The talk all week was about how this could be the last time everyone would see Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, two of the legendary quarterbacks of this or any era, on the same field. But it was not either of the two signal callers who stole the show in this one.
This game belonged to Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and the rest of the Denver Broncos defense, who harassed Brady all day and kept the New England Patriots offense, even with its full complement of weapons active, from getting into gear. Even with Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola on the field to complement Rob Gronkowski, The Patriots still failed to get in sync as they fell in Denver 20-18, losing in the Mile High City for the second time this season.
Denver Offense Strikes First
The Broncos took it right down the field on their first possession, scoring in 11 plays as Manning hit Owen Daniels for a 21-yard touchdown. It was the Broncos best drive all day.
A few possessions later, Manning threw a pass that was ruled to be a lateral that was picked up by the Patriots and later cashed in with a rushing touchdown by Steven Jackson. A rare missed extra point by Stephen Gostkowski kept it at 7-6.
Brady Makes Mistake, Manning Capitalizes
On New England's next possession, Brady made a rare mistake as he threw a pass baited by Von Miller going for Gronkowski, and it was intercepted deep in Patriots territory and set Denver up at the 16 yard line. Three plays later, Manning connected with Daniels again as Denver went up 14-6.
The Patriots got a field goal to come back within five, but Denver also tacked on three before the half ended and went into the locker room up 17-9.
Patriots Stay Within Striking Distance
On their first drive of the second half, New England nailed a field goal to make it 17-12. Later in the half, Denver drove it to the New England 13 and on third down Manning just overshot the outstretched arm of Jordan Norwood, which would have given Denver a touchdown. They settled for a field goal to make it 20-12.
Belichick Goes For It Twice, Denver Defense Holds Strong
With six minutes left to go and their offense not in any rhythm whatsoever, Bill Belichick made the decision to go for it on fourth and one inside Denver territory. Ware was in Brady's face quickly as he lobbed the pass to Edelman, but Chris Harris made the stop short of the marker. They left three points on the board there.
The Patriots forced a three and out and would get the ball back, taking it deep inside Denver territory again. On fourth down they lobbed it for Gronkowski, but Aqib Talib outjumped Gronk and deflected the pass out of bounds. Three more points left on the board.
Close But No Cigar
After another three and out New England had one last chance down eight. On a fourth and ten they hit Gronk down the seam into the red zone. On fourth and goal, once again Gronk made the play as he caught the touchdown in the back of the end zone. On the two point conversion Talib batted the pass away and it deflected up to Bradley Roby, who returned it out of the end zone before being stopped. With 12 seconds left, the Patriots tried an onside kick but it was recovered by Shiloh Keo and sealed the Denver win.
Top Performers
Peyton Manning wasn't spectacular but he finished the game 17-of-32 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't throw and interception but he did lose a fumble.
Tom Brady was pressured all game long and was in continual passing situations as they were behind from the get-go. Brady finished 27-of-56 for 310 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Rob Gronkowski was the single New England player who wasn't overmatched. The Patriots tight end finished with eight catches for 144 yards and one touchdown.
Broncos tight end Owen Daniels finished the game with two catches for 33 yards, both of which were touchdowns. Running back C.J. Anderson compiled 90 yards of total offense, 72 of them on the ground.
The top performers for the entire game has to be the entire Broncos defense. As a unit they accumulated four sacks, 2.5 from Von Miller, two interceptions and knocked Brady to the ground a whopping 20 times.
Denver's front seven was amassing pressure all game long and it was clearly disrupting the timing and rhythm of the New England offense.
Up Next For Denver, Super Bowl 50
The Broncos will seek their third Super Bowl win two weeks from now against the Arizona Cardinals or Carolina Panthers, both of whom seek their first Super Bowl win (and second appearance). Denver will make their eighth Super Bowl appearance, tying them with New England, Dallas and Pittsburgh for most in the league.