Denver Broncos: Keys to victory against the Patriots

Getting back to the Super Bowl means that Tom Brady will have a chance to become the only quarterback in National Football League history to win 5 Super Bowl titles.

Kickoff between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship is inching closer and closer.

Peyton Manning gets all the attention, but the Broncos are in the AFC Championship because of the contributions of many players.

During the build up to the game in the Mile High City, the spotlight was fixed on Manning and Brady, the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks who were meeting for the 17th, and perhaps final time on the gridiron. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Brady continues to defy Father Time. “So, it’s going to be a big challenge for us”, said Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady.

Bulletin board material? You bet, but don’t expect a verbal counterpunch from New England.

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.

We’ve heard it so many times over the course of the last week that the “facepalm” is now the involuntary response. We played to the end. “There are going to be days when the offense struggles a little bit and days when the defense struggles a little bit, but we just gotta pick each other up”. Denver’s defense is good enough to flip this game on its own, but it’s just too hard to ever bet against Brady and Bill Belichick. “They’ve got great players”. Aside from a tweet from Gronkowski (“Heard their whole team is good at giving low blows”), there was nothing but respect and praise coming from the Patriots this week. Make it about C.J. Anderson and maybe some Ronnie Hillman, hope for some big plays by the special teams and for Manning to take what he sees, instead of trying to force anything.

Patrick Chung and Matthew Slater were the most recent additions to the injury report, but they are probable and questionable respectively. While they combined for just nine catches for 125 yards, the fact that they are reliable and consistent targets for Manning is what makes all the difference. In the receiving end, Emmanuel Sanders had 85 yards in five receptions while Demaryius Thomas added 40 yards in four receptions. “These are guys that the game will always speak about …”

“There are a lot of underdogs on this team, from Chris Harris as an undrafted free agent and is playing really well, to a guy like Shaq (Barrett, the Colorado State alum) who has played consistently and now has an opportunity to do something great”, Ware said.

The perennial AFC powers will be trying to build upon their storied legacies.

With a victory, the Patriots would advance to play in their ninth Super Bowl, which would set an National Football League record. Brady boasts more Super Bowl victories, but faces a huge obstacle when having to get past the Broncos in the Postseason on his way to the Super Bowl.

It wasn’t anything spectacular, but Manning was able to keep the Broncos moving by checking out of bad plays and into ones to keep moving the chains. Manning is now 3-1 against Brady when it has counted the most – with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. Not only are Edelman and Gronk two of the best at their positions, they create matchup problems for Denver that will help ancillary pieces like Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell get open.