Manning and Brady have squared off 16 times before, a full season’s worth of matchups between the two quarterbacks whose careers are so intertwined that a conversation about one nearly has to include the other – like Bird vs. Magic or Ali vs. Frazier.
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Yet Denver’s defense were in no mood to let victory slip and Roethlisberger was sacked on an unsuccessful fourth down conversion attempt deep in Steelers territory.
Manning leans heavily on a Broncos defense that doesn’t appear to have a discernible weakness.
I guess we could say the same for Manning in this one. “You’ve got to give them credit, but in that situation, I put it on myself”. He channeled his inner Bill Belichick and didn’t expand much about any feelings he might have had. “We’ll talk about who we’re playing on Wednesday”, said Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos quarterback.
His boss, John Elway, who got to face fellow Hall of Famer Dan Marino only twice in his playing career, once said there will never be another rivalry like Brady-Manning. They’ve split those four meetings, however Manning has emerged victorious in the last two and is 2-1 against Brady in championship games and 2-0 at home.
This matchup was slated for November before Manning went out with a foot injury that pushed longtime backup Brock Osweiler into the starting – and starring – role.
Manning completed a 3rd and 11 pass to put the Broncos in field goal range to go over 200 yards for the day on the drive, and then he directed the offense down to the Steelers goal line, running the clock at the same time, to score a touchdown with three minutes left.
Manning led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to score the touchdown that decided the game.
Brady is still vintage Brady, passing, bootlegging and QB sneaking the Super Bowl champion Patriots past the Chiefs on Saturday and into the AFC title game for a fifth straight season.
BUTTERFINGER BRONCOS: Denver’s biggest bugaboo this season has been dropped passes, and that trend continued, with Demaryius Thomas, C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman all letting passes bounce off their hands. Brown could not make the trip to Denver for the AFC divisional round game against the Broncos because he remained in the National Football League concussion protocol. Broncos will have to again beat the Patriots, but this time they will have Peyton Manning to drive their offense.
On a chilly afternoon Sunday, the Broncos held off Pittsburgh, 23-16, as Peyton Manning returned as the starter after being sidelined with a foot injury for the final seven games of the regular season.
Pittsburgh led 13-12 through a Fitzgerald Toussaint touchdown and two Chris Boswell field goals while Denver had been forced to settle for 4 Brandon McManus field goals.
Pittsburgh responded with a field goal in the final minute to pull within seven points but they were unable to gain possession of the ensuing onside kick.
“Down in the fourth quarter, (we got a) great play by our defense”.
“It was a tale of two halves and we have to be better than that”. Pittsburgh did a great job down there in the red zone, keeping us from touchdowns. “The momentum built from there, and we were able to close the game out”. They’ve led us to this point.
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Pittsburgh pass catcher Martavis Bryant stepped up with 154 receiving yards and 40 rushing in place of All Pro Brown, who was concussed last week against Cincinnati. He went 21-for-37 for 222 yards. In 2008, the Cardinals upset the No. 2-seeded Panthers 33-13 in the divisional playoffs en route to their only Super Bowl appearance.
