The Broncos finished the 2005 season 13-3 and the two seed in the AFC behind Indianapolis. After New England, who finished 10-6 and winners of the AFC East, easily dispatched of Jacksonville on Wildcard Saturday Night, the Steelers and Bengals played on Sunday afternoon to decide who would be going where the next round of the AFC Playoffs. A Steeler win sent Pittsburgh to Indy, and the Pats would be headed to Denver. A Bengal victory meant that Cincy would be coming to Denver, and the Pats would be going to Indy. It was pretty easy for me on who I should be rooting for. As the final seconds ticked away on the Steelers 31-17 win over Cincy, I got a call my friend Mike(A disgruntled Jets fan). He simply stated, "Have fun with the Pats next week buddy." I was shitting in my pants thinking about the prospect of having to face Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the playoffs. The two-time defending Super Bowl Champions were going to Denver to take on the Broncos. To understand the importance of the game you have to remember the time period it took place. Invesco Field at Mile High had never hosted a playoff game in its' existence. The city of Denver had not hosted a playoff game since the 1998 AFC Championship. To say that Denver and the Bronco fans were eagerly anticipating this game was a huge understatement. Throw in this tidbit: Denver clinched the division and a first round bye on Christmas Eve. The fans already knew that they would be hosting the Divisional Playoff game on Saturday January, 14, 2006 from the moment the Broncos beat the Raiders on XMas Eve. That gave the Bronco fans 21 days to get themselves pumped up for this game and this moment.
(Personal Sidenote: I was a mouse click away from going to this game. I had the tickets, airfare, hotel, and rental car all lined up. It was going to cost a shit load of money, but I was poised to do it. I posed the question to my Dad on Christmas Day, and he was totally into going with me. It would have been an amazing trip, and a great Father-Son weekend. About a week after Christmas, he bailed on the trip because he figured that the weather in Denver in January would be too cold to enjoy the game, and he figured we would probably get some type of blizzard in Colorado that would wreak havoc on our trip. The weather in Denver for the game: 60 degrees. The weather in Long Island that day: 25 degrees and a severe ice storm. I knew I should have just booked the trip)
That whole week everyone was picking the Pats. A lot of people thought Denver would play well, but everyone agreed that Brady and company would find a way to win like they always do. Once the game started, the crowd really affected Brady and Pats offense. A few false starts and miscommunications gave the Bronco defense a real advantage early. After the Pats settled down, they converted a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Denver then got the first big break when the refs called a terrible pass interference call on Asante Samuel at the one yard line. Mike Anderson broke through from a yard out, and Denver lead 7-3. This whole sequence was preceded by a Kevin Faulk fumble in New England territory. Denver got another break when the Pats fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Denver's Jason Elam nailed a 50 yarder to give Denver the 10-3 lead going into halftime. In the second half, it seemed to be all Patriots. Brady started to get comfortable, and the Patriots offense started to click. The Pats got a field goal to make it 10-6 midway through the 3rd quarter. The Broncos offense would move the ball a little and then their drives would stall. Brady got the ball back and marched the Pats deep inside the Bronco 10 late in the 3rd quarter. On a 3rd and goal, the Broncos sent an all out blitz on Brady, which forced him out of the pocket to his right. On the run, Brady threw a pass in the end zone for Troy Brown. All of a sudden you see Champ Bailey jump up in front of it, pick it off, and race down the Bronco sideline. Bailey raced all the way down to the Patriot one yard line where he was caught by a hustling Ben Watson. It is one of the greatest Bronco plays of all time. Just a special play by a special player. It was the ultimate turning point, and Mike Anderson scooted into the end zone on the next play to give Denver a 17-6 lead. The Pats were not done though. Once again, they marched down the field, but this time Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal. The Broncos punted the ball back to New England midway through the fourth quarter, but Troy Brown fumbled the punt, and Denver recovered deep in Patriot territory. Jake Plummer hit Rod Smith on a 4 yard pass and the Broncos were in front 24-6 late in the fourth. Brady and the Patriots don't die easily. He led the Pats on a quick scoring drive with a 4 yard strike to David Givens to cut the lead to 24-13. Up by 11, the Broncos didn't sit on the lead. In typical Mike Shanahan fashion, they attacked. Shanny waited all game to call the naked bootleg pass that Plummer ran so well the last time these two teams played. Shanahan made his mark as a great play caller, and he dialed up the right play at the right time. Plummer hit Smith on a 42 yarder on a naked bootleg on first down, and it put the Broncos in business. Elam's 34 yard field goal effectively clinched it, and Denver won 27-13. Who would have thought that mistakes by Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri, and Troy Brown would do in the Patriots? It ended the Patriots run for third consecutive Super Bowl, and it was the first ever loss in the playoffs for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick together. It was Denver's first playoff win since Super Bowl XXXIII in January of 1999. It was the only playoff win for the Broncos in the decade. The next morning, Phil Simms was doing an interview with Mike Francesa on Francesca's "NFL Now" show. Simms called the Bronco-Patriot game with Jim Nantz for CBS. Simms simply stated that it was one of the most tense, exciting, and thrilling NFL atmospheres he has seen in his entire career involved with the NFL. I couldn't agree more. What a game and what a moment for Broncos fans. To beat Brady and Belichick in Denver was something special, and that's why the 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff is the "Broncos Game of the Decade."
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