Brady and Manning will be the conversation of many as the Denver Broncos will meet the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 24 start time at 3:05 PM ET.
Advertisement
Manning’s third-quarter scramble for a first down – “The run”, he called it, using air quotes – might be the most celebrated scramble by a Broncos quarterback since John Elway helicoptered in the Super Bowl, 18 years ago.
The Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers face off in the NFC championship game later Sunday to decide who will face the Broncos in the Super Bowl on February 7. If the team wins the Super Bowl, it will be hard to cut him loose.
Streaks: Wins, 2. Defeated Atlanta Falcons, 34-19 in 1998; Green Bay Packers, 31-24 in 1999. Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby picked off Brady’s pass on the two-point conversion attempt. And he did so ably, avoiding turnovers and tossing two touchdown passes.
Denver’s pass rush that led the league in sacks kept Brady under pressure the entire game, forcing the Patriots quarterback to hurry passes and miss targets.
Many of the Broncos players realized that the AFC Championship Game versus the New England Patriots could have been their last with the team. The list does not include Peyton Manning, but key members of the NFL’s top defense will be available for other teams on March 16th.
NFC Championship – Cardinals at Panthers (-3, 47.5) WHY THE CARDINALS WILL COVERJess Root writes for Revenge of the Birds.
On Sunday, Manning made $2 million when the Broncos beat the Patriots for a berth in Super Bowl 50. The Patriots’ offense can be full of surprises, but with Steven Jackson and Brandon Bolden as the primary running backs, Brady clicking in the short-passing game and Denver owning the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense, New England would seem to have no reason to try to establish a ground game. The Broncos would recover the onside kick attempt and Manning would take a knee.
Paraphrasing Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he and his team did not make it this far just to make it this far. They’re known for their hit “Best Day of My Life”, which the Broncos and Patriots hope applies to them at the end of the afternoon. The squad harried Brady early often, sacking him twice and intercepting him twice in the first half alone. Ideally, he wants to lift up his fifth career Super Bowl trophy at the end of this season.
Manning turns 40 in March, and while he had not revealed his future plans going into the AFC title game, there had been wide speculation that this season could be his last.
After 30 minutes of football, the New England Patriots trail the Broncos 17-9 in the AFC Championship.
Advertisement
KEO’S K.O. – Street free agent Shiloh Keo has more than made up for surrendering the game-winning TD in a 15-12 loss to Oakland five days after joining Denver’s defense when an injury epidemic took out several of their safeties.
