Denver Broncos Defeat New England Patriots

Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos to victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The diminished arm strength and a number of issues throughout the season for Manning meant the Broncos were home underdogs in the matchup between the two quarterbacks.

However, the stingy defense and steady and effective play of Manning was enough for the Broncos to go to the Super Bowl. While Brady continues to be among the greatest all-time quarterbacks in the NFL, the 39-year-old Manning played better on Sunday.

Manning managed to complete 17 of 32 passes for 176 yards, including two touchdowns without any interceptions. On the other hand, Brady had 27 of 56 for 310 yards, including one touchdown as well as two interceptions. Manning’s record against Brady improved to 6-11. This comes as the Denver quarterback has another opportunity to win a second Super Bowl trophy and enhance his legacy.

The interior pass rush of the Denver Broncos overshadowed the offensive line of the New England Patriots. It reduced the chances of Tom Brady in stepping into his throws. Brady also received pressure from the edge rushers of Denver, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

Denver Broncos Defeat New England Patriots - image credit: newsunited.com

Sunday saw Denver producing four quarterback takedowns. Denver is the top in the regular season of the NFL with a total of 52 sacks. The defense of the Broncos also found it unnecessary to blitz too much against Brady. Denver typically had seven in coverage with the secondary blanketing the pass catchers of New England. Brady and New England were out of rhythm due to the coverage of Denver.

The Broncos employed a balanced attack in offense leaning slightly to a passing game. Peyton Manning analyzed the defense of the New England Patriots and exploited matchups he liked, particularly with Owen Daniels, who had a pair of touchdown passes during the first half of the game.

The second half saw the Denver Broncos taking advantage in the fight for field position. While Denver was limited to three second-half points, the defense continuously pressure New England in their own territory and prevented the Patriots from moving into the chains.

Following a touchdown catch by Rob Gronkowski that reduced the lead to two points, Brady was picked off in the following play that allowed Denver to keep the lead. While the offense of New England appeared rather sharp after their first-round bye as well as its 27-20 win over the Chiefs at the divisional round, the defense of Denver smothered the Patriots throughout the game. New England was limited to two conversions out of fifteen third-down attempts.

Linebacker Von Miller of the Denver Broncos played a significant role in the victory as the New England Patriots were unable to contain him. He had one interception, five tackles and 2.5 sacks. Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will face the winner of the NFC Championship Game. One the other hand, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots return home after a disappointing postseason for a team that started the season with a 10-0 record.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday January 25 2016, 8:21 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0