AFC:
Denver Broncos 20,
New England Patriots 18
Denver's defense sacked
Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady four times, knocked him down 20 times, intercepted two of his passes, forced a turnover on downs twice in the fourth quarter, and broke up a
2-point conversion attempt with 17 seconds left that enabled them to escape with a narrow 20–18 win. With the win, the Broncos advanced to their second
Super Bowl in three years and tied the
Pittsburgh Steelers,
Dallas Cowboys, and the Patriots for the most Super Bowl appearances with eight.
On Denver's first drive, quarterback
Peyton Manning completed 4 of 6 passes for 60 yards on an 83-yard drive and then ended with his 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Owen Daniels.
Later in the quarter,
Manning threw the ball on a screen pass to
Ronnie Hillman that was broken up and then picked up by linebacker
Jonathan Freeny. The play was initially ruled an incompletion, but a replay challenge from
Bill Belichick changed the play to a
New England fumble recovery on the Broncos 22-yard line, as officials ruled Manning's throw was a backwards pass instead of a forward pass.
Brady completed a 20-yard pass to running back
Brandon Bolden on the next play, with a penalty on Denver moving the ball up to the 1-yard line, and then
Steven Jackson ran the ball into the end zone on the next play.[34] However,
Stephen Gostkowski, one of only five kickers to go through the regular season without missing an extra
point, missed the extra point wide right, keeping the team behind with a score of 7–6.[35]
Denver had to punt on their next drive, but a few plays into the second quarter, Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by linebacker
Von Miller and returned four yards to the Patriots 16-yard line. Manning then scored on another touchdown pass to
Daniels, this one from 12 yards, to give the Broncos a 14–6 lead. New England responded with a 48-yard drive, with Brady completing a 19-yard pass to tight end
Rob Gronkowski and later scrambling for an 11-yard gain on 3rd-and-10. But after reached a 3rd-and-3 on the Broncos 22-yard line,
Miller sacked Brady for a 6-yard loss, forcing the team to settle for 14–9 score on Gostkowski's 46-yard field goal. The next time New England got the ball, Brady was intercepted by safety
Darian Stewart, who returned the ball eight yards to the Broncos 44-yard line. But a false start penalty and a sack by
Alan Branch shut the drive down and Denver ended up punting.
Britton Colquitt's 48-yard kick pinned the
Pats back at their own 12-yard line, and following another punt, the Broncos got the ball back again on their 44-yard line. This time they managed to move the ball 23 yards and score on
Brandon McManus' 52-yard field goal with 33 seconds left in the half, making the score 17–9 going into halftime.
On New England's first drive of the third quarter, Brady completed a 31-yard pass to Gronkowski that set up Gostkowski's 38-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 17–12. This would be the only score of the quarter as both teams punted on each of their next two drives. On the last play of the quarter, Denver receiver
Jordan Norwood returned
Ryan Allen's 43-yard punt six yards to the Broncos 39-yard line. Denver then drove 48 yards in 10 plays, including a 31-yard burst by running back
C. J. Anderson, to score on McManus' 31-yard field goal, making the score 20–12 with 10:02 left on the clock. New England took the ball back and drove to the Broncos 16-yard line. But on 4th-and-1, defensive back
Chris Harris tackled
Julian Edelman for a 1-yard loss.
Following a punt, New England got into the Broncos red zone again, this time driving all the way to the 14-yard line. This drive also ended with a turnover on downs, this time an incomplete pass on 4th-and-6.
- published: 13 Jun 2016
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