The Broncos then held on for the 23-16 victory at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday.
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For the second week in a row, an opposing player has accused one of the Steelers’ top offensive stars of faking an injury – and this time the target is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Sure it’s still Manning vs. Brady, but it has a different feel this time around.
But, according to Patriots coach Bill Belichick, he doesn’t necessarily want his defense to get too caught up in the chess match before the ball is snapped when the teams face off in the AFC title game Sunday in Denver at 3 p.m.
But this is the way it should be: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning squaring off in what could be the final game of Manning’s career. “Field goals are better than no points but we knew we’d eventually need to get a touchdown drive”. I think you knew that answer was coming.
The two teams will play for a spot in the Super Bowl on Sunday at 2:05pm on KWCH 12.
Said Roethlisberger: “Obviously we’ll be dealing with a little bit of pain and some limited movement here for a little bit but supposedly will heal on its own”. His first career playoff loss and his most recent one were both in Denver, where he is 2-6 in his career. It was going to be that one big play.
With Denver down 13-12 with less than 10 minutes left, cornerback Bradley Roby, burned time and again, punched the ball from Steelers running back Fitzgerald Toussaint’s arms and teammate DeMarcus Ware recovered at Denver’s 35-yard line.
Manning didn’t put up huge numbers (21 of 37, 222 yards) and the Broncos’ offense struggled for most of the game, but Manning didn’t care because the offense came through when it mattered. Denver also happens to boast the No. 1 defense in the National Football League, and Manning said that group is the reason the Broncos are still alive in the postseason. Maybe the biggest takeaway from this game was that the Broncos defense is just as good as everyone thought they were and aren’t showing any sign of slowing down soon.
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Two more field goals would complete the scoring, the last a 47 yard kick by Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell on second-and-10 with 19 ticks on the clock. Now covering his beloved hometown team, his knowledge and passion for pro football has resulted in multiple fantasy football championships.
