Some Denver Broncos didn’t think Ben Roethlisberger was playing through pain in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 23-16 playoff loss on Sunday night.
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It’ll mark the 17th time Brady and Peyton Manning have met, and the fourth time in the AFC Championship game. And the Patriots will leave Denver with a victory. Because the gap between the two signal callers is so great, the Patriots are three-point road favorites in Denver.
He said his shoulder was sore Monday and Tuesday and that movement will be limited in the joint for some time. This game marks just the seventh time Manning will face Brady at home. We’re relentless in there. “We just got to keep putting it back together”. “There is not one play that signifies we lost this game”.
No quarterback has ever won five Super Bowls.
“It’s been a unique season, a lot of new things have happened this season, kind of like tonight”, said Manning, who replaced Osweiler in the season finale, leading the Broncos to a win over San Diego to secure the No. 1 seed.
The New England Patriots are coming from a 27-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
Denver Broncos led the National Football League with an 8.1 percent adjusted sack rate, sacks (plus intentional grounding penalties) per pass attempt adjusted for down, distance, and opponent. And they said that he did not cost them that game, though certainly his play turned the tables in that game. Plus, they played the second half without Dont’a Hightower and the last part of the game without Gronk.
Daniels called this latest nail-biter “a microcosm of our season”. “That was important, we protected him pretty well”.
This one is a tossup because of the nature of their games.
The Pro Bowl quarterback had promised to play if he could and said if he couldn’t throw 25-30 yards downfield he’d be hurting the team. No more blown coverages.
Of course, the Broncos’ win wasn’t almost as exciting as the Cardinals’ overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers, which would not have gone to overtime if Aaron Rodgers had not completed his second Hail Mary pass of the season with a seemingly impossible throw.
“Our confidence is flawless”, cornerback Aqib Talib said.
The Patriots have to feel good about the chance at redemption, especially given how poor Denver looked overall against the Steelers. “So, let’s get it”. It was the first time it really felt like, wow, this is a big deal. Thirty-nine years old, held together by baling wires, switched to another team, now with the Broncos, doesn’t have the arm strength, was injured later in this season, had to sit while a young quarterback behind him held the season together for the Broncos.
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Notes: S/PR Omar Bolden (knee) is out for the playoffs….
