Patriots at Broncos
The New England Patriots hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC with three games to play as they prepare to visit the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots were in a similar position a year before dropping their final two games of the regular season and wound up losing at Denver in the AFC Championship Game.
The two-point loss to the Broncos that denied New England a trip to the Super Bowl hasn't been forgotten by quarterback Tom Brady, who told reporters this week that he “watched it a bunch this offseason.” The Patriots, coming off a 30-23 win over Baltimore on Monday night, can clinch the AFC East and a first-round bye in the postseason with a victory Sunday. Denver is clinging to the sixth and final playoff slot in the AFC following last week's 13-10 loss at Tennessee and faces a grueling closing stretch. Following Sunday's matchup versus New England, the Broncos will face AFC West co-leaders Kansas City and Oakland -- three teams that sport a combined 31-8 record.
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Patriots -3. O/U: 43.5
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (11-2): Facing the league's top-ranked defense, Brady shredded the Ravens by throwing for three touchdowns and a season high-tying 406 yards, but he acknowledged New England cannot go with a similar game plan against the Broncos. "Because they play the pass so well, we have to find ways to make yardage in the run game," said Brady, giving a nod to a Denver defense that surrenders a league-low 183.5 yards per game and ranks second with 38 sacks. That could mean a heavy dose of running back LeGarrette Blount, who has establish career highs with 14 rushing touchdowns and 1,029 yards. New England's defense is permitting an AFC-low 17.7 points per game.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS (8-5): The only thing separating Denver from a four-game losing streak was a blocked extra point that was returned against New Orleans, although three of its last four contests have been played on the road. The lack of a consistent running game has put more of an onus on quarterback Trevor Siemian, who has thrown for 702 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions over the past two games while airing it out 51 times at Tennessee last week. The Broncos have perhaps the league's best cornerback tandem in Chris Harris Jr. and ex-Patriot Aqib Talib. Von Miller has 13.5 sacks for Denver, which dropped Brady five times in last season's playoff win.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Brady has 21 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last 10 games versus Denver.
2. Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas has 100 yards receiving in three of the last five meetings versus New England.
3. The Patriots claimed WR Michael Floyd on waivers Thursday, three days after he was arrested on DUI charges.