National Football League playoffs: Peyton Manning leads Denver Broncos to win over Pittsburgh Steelers

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates his touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski in the second half Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, against the Kansas City Chiefs in Foxborough, Mass. Harris played in only part of the game against the Steelers due to a shoulder injury, giving away most base snaps to Roby, the former first round draft pick who is okay but definitely not a top corner. “It was tough all night, they’re a good defense that’s been playing well the last couple weeks, not giving up many points, real credit for them”, Manning said.

The NFL’s only five-time MVP earned one more and possibly final game against his rival by leading the Denver Broncos to a come-from-behind 23-16 win over Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on a blustery Sunday. While the Broncos hold the No. 1 seed, they didn’t exactly blow anyone’s doors off with Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Steelers.

Manning went back on a play-action pass, but as he saw Steelers safety Will Allen blitz in from the left, the quarterback stepped up and took one of his patented dives to avoid taking a hit while getting sacked. With so few points between the two, it means Vegas likely thinks they’re very closely matched, meaning where the game is played is the only real edge. So when the Broncos needed a big play trailing 13-12 in the fourth quarter, they dialed up that play figuring they could anticipate the coverage.

Now the rest of us need to find the patience to wait until Sunday for another Brady-Manning AFC title game as we worry whether it might be the last one ever between the two best quarterbacks of their generation. They’ll be playing at home with that Mile High crowd bringing the noise. 2.

The Broncos successfully took time off the clock and added a field goal from Brandon McManus, his fifth of the day, with 53 seconds remaining.

“We’ll deal with that on Wednesday”, said Manning, who led the Broncos go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Later he stood at a press conference lectern in a room down the hall and spoke in an nearly melancholy way about this one season he worked so hard to get and doesn’t seem to have enjoyed.

“Our defense is guiding us, let’s make that clear”, Manning told reporters after completing 21-of-37 passes for 222 yards with no scores or interceptions.

After a drive that chewed almost seven minutes, the Broncos scored their first touchdown of the game with a one-yard run by C.J. Anderson.

Notes: Broncos PR Omar Bolden injured a knee following his 42-yard return that set up Denver’s first field goal… “The momentum built from there, and we were able to close the game out”.

All that ugliness got set aside thanks to the sort of comeback that has defined the Denver Broncos all season. “We never really got frustrated and that served us well tonight and it served me well this season”.

“I have tried to stay in the moment, tried to be patient and not look too far ahead”, Manning said.

Martavis Bryant was fantastic for Pittsburgh today with 9 catches for 154 yards, BUT, his touches, and damage were limited in the second half going forward. “They said we didn’t have a chance”.

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

Tom certainly is fairly secure in his playoff legacy, having led his team to six Super Bowl appearances and four victories in the biggest game of the year.

A fumble by Fitzgerald Toussaint, the game’s only turnover, at Denver’s 35 gave the Broncos the ball to start the winning touchdown drive at their 35.