PATRIOTS AT BRONCOS REVIEW

patriots at broncos REVIEW
Score: denver 27 - new england 13

Denver, CO - (MySportsbook.com) - Mike Anderson scored a pair of touchdowns and Denver converted five New England turnovers into 24 points, as the Broncos defeated the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, 27-13, at Invesco Field in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

Jake Plummer finished 15-of-26 for 197 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Broncos, who will play either Indianapolis or Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday. Rod Smith added 96 receiving yards and a score for Denver, which won a postseason game for the first time since capturing consecutive Super Bowl titles in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Champ Bailey returned an interception 100 yards to set up Anderson's second TD, turning a four-point lead into an 11-point advantage, as the Broncos beat New England for the second time this season. Back in Week 6, Denver defeated New England, 28-20, also at home. Anderson tallied 69 yards on 19 carries.

Tom Brady ended 20-of-36 for 341 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the Patriots, who had a 10-game postseason winning streak come to a halt. Deion Branch added 153 yards on eight receptions for New England, which last suffered a playoff loss to Jacksonville on January 3, 1999.

"It's just unfortunate that it was our best players making some of the big mistakes," said Brady. "It was disappointing at the end of the game when you look up at the scoreboard and realize how many points we left on the field and can't make up for it."

New England outgained Denver 420-286 in total offense, but the five miscues were very costly. The most devastating turnover was the first of the second half.

Trailing 10-6 late in the third quarter, the Patriots were driving and were in position to take the lead or at least cut their deficit to just one point.

On a 3rd-and-5 from the Denver five-yard line, Brady was flushed out of the pocket and attempted an off-balance pass to Troy Brown in the end zone. However, Bailey stepped in front of Brown, picked off the pass and ran up the sideline to the New England one-yard line.

The only reason why Bailey didn't score was a tremendous effort by Patriots tight end Ben Watson, who hustled nearly 100 yards to chase down Bailey and force him to fumble the ball out of bounds. The play was reviewed to see if the fumble went through the end zone for a touchback for the Patriots, but the call stood.

"I was afraid that it went out of the end zone, but I really wasn't sure," said Bailey. "All I knew was that he got me right before I got to the pylon, so I was hoping the ball didn't cross the goal line."

One play later, Anderson ran around the left end for a 17-6 Broncos' lead with just 43 seconds left in the stanza.

The interception was the first thrown by Brady in the playoffs since the third quarter of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

New England refused to go away quietly and drove down the field on its next possession. Although, this time Adam Vinatieri missed a 43-yard field goal that would have made it an eight-point game.

The Patriots defense then stopped Denver, forcing a punt with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. But another turnover, the fourth of the game for New England, again led to seven points for the Broncos.

This time, Brown fumbled the punt and Denver recovered at the New England 15, leading to Plummer's eventual four-yard TD pass to Smith for a 24-6 cushion with 8:38 left in the contest.

Brady, however, needed just two plays to make it an 11-point contest. On the first play after the kickoff, Brady hit Branch for a 73-yard pass play, bringing the ball down to the Denver 4. Then, the QB hit David Givens in the back of the end zone on the next play with 8:05 on the clock.

Denver, though, secured the win on its drive, taking nearly five minutes off the clock and ending the eight-play, 61-yard march with a 34-yard Jason Elam field goal for a 14-point cushion.

The Broncos had dropped three playoff games since winning Super Bowl XXXIII and it was their first postseason win without legendary quarterback John Elway.

"It's always nice to win against a team that you know you're going against the best, from a coaching standpoint, offense, defense and special teams," said Denver head coach Mike Shanahan. "I have the utmost respect for what they've done, and we really feel fortunate to come away with a win against a team that has played at that level consistently for a number of years."

New England took advantage of the first turnover of the game. After an Asante Samuel interception of Plummer gave the Patriots the ball at their own 30-yard line midway through the second quarter, Brady marched his troops down to the Denver 22 for a 40-yard field goal by Vinatieri.

The Broncos later took advantage of the Patriots first turnover of the game and a questionable call by an official to get their first points.

Kevin Faulk coughed up the ball at the New England 36, giving Denver great field position with just 1:51 left in the half. On the first play, Plummer went deep for Ashlie Lelie in the end zone. The play appeared to be covered legally by Samuel, but the back judge saw it differently and flagged him for pass interference.

The penalty moved the ball to the one-yard line, where it took Anderson just one try to pound it home for a 7-3 edge with 1:42 remaining.

"It was the side judge's call," said Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. "No, [side judge] didn't [make the call]."

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Broncos kicker Todd Sauerbrun forced returner Ellis Hobbs to fumble the ball and Denver recovered at the Patriots' 39-yard line.

Three plays later Elam connected on a 50-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining until halftime to give the Broncos a 10-3 lead after 30 minutes of action.

New England cut the deficit to 10-6 on its first possession of the second half, as Vinatieri nailed a 32-yarder to cap an 11-play, 58-yard drive with 7:11 elapsed in the quarter.

This was just the second postseason loss for Belichick (11-2) and first setback for Brady (10-1).

Game Notes

These two teams combined to win five of the last eight Super Bowls...This was the Broncos' first playoff game at Invesco Field...Denver improved to 12-2 all-time at home in the postseason...Shanahan passed Dan Reeves for the franchise record with eight playoff wins...After having 4 1/2 sacks in the Wild Card round against Jacksonville, New England linebacker Willie McGinest was held without a sack...Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a calf injury...Givens ended with 54 yards receiving...Lelie had 50 yards on five catches...Corey Dillon finished with 57 yards on 13 carries for the Pats...Elam became the franchise's all-time postseason scoring leader, ending the game with 79 playoff points. Terrell Davis held the previous record with 74 points.

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