For once, let’s all collectively take a step back, and not call the Broncos-Patriots game Manning versus Brady.
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Not on Sunday, though.
Instead, the conference title will be settled by Brady against the Broncos’ top-ranked defense. “It’s Manning and Brady”.
The Patriots are 3-0 in games that Law served as an honorary captain, including two AFC Championship games. The Panthers averaged more than 31 points this season, and the Cardinals were a close second at 30.5.
Bulletin board material? You bet, but don’t expect a verbal counterpunch from New England.
Drops plagued Manning last week – seven by the count of the Broncos – and Denver can not afford to surrender downs. This is the second time in three years the teams have met in this game with Denver winning two years ago.
But this is hardly the same Manning anymore.
All dozen players listed on Denver’s injury report are probable for Sunday’s AFC championship against New England after having 100 percent participation in practice all week.
Tom Brady DID win four Super Bowls and also quarterbacked a team that won every regular season game before losing to the Giants in the Big Game.
For the umpteenth time this week, this is the XVIIth game in which the two quarterbacks will play against each other. What if the National Football League had a conspiracy to make sure that Peyton Manning wins the Super Bowl this year?
The Patriots are coming in as the No. 2 seed and they’re coming off a pretty impressive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend.
He has the weapons now that wide receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, plus tight end Rob Gronkowski, are healthier.
Brady has thrown more touchdown passes in Denver this season than Manning. That approach would take away some of the underneath routes New England depends upon, while trying to coerce the Patriots into running the ball or throwing it deep.
Needless to say, there is a lot riding on this game. Unlike the Patriots, Denver always tries to establish the ground attack. If the Patriots thought it was hard against KC, the difficulty is magnified against the Broncos. It was then that I started looking at Manning in the same way, same team, nearly the same story. Edelman has 36 receptions in his past four playoff games.
The Panthers are 1-2 in their previous three NFC title games, reaching the Super Bowl in 2003 before losing 32-29 on a late field goal to New England. And once again, they find themselves on the verge of the Super Bowl.
Quarterback Cam Newton was involved in 45 touchdowns this season, and he must be accounted for first and foremost by Arizona. And even though the Bills got to Brady, they only scored 13 points, surely not enough to win. Anderson ran all over the Pats defense.
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He caught 10 passes for 100 yards last week, his first game since November 15. That means they will keep bringing the blitz. The win kept the Seahawks from returning to the NFC championship game for the third year in a row. Cornerback Josh Norman is likely to get most of the coverage assignments against Fitzgerald, and that will be a highlight matchup on Sunday.
