Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots For AFC Title

The last time Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came to Denver, Peyton Manning watched the game on television from inside the locker room. But cornerback Bradley Roby’s forced fumble and the recovery by outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware set the Broncos up for their go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The two teams will play for a spot in the Super Bowl on Sunday at 2:05pm on KWCH 12.

Although the two maintain a golf-and-dinner friendship in the offseason, Brady said he wasn’t sure if he would be in touch with Manning this week with such an important game looming.

The New England Patriots hope to clinch their third Super Bowl appearance since the 2011 season.

A successful two-point conversion gave Denver a seven-point lead, leaving Pittsburgh with just over three minutes to try and find a touchdown to level the game and force overtime.

“Yeah, everybody loves playing in games like this-going against the best, ” said Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith.

On Sunday, with a chance to go to the AFC Championship, the football gods corrected things.

Brady still managed to play well against Denver, throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns, though it’s possible that he could struggle on Sunday. Manning, however, holds a 2-1 edge in conference title games versus Brady.

On Sunday, Denver’s NFL-best defense kept things close until Manning could deliver his 55th comeback in crunch time.

For the 13th time this year, the outcome of the game was decided by only one score, and for the 10th time that outcome ended in Denver’s favor. Brady won in 2004, while Manning won in 2007 (as an Indianapolis Colt) and in 2014. It was has been proven once again that the Broncos have the top defense in the NFL. “We wanted to win this game, but I told him, I said we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him”. When you fake that way and kind of get your head around, I felt that guy closing, so I stepped up and kind of leaned forward. “We told them once who they were named after, but then they went from there”. Manning dropped back to pass, hit Bennie Fowler for a 31-yard completion, and the rest is history.

“A couple of those were the wind, but as a receiver we should have still made those plays”, Thomas said.