Here we are again. Two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time go head to head for what could be the last time in the postseason. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots travel to the Mile High City to take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. This will be the fourth time that these two quarterbacks meet in the playoffs where Brady leads Manning with two wins out of three.
This matchup has been hyped up all week and will continue to be hyped up until kickoff at three o’clock eastern time. Both teams are looking for redemption and make it to the Super Bowl. The Broncos were embarrassed last year at home to the Baltimore Ravens after a blown coverage sent the game to overtime. The Patriots have lost their last two Super Bowl appearances and want to prove they can still win the big one. Only one team will make it to the promise land and it starts with these five keys to the game on Sunday:
5. Who benefits from good weather?
It is still early but the weather will not seem to play a major factor in this football game. The weather prediction in Denver is temperatures in the high 50’s with partly cloudy skies. Who do you think this type of weather benefits? The Patriots love cold weather. They have played their best playoff games in cold, rainy, and snowy situations.
Denver is generally a cold city in the winter and Manning has done pretty well so far when playing there. He is known for not being able to perform in bad weather games, specifically the cold. Being that the weather will be warmer and with no precipitation, the advantage for the weather is strongly in the Broncos favor.
4. Broncos receivers dropping passes
There were multiple times in last week’s Chargers vs. Broncos divisional game where Peyton Manning threw perfectly placed passes to receivers and could not be held on to. Had these players caught the ball, the Broncos would have been up 28 to zero over the Chargers and most likely would not have been as close as the game finally turned out.
Eric Decker had an opportunity at the end of the half to put the Broncos up by three scores but the ball bounced off of his shoulder and into the hands of the Chargers. Not only did tight end Julius Thomas drop a wide open pass where he could’ve ran for many more yards, he coughed up a fumble in an early second quarter drive. If the Broncos can eliminate these mistakes of dropped passes and fumbles, their chances of winning dramatically go up.
3. The Patriots three headed monster
Last week we saw LeGarrette Blount, Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley go nuts against the Indianapolis Colts defense. The combination of power and speed is hard to defend for and defense and it just so happens that they are rushing against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. All year the Broncos have struggled against the run and they get the pleasure of attempting to stop the red hot New England running game.
Every week over the past month the Patriots running game has gotten stronger and stronger and the number of running plays have increased dramatically. Tom Brady barely had to lift a finger in last week’s divisional win over the Colts. The altitude of Denver may play a factor in this running game by gassing the backs a bit but if this running game gets going like it has been, the Broncos defense will be the ones who are gassed by the fourth quarter.
2. Will the Patriots stay disciplined on defense?
Omaha! Omaha! We have been hearing about it all week long. Peyton Manning specializes in confusing defenses with fake snap counts and audibles at the line of scrimmage. Last week we saw Manning draw five neutral zone infractions from the San Diego defense from his hard counts.
The Patriots need to stay disciplined at the line of scrimmage and not fall for any of Manning’s antics. They also need to be able to hide their coverage’s and blitz schemes as best as possible but we all know that Manning is able to sniff out most of that.
1. The quarterback with less mistakes wins
It is all about possession of the football. The team that can hold on to the ball the longest has the better chance of winning the game. Turnovers will be crucial in this game and it all comes down to who will make the least mistakes. Manning has been known to fail when the pressure is on him and throw bad interceptions. That cannot happen in this game if he wants to get to the Super Bowl. He must stay composed and settled in the pocket and make accurate throws and smart decisions.
Brady seems to love pressure. He lives for game winning drives and playing up to the moment. He hasn’t been able to do it in the past few years but he looks forward to having another one this Sunday in Denver. Brady didn’t throw any interceptions last week against the Colts and the Broncos will need to do everything in their power to force him into bad decisions.
Predicting this game is difficult. Tom Brady has been the more successful quarterback in postseason play with an amazing 18-7 record. Peyton Manning on the other hand has a record of 10-11 in the postseason. A win for Manning could redefine his legacy especially if he wins the Super Bowl. The conditions are right for the Broncos to pull out a win this Sunday when you factor in the weather and home field advantage. The Broncos lost a heartbreaker in overtime earlier in the season in New England and I do not see that happening in Denver but it will come down to the wire.
Final Prediction
Patriots – 30 Broncos 31