In week 12 we will see two of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league do battle in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will add another chapter to their historic rivalry as both teams battle for AFC supremacy. Brady and Manning know each other well and the rivalry between these two future Hall of Famers go back to Manning’s days in Indianapolis.
History
Brady and New England has owned Manning in the past few years. It seems that Brady and the Patriots were always bouncing Manning from the playoffs after spectacular regular seasons. Brady leads the series against Peyton and has more Super Bowl rings as well as Super Bowl MVP awards. However Manning has more individual achievements with four NFL MVP awards, six First-Team All-Pro awards, and 12 pro bowl appearances. Now you can add this miraculous season to his resume as he leads the NFL in pretty much every passing category.
2013
In 2013, this game has playoff implications all over it. As of Right now the Patriots are still in the lead in the AFC East after suffering a tough loss to the Carolina Panthers making them 7-3. The Broncos are currently sitting atop the AFC West after a huge win against divisional foe Kansas City. The Broncos have to be the favorites in the AFC at 9-1 with the Patriots and the Chiefs (9-1) right behind them. The Patriots don’t have much of a chance to catch the Broncos for home field advantage, but they need this win to keep the New York Jets out of reach in the East.
The Broncos should see this as a great opportunity to make it very difficult for the Patriots. If they can put another loss on the Patriots record they give the Jets, who have a pretty favorable part of their schedule remaining a good chance to catch up. Another team that can play a key role in the East is the Miami Dolphins who still play the Patriots once and the Jets twice. At the end of the day, this is a must win for the Patriots.
Defenses
On paper, the Patriots defense is a lot better that the Broncos defense. They allow less points and yards on the season but there is more to these two defenses then meets the eye. The Patriots defense although talented is missing its most vital piece Vince Wilfork who has been lost for the season. Wilfork was the emotional leader on that defense so without him I don’t have much faith in them on the big stage.
The Broncos defense has a bad rep for being a bad unit when that really isn’t the case. Linebacker Danny Trevathan is having a really good year, he flies around the field. I guarantee you’ll see him make a couple plays this week as long as he holds on to the ball while crossing the goal line. Also cornerback Chris Harris has impressed with his cover ability while filling in for the injured Champ Bailey. He has done very well this season as he is tied with Trevathan for the team lead in interceptions with three. The Broncos also have Von Miller back after missing the first six games of the year. He seems to be back in his rhythm and that means trouble for any quarterback on the other side of the ball.
It may look as though this unit is bad at getting off the field and keeping teams out the endzone, but thats just a consequence of the Broncos play style. The Broncos offense doesn’t want to hold the ball and keep the other offense off the field. They like to score quick, they want to draw teams into a shootout against their superior offense. Unfortunately this means that their defense is on the field more and they give up more pass yards than most in garbage time when their tired and teams are trying to catch up.
What it Comes Down to...
What it really comes down to is the fact that the Patriots defense doesn’t have enough to stop the Broncos offense. And to make it worse the Patriots offense doesn’t have what it takes to keep up with the Broncos scoring pace. The Broncos offense has steamed rolled every defense they faced minus the set back in Indianapolis. Manning has so many weapons that even the best defense in the league in the Chiefs were not able to stop them from getting on the board.
Tight end Julius Thomas leads the team with 10 touchdowns and had another good game against the Chiefs last week. The Patriots will probably put Aqib Talib on him this week since it worked so well when they faced Jimmy Graham and the Saints. But in this case that will lead the Broncos trio of talented receivers against backups. I pick the Broncos to come out on top in this one thanks to their stellar offense and the Patriots lack star players on offense and defense. They Patriots won’t be able to stop the Broncos and they won’t be able to keep up with them either. I’m taking Denver 38-21.