The AFC Championship features the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Most Rams’ fans will probably be cheering for Denver, seeing as what New England sadly did to St. Louis in the Super Bowl 12 years ago. But there will probably be Rams’ fans cheering for New England too.
What makes this game notable is that it will be the 15th meeting between two future Hall of Fame Quarterbacks, both of whom are in the discussion for being the greatest of all time: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
First, the Patriots.
New England finished 12-4 and once again won the AFC East division. Brady finished the season with a 60.5 completion percentage, 4,343 yards, 25 TD’s and 11 INT’s. But there has been a lot of drama involving the Patriots this season. There was Aaron Hernandez getting charged with murder, and eventually being released by the team, and the controversial finish to the NE/CAR game on Monday Night Football. But despite that, and despite all of the injuries that have ravaged the Patriots’ defense, they still found ways to win. Possibly their greatest win this season came against their foe tomorrow, the Broncos. Down 24-0 in Foxboro, Brady and the Patriots mounted a huge comeback and were able to take the game to overtime, where a miscue by the Broncos’ Chris Harris led to a game winning field goal, as New England won 34-31.
Speaking of the Broncos…
Denver finished the year 13-3, and broke records along the way. They became the first team in NFL history to score over 600 points (606) while Manning broke the records for passing TD’s in a season (55) and passing yards in a season (5,477), beating Drew Brees by one yard. The Broncos have faced their own issues throughout the year as well, ranging from John Fox’s heart ailment in the middle of the season, and the surrounding issues involving star LB Von Miller, who is now on IR due to injury. Denver played in a division where two of their rivals also made the playoffs (Chiefs, Chargers). Denver ended the regular season with five players recording at least 60 receptions. Demaryius Thomas led the way with 92 catches for 1,430 yards and 14 touchdowns
In the divisional round, the Patriots knocked off the Indianapolis Colts, Manning’s old team, by a score of 43-22 thanks in part to picking off Colts’ QB Andrew Luck four times and LeGarrette Blount rushing for four TD’s as well. Surprisingly, Brady did not throw a single touchdown pass in the game.
As for Denver, they defeated their rival, the San Diego Chargers, in a close game at Denver by a score of 24-17. Manning threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, and it was two pivotal third down conversions in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for Denver.
So what makes these two teams dangerous? First, and most obvious, is the quarterbacks that lead each team. The Brady-Manning rivalry, while one sided (Brady leads 10-4) is one of the greatest head-to-head match-ups in history. The game is sure to feature the two old-school QB’s duke it out as they have for the past 14 meetings. Both teams have strong receiving corps, with Denver’s being led by Thomas and Wes Welker, and New England’s being led by Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.
Denver has a strong running game, led by Knowshon Moreno, and backed up by Montee Ball. But now, New England has showed they have a strong run game, something they have never been known for, ever since the end of the Corey Dillon years. With Blount and his big frame and strength pounding through defensive lines, New England has suddenly become a dual offensive threat.
Denver lost a key starter on defense last week when Chris Harris went down with a torn ACL, but still, the amount of injuries Denver faces pale in comparison to all the injuries New England has endured. The loss of Brandon Spikes (off-field issues) has affected the Patriots on the defensive side as well.
If either team wants to win this game, their defenses, which have struggled a lot this season, will definitely have to step up. Force both Brady and Manning, neither a whom are even close to being scrambling QB’s, to make throws they would not normally make (as hard as that is). Many adjustments in coverage will also need to occur, as these two veteran field-generals know most defensive formations like they know the back of their hands.
It remains to be seen if we will ever see a Brady/Manning game again, but one thing is for sure: Having two of the greatest QB’s of all time face off for a trip to Super Bowl has always been a classic game to see, and there is no reason to believe it will be no different this time around.
Brady/Manning: Round 15 is gonna be another amazing battle, and will show what playoff football is all about…
