Wow! That was one word I used to immediately describe Sunday's AFC Championship Game. In a game that was billed as a battle between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, it was an old-school defensive battle, and the Broncos defense shut the door when they needed to do it, and the Broncos upset the Patriots 20-18 to win the AFC Championship and head to Super Bowl 50. I almost collapsed from anxiety, excitement, exasperation, and exhaustion-mainly from an insanely tense 4th quarter-as the game ended and Shiloh Keo recovered the onside kick attempt to officially clinch the game with 12 seconds left. It was a great game, and a game that will long be remembered for Broncos fans as the day that the Broncos new "Orange Crush" defense dominated Brady and the dynamic Patriots offense. The Pats came in as heavy favorites, and no one was picking Denver, but the Broncos set the tone early by forcing an early punt, and Manning led a touchdown drive capped off by a 21 yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead that they never relinquished. The Broncos defense just harassed and hurried Brady all game long. They knocked him down 23 times, sacked him 4 times, and picked him off twice. It was a legendary performance by a unit that has carried the Broncos the entire year. It was only fitting that Denver's defense stopped the Patriots two-point attempt with only 12 seconds left to preserve the victory. It was the way that the Broncos won all year, and they did it once again. The Broncos knock off the Patriots and win their 8th AFC Championship and they will head to the Super Bowl for the 8th Super Bowl in franchise history, and it will be their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons. There is so much to get to in this game, so here are my thoughts and observations on what will go down as one of the biggest wins in Broncos franchise history.......
1) The game started the way that you would love if you were a Broncos fan. They force a quick punt by the Patriots and they hurried Brady enough that he was forced to throw the ball early, and it fell incomplete over the middle. The Broncos took over on their own 17 yard line and they proceeded to go 83 yards on the first drive. The drive even featured a Manning bootleg pass to Andre Caldwell for a big first down. Manning found Owen Daniels on a 21 yard touchdown up the seam to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 7:32 left in the first quarter. It was a great double move by Daniels and an easy pitch and catch from Manning. It really set the tone of the game that the Broncos were here to play, and this was not going to be a blowout. I really thought that this was the tone-setter for the entire game.
2) The Broncos followed it up by forcing two more punts by the Brady and the Pats offense. One drive was stalled by a Derek Wolfe sack, and the other drive was stopped by a inaccurate throw to Rob Gronkowski. The Broncos defense was the story throughout the game, and they certainly started the way you would have hoped.
3) The Broncos made their lone mistake on offense when a swing pass by Manning to Ronnie Hillman fell incomplete, but it traveled backwards and Hillman never went after it, so the play was actually a lateral. The Patriots jumped on it right away, but the whistle blew the play dead as an incomplete pass. Bill Belichick smartly challenged it and the Pats won the challenge setting them up deep in Denver territory. Of course, they converted it into points as Steven Jackson rumbled in from 1 yard out to make it 7-6 Denver. It was really unfortunate because the Broncos had really dominated the first quarter and now with 1:49 left in the quarter and the game was about to be tied.
4) I was joking about how it would be great if somehow Stephen Gostkowski can miss the extra point and almost on cue, he pushed it right. He hasn't missed an extra point since his rookie year. It was just unbelievable. Now, the Broncos had a 7-6 lead, and it just felt like that was going to be a factor. Missed extra points always seem to come back and haunt teams, and it did play a role later on.
5) After a Broncos punt pinned the Patriots back in their own end, the Broncos defense made another big play early in the game. Von Miller fooled Tom Brady by dropping back into coverage and picked off Brady and the Broncos set up shop at the New England 16. It was a great deceptive play by the Broncos defense and coordinator Wade Phillips. We will get to Phillips and his game plan later on, but it was a great play and it once again showed that the Broncos defense was here to play.
6) Manning made the Pats pay with a really great throw to Owen Daniels in the corner of the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown pass to make it 14-6. It was another double move by Daniels and Manning made a really great throw and put it in the perfect place to take advantage of the turnover. I really felt at this point that Manning was playing well and with Denver up 14-6 with the way the defense was playing that the Broncos were in total control of the game. I knew Brady and the Pats weren't done, but I really felt like the Broncos were on the cusp on actually winning this game.
7) From that point, the two teams really slogged through the rest of the first half and the third quarter. The Patriots answered that Broncos touchdown with a field goal to cut it to 14-9. After a three and out by Denver, the Broncos defense made another big play. This time with the Pats moving the ball a bit, Malik Jackson rushed another Brady throw and he got picked off by Darian Stewart down the sideline. It was a great play by Stewart, who played a hell of a game, and once again Brady looked frazzled and rattled.
8) After another Broncos punt, the Patriots got conservative in their own end. With 2:26 left in the half, they ran the ball on a 3rd and 13 from their own 9, and Denver snuffed it out and called a timeout with 1:52 left to get the ball back. The Pats ran the ball twice in those three plays, and had a false start. I thought they should have been more aggressive, but they were clearly worried about the Broncos defense so they played it safe.
9) The Broncos moved it only 23 yards but it set up a Brandon McManus 52 yard field goal and a 17-12 lead right before the half. That was a very important sequence right before the half.
10) The next three Denver possessions in the third quarter produced three punts. The Pats two possessions during that span all resulted in punts as well. The first drive was stalled by a huge Von Miller sack on a first down play deep in NE territory, and the second drive was stopped by another Miller sack on a 3rd and 10. Von Miller was just amazing all game long. He was the MVP of this game by a wide margin.
11) As the fourth quarter started, the Broncos were able to move the ball just enough to get a crucial field goal. C.J. Anderson broke a 30 yard run on a 3rd and 1 from the Denver 48 down to the NE 22. Manning just missed an open Jordan Norwood in the endzone that would have made it 24-12, but the pass was just a little too much out of reach. If Denver scores there to make it 24-12, then I thought the game was going to be over with the way the Broncos defense was playing. Denver settled for the 31 yard field goal to make it 20-12 with 10:02 left in the game. From there, this game went into the epic zone. The following 10 minutes were one of the most gut-wrenching finale that I have ever witnessed as a Broncos fan.
12) You knew the Patriots had a drive left in them, and the Broncos were without both safeties because T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart left with injuries, and they were starting to get gassed. Brady had enough time to hit Julian Edelman for a huge 3rd and 10 down to the Denver 26 with 8 minutes to go. A 10 yard catch and run to Danny Amendola set up a 4th and 1 at the Denver 16. Belichick went for it, and I can't fault him for that, but Denver was all over the play-action throwback and Ware was basically on top of Brady when he turned to throw and Chris Harris and Aqib Talib swallowed up Edelman for a loss of 1 and a huge stop with 6:03 to go.
13) After another Broncos 3 and out, the Pats got the ball back with 4:35 to go at their own 29. After a quick first down, Brady threw a bullet to Gronk for a 28 yard gain down to the Denver 28. After a false start on a 3rd and 1, pushed it back to 3rd and 6, Amendola dropped a pass over the middle in traffic, and credit Kayvon Webster for stripping it out. On 4th and 6 from the Denver 14, the Broncos pass rush collapsed on Brady and all Brady could do was heave a prayer in the endzone for Gronk who was tripled covered and Talib knocked it away with only 2:25 seconds left.
14) The Broncos ran the ball twice for two yards, and NE called two timeouts right away. On 3rd down the Broncos went for the win and the first down but Manning's pass down the sideline to Emmanuel Sanders was incomplete and Denver had to punt. I have no problem with Gary Kubiak throwing the ball there because if they get it, the game is pretty much put away.
15) The Pats get the ball back with 1:52 left at the 50 with 1 timeout left. Three straight incompletions set up a 4th and 10 with 1:34 left in the game. With the game on the line, Brady hit Gronk on a seam pass with two Bronco defenders all over him. It was an incredible throw and an incredible catch by Gronk for 40 yards and set the Pats up with a 1st and goal at the Denvert 10. I almost collapsed when they play happened. At that point, I thought this game was going to overtime. I really did.
16) Three plays later, it set up a 4th and goal with 17 seconds left. Once again with the season on the line, Brady was harassed and just threw a pass up for grabs to Gronk in the endzone. With two Broncos around him once again, Gronk found a way to get open and jump up and catch the ball in the endzone for the touchdown to make it 20-18. It was an incredible play by Gronk, and it reminded me a little of how Jacoby Jones broke our hearts in the 2012 playoff game against the Ravens. I was just in shock at that point.
17) On the two-point try, the Broncos defense once again collapsed on Brady who had to roll right and then try to throw back across his body. The ball was tipped by Talib, who was all over Edelman, and Bradley Roby was right there to pick it off and hold the Broncos lead at 20-18. I had a feeling that Denver's defense might make a play there and even though Roby returned it and fumbled, it didn't matter because it was a conversion attempt, and the Broncos were an onside kick recovery away of winning the game and going to the Super Bowl. The Broncos defense made the play once again when they had to, and give credit to the defense for gathering themselves after giving up the touchdown to Gronk a play earlier. Just incredible sequence of events.
18) Shiloh Keo easily recovered the onside kick, and Peyton Manning took a knee and the Broncos were AFC Champs and heading to the Super Bowl! What a moment for the Broncos.
19) This game will be long remembered for the performance by the Broncos defense. Von Miller had one of the most dominant games I have ever seen in the NFL by a defensive player. He had 2.5 sacks, 1 interception, and about a million hurries. He was literally unblockable. He was just incredible all game long. Demarcus Ware was awesome as well. He got credited with a 1/2 sack, but was constantly in the backfield after Brady all game long. Malik Jackson was sensational and so was Derek Wolfe. The Broncos were able to get to Brady rushing those four guys and it just rattled and dismantled Brady and the Pats offense the entire game. Even when they didn't get a sack, they had Brady by the legs or had him sensing pressure. They knocked Brady down 23 times, which was the most since 2006. They didn't let up. Their performance in this game was truly remarkable. Give credit to Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan who played well in coverage for most of the game. The secondary was great. Talib had his best game of the season, Chris Harris played great with a bum shoulder, and Bradley Roby made plays as well. Darian Stewart had a pick and he punished the Pats receivers with 2 huge hits. T.J. Ward was great as well. That was the best performance I have ever seen by a Broncos defense in my lifetime.
20) Wade Phillips put together one of the best gameplans I have seen in a long time. He completely outcoached Belichick and Josh McDaniels. He stayed away from the blitz and knew he could get to Brady with just his four man rush and it worked. He fooled Brady at times, and he stayed with his gameplan and it was just a great coaching performance. He was the best offseason move the Broncos made when Kubiak brought him along in the offseason.
21) The missed extra point by Gostkowski was such a huge play. You knew that miss would play a role at some point and it did. By the way, Bill Belichick was one of the driving forces to get the extra point moved back, and it actually came back to bite him and his team.
22) All week long, I really thought it was going to be a tall order for the Broncos to pull this off. I had a bad feeling that Brady with a healthy Gronk and Edelman were going to carve up the Broncos underneath and win the game. As the week wore on, I started to get a little chippy because I felt like no one was giving the Broncos defense a lot of credit. This was the best defense in the league by a wide margin, and it was basically given no chance at stopping the Pats. Great defenses usually beat great offenses, and I just had a feeling by Sunday morning that the Broncos defense was going to play well. Plus, they were at home. If this game was in New England, then it is a different story, but the Mile High crowd is one of the best in the NFL, so you had to think that was a factor. On Sunday morning, everyone on NFL Network, ESPN, and CBS picked the Patriots, so I just loved the fact that the Broncos were big underdogs. I wasn't really nervous when the game started because Denver wasn't supposed to win the game. I had feeling by kickoff that they were going to play well. Once the game started and Denver grabbed the early lead, I had a feeling this was going to be a close game, and it was. There is nothing better when you root for a team, and everyone is doubting them and they come out on top. It was like that in Super Bowl XXXII when the Broncos upset the Packers, and it happened once again Sunday in the AFC Championship. It really is an incredible feeling as a fan.
23) Peyton Manning gets to go to one more Super Bowl in what looks like his final season. He wasn't great (17-32 for 176 yards 2 TDs and 0 INT), but his two TD passes to Daniels in the first half were huge plays, and he didn't turn the ball over, and he managed the game against a very tough Patriots defense. In a year that really didn't go his way, it was special to see him get a chance to beat Tom Brady once again and head to Super Bowl 50. Manning is now 3-1 against Brady in AFC Championship Game. It was really fitting for him to beat Brady in what probably will be the last ever Brady-Manning game. He is headed to his fourth Super Bowl, and he heads to his second one in three years. I am so happy for Manning, and it gives him one last chance to win his second Super Bowl and ride off into the sunset with another Lombardi Trophy.
24) Gary Kubiak came back to Denver in a very tough situation. After John Fox and John Elway decided to "part ways" after last year's disappointing playoff loss to the Colts, Kubiak had to take over a team with an aging Hall of Fame QB, and a team that had to win now-not five years from now. Anything less than a big-time season, and he would be criticized. He handled the team very well, navigated through the Manning injury, and he kept the team on course. He really didn't get enough credit for the job that he did this season in a very tough situation.
24) The Broncos head to their 8th Super Bowl in franchise history. It ties them with the Steelers, Patriots and Cowboys for most appearances in the Super Bowl. They are now 8-3 in AFC Championship Games, and they have a chance to erase the memory of the disaster they suffered in Super Bowl XLVIII. Give credit to John Elway. In his five years as GM/Executive VP he has led the Broncos to five straight playoff appearances, two AFC titles, and two Super Bowl appearances. Elway has been just a godsend from where this franchise was when he took it over in 2011.
25) There is a lot of time to talk about the matchup with Carolina in Super Bowl 50. The Panthers dismantled the Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC Championship, and they are 4 1/2 point favorites to win the Super Bowl. I'll take a look at that game over the next two weeks, but for now I will sit back and enjoy this victory and soak it in for two weeks as the Broncos are headed back to another Super Bowl. Go Broncos!
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