Peyton Manning 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 Sunday.
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The New England Patriots will face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship, while the Carolina Panthers will host the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship.
The victor of Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady XVII will advance to the Super Bowl game.
Manning’s experience proved crucial against Pittsburgh, as Denver mounted a late, time-consuming fourth quarter drive to score the game’s decisive touchdown through running back C.J. Anderson. The Broncos go-ahead touchdown was scored with three minutes to go in the game. Pittsburgh’s defense forced Denver to punt three plays later, but the controversy still stood as a plot point in the the Steelers’ 23-16 playoff loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday. Brady’s Patriots own an 11-5 edge over Manning’s Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, although they are 2-2 against one another in the playoffs and Manning has won the last two meetings. The much-heralded Broncos defense was good, but not great; the less heralded offense was awful, not bad.
Manning’s teammates dropped seven passes but also came through in crunch time.
There haven’t been wholesale personnel moves on either side of the ball for Denver over the last two months, but the biggest has come at quarterback, where Peyton Manning stepped in during the regular-season finale and reclaimed the job from youngster Brock Osweiler. But what is interesting about this matchup from a betting perspective, is the fact the No. 2 seeded Patriots have opened as 3-point road favorites against the No. 1 seeded Broncos. And this one ended well enough to put the home team back into the AFC Championship game for the 10th time, and the second time in the four-year Manning era. “And, sometimes, even as a player, you will take a minute to sit back in the game and watch their greatness”.
With a combination of key special teams plays and dominant defense, the Broncos claimed an early advantage over Pittsburgh. “If you can be in a lot of those games and win those games, it certainly gives you confidence and, hey, it’s playoff football”.
Now he is back in the conference title game for a fifth time.
“They’re the number one defense in the world, there’s a reason for that”, Roethlisberger said of Denver. There were several floaters Sunday against the Steelers (a game where he went 21-for-37 for 222 yards and no touchdown passes), and he looked vulnerable at times.
Ailing Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 339 yards while playing without injured receiver Antonio Brown, but the visitors could not deliver a final answer against the Broncosdefense. Playmakers Bell and Brown weren’t on the field Sunday, although this allowed Martavis Bryant to step into the spotlight. “I was just excited she was here for her first game”. If the squad can stay healthy and possibly add a little more help on the offensive line, it could definitely be one of the best in football.
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“I think everybody understands when you’re in the fourth quarter that there’s a sense of urgency, especially when you’re behind, you’re losing the game and you realize your opportunities are getting fewer and fewer”, Manning said.
