DENVER ” No, you’re not seeing things. Sunday’s game will be played in Denver at the Mile High Stadium. 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.
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Brady hit a double-covered Rob Gronkowski in the back of the end zone on fourth down from the 4 to set up the potential tie.
Aqib Talib stepped in front of Brady’s pass and deflected it toward the sky.
Roby, who forced the game-changing fumble in last week’s victory over Pittsburgh, made the pick.
The Broncos recovered the onside kick and, after a knee by Manning, the celebration began. I think the Broncos defense will play a very good game. “He’s one of the greatest competitors ever in this league”. When Kubiak searched his playbook for a “spark” against the San Diego Chargers and called for his backup quarterback, Peyton Manning jogged onto the field and led the team to a victory and a home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals clash in the NFC championship game later on Sunday with the victor advancing to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara on February 7 to face the Broncos. Brady was drafted by New England in the sixth round and was the 199th pick.
Not that his teammates were blaming the right foot of Gostkowski in a game where the Patriots (13-5) turned the ball over twice on interceptions and two more times on downs. 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. “If they can find an answer for him, the world will be impressed”. That unit was outstanding, helping efficient quarterback Peyton Manning outduel Brady in the 17th career meeting between them. The Broncos linebacker has an interception and 2 1/2 sacks, which is a club record for a postseason game. Sending Brady to his seventh loss in nine trips to Denver would give them that chance.
Then, on fourth-and-goal from the 4 with 12 seconds left, Brady found Gronkowski again. Chris Harris Jr., has gone from rookie free agent to second-team All-Pro.
Instead, the conference title will be settled by Brady against the Broncos’ top-ranked defense. Not by a longshot.
Vintage Manning has never been known for taking off when the field is clear, the way he did with 9:49 left in the third quarter and nothing but air between him and the first-down marker on the Patriots sideline. “For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a little bit of freedom to go out there and just play”.
The 17-for-32 performance wasn’t one of his best, and Owen Daniels won’t be on Manning’s list of all-time favorite targets. In those two games, Manning threw for a combined 652 yards, including 421 against Buffalo, and completed almost 74 percent of his passes. The first two times the two quarterbacks met in the playoffs (following the 2003 and 2004 regular seasons), before anyone truly knew that Brady was exactly as good as he is, it was seen as more of a battle between Manning and Bill Belichick.
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There is possibly no better leader in the National Football League than Manning, and simply having him out there seems to have electrified the Broncos on both sides of the ball. One number stands out and is absolutely unreal to think about in the pass-heavy league that the NFL has become.
