The Denver Broncos ended the New England Patriots Superbowl hopes as they beat them 26-16 on Sunday afternoon. The Broncos are the AFC Champs and will head to New York to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. They had a lot of success in this year’s Championship game which helped them seal the victory.
A lot went right for Denver on Sunday, but the most important was Peyton Manning. Not only is Manning a class act, and known for his humble personality, but the veteran quarterback has had an unforgettable season this year as he heads to his third Super Bowl appearance, hoping to get ring number two.
Against the Pats, Manning went 32-43 and threw for 400 yards to accompany two touchdown passes. Most importantly, Manning threw zero interceptions. Number 18 has been known to throw crucial picks in the playoffs, but has been able to avoid that this year.
This Manning led offense was unstoppable as they controlled the game and time of possession with 35 minutes and 44 seconds compared to Tom Brady and the Patriots 24:16 time of possession. Peyton Manning has led another team to the Superbowl as he will attempt to be the first quarterback in NFL history to win a ring with two different teams.
The run game was also in the Broncos favor on Sunday and contributed to their time of possession. They were able to balance the pass and rush throughout the game, unlike the Patriots. Denver had a total of 28 carries for 107 yards compared to the Patriots 16 carries for 64 yards. Montee Ball and Knowshon Moreno were more than effective in the run game on Sunday.
The Broncos were also able to execute and get the first downs when needed. They had a total of 27 first downs on Sunday, and the Patriots only had 19. Denver was also better at executing on third down going 7-13 while the Pats went 6-12.
The powerful Broncos defense was able to stop Brady, and when you can stop Tom Brady, you have a very good chance at winning the game. This Denver defense eliminated the Pats run game and put pressure on Brady throughout the four quarters.
The defense was able to get to Brady as he was sacked two times for a loss of 21 yards. The sacks came from Robert Ayers and Terrance Knighton.
Broncos kicker, Matt Prater was a perfect 4-4 as well hitting every attempted field goal, with a 54-yarder being his longest in the game.
Overall, the Broncos dominated this game in every way. Manning had another impressive performance, executing his throws, controlling the clock and leading his team to MetLife for the Super Bowl. He has the records, he’s arguably the best quarterback of all time, now he’ll look to seal the deal by winning that second ring.