarter New England drove deep into Broncos territory.

The 77,112 fans in Sports Authority Field at Mile High gasped, as did a national television audience.

While the other division profiles young and confident upstarts, this battle between the Broncos and the Patriots is one that is full of history and includes big names that are easily going to be part of the rich history of the league. The squad harried Brady early often, sacking him twice and intercepting him twice in the first half alone.

For the Broncos, Peyton Manning is undoubtedly in the closing stages of his career.

“I’m sure everyone can look at different plays throughout the game when it’s that close and say, ‘Man I wish I had made that play, ‘” Brady said.

The game had been billed as the renewal of a rivalry between the Broncos’ Peyton Manning and the Patriots’ Tom Brady.

The Broncos will play in their eighth Super Bowl, this time in Santa Clara, Calif. They will face the victor of Sunday night’s Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers matchup in Charlotte.

In Manning’s five starts at home this season, he led the Broncos to 23 points once, that coming in a 29-10 win over Green Bay. His release time is the problem, so leaving him those medium length throws wide open is simply giving the game to the Patriots. Manning game-managed effectively, perfectly complementing the stellar Broncos’ defense, as the defensive unit lead by outside linebacker Von Miller kept Brady from throwing a touchdown pass the entire afternoon.

The Patriots offense was clicking in their win against the Chiefs, although they got help from some weird play calling by Andre Reid with his team down by 14 points and more than enough time to get two drives out. And barring that extra point miss, that miraculous fourth quarter drive would’ve sent the game to overtime.

Manning finished 17-for-31 for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

The Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-18 to advance to their second Super Bowl in three years. That’s why most expect that Brady and the Patriots will prevail in their fifth straight AFC championship game appearance – and that if Denver does pull the upset, it’ll be because of a dominant performance from Denver’s top-rated defense and the Denver running game. That brought up fourth-and-goal from the 4 yard line with 17 seconds left, the season on the line. With a nonpareil passing attack, and their best defense in years, New England should win this game.