Sunday’s AFC Championship Game capsule and prediction

I said to myself hmm, it seems as if Manning has a real good chance of winning it. Even though Peyton Manning is a lot weaker than he use to be, yet the Broncos seem to keep on marching along.

And thanks to his defense, that will be Manning – the 39-year-old quarterback who was supposed to be on his way to a retirement party – and the Denver Broncos, not Tom Brady and the champion New England Patriots, playing in the Super Bowl two weeks from now.

Though Brady and Manning have dueled numerous times throughout the years, they have only met in the playoffs four times. Denver is 3-1 in postseason against New England and beat Patriots 26-16 in AFC title game on January 19, 2014…. The total has gone UNDER in the Patriots’ last five AFC title games, but has gone OVER in five of the last six Brady-Manning games and in 11 of their 16 career matchups.

It’s just that their 17th meeting no longer features a pair of icons in their considerable prime. Manning outplayed Brady in the first half. His left foot damaged, his right arm diminished, his shoulders no longer haul the hopes of a franchise and its fans.

“That’s great for us to have some of those guys back who weren’t playing that particular week”, said Brady. “We’re focusing on what they do, not what they say”.

That 65-yard drive was one of just two Denver had in the game that covered more than 34 yards.

Talib left as a free agent and signed with Denver after that season.

Manning hit Daniels again on a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter after the Patriots cut the lead to 7-6. He threw nearly twice as many interceptions as he did touchdown passes during the regular season and his passer rating was a career-low.

Denver is coming into this after last week’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Steelers team that was pretty banged up.

Another Brady sack forced the Patriots to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Gostkowski, who atoned for his earlier miss by ramming it straight down the middle for 14-9.

For as good as Arizona’s offense is, I think they’re going to struggle running the football against Carolina’s front seven on the road, which will make them one-dimensional and that’ll play right into the Panthers hands.

Broncos safeties Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward were hurt in the game. “That is what I think their legacies will be”, said Myers. It’s never really been broken down. We have to really just sit back and see what these guys do and go out and prepare for that instead of saying something.

While both the Panthers (Cam Newton) and Cardinals (Carson Palmer) boast MVP-caliber quarterbacks, the game is likely to come down to whose defense shines best. Pats’ LB Jamie Collins is one of the league’s best linebackers.

The Brady-Manning rivalry is the NFL’s best, said Myers, although injuries have taken a toll on Manning in recent years and sapped the power from his throws, while Brady has rolled on. Both of those losses came when the Patriots were undermanned offensively. He had an MVP-caliber season, though Cam Newton deserves the award, and he’ll have his full complement of weapons Sunday with a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman back in the lineup. Steven Jackson is running OK, but the Patriots’ offensive line can’t open up holes.

Elway hired coach Gary Kubiak with the idea that his ex-teammate would help him transition from the Manning era to whatever comes next.