Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will renew their rivalry on Sunday when the New England Patriots go up against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. The game will be played at Sports Authority Field, and is scheduled to begin at 3:05 pm. ET.
The Broncos and Patriots faced each other during the regular season, but Manning didn’t play in the game due to an injury. Brock Osweiler started in Manning’s place and was able to lead the Broncos to a 30-24 win.
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Last week, the Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that was closer than they had expected. Julian Edelman, who had missed a lot of games due to injury this season, returned to the starting lineup and made an immediate impact on the Patriots offense, which struggled in his absence.
Peyton will need to have a near flawless game to help out his top ranked defense.
With Edelman back in the lineup, the Patriots have another weapon to use against Denver.
Rob Gronkowski, who is also recovering from an injury, had a big game against Kansas City and finished with two touchdown receptions.
Last week, Denver defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a close game to advance to the AFCCG. In that game, Manning, who was making his first start since week 9, did not turn the ball over, which was something he had a problem with during the season.
By limiting his mistakes, Manning gave his team a good chance to win the game.
Against Pittsburgh, Manning had trouble capitalizing on great field position and settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, which is something the team can’t afford to do against the Patriots, who can put up a lot of points.
The Broncos will likely try to establish the run early in this game because the Patriots have had problems against the run in the past. It will also allow Manning to take advantage of the play action pass, which could result in some big plays for the offense.
One thing that plagued Denver against Pittsburgh was the dropped passes by their receivers, which ended up stalling some of their drives. The team can’t afford to make those types of mistakes against New England if they don’t want to get blown out.
Tom Brady played well against Kansas City last week, but he will have his hands full in this game because the Broncos have one of the best defenses in the league. The Patriots offensive line was able to disrupt a banged up Kansas City defense, but they will be facing a better and faster defense this week.
Patriots vs Broncos Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Patriots favored to win this game by 3 points, the over/under on total points scored is 44.5. Check out our full BetOnline.ag review to learn more about our top rated sportsbook.
My Pick
On paper, the Patriots are the better team, but they will be on the road and will be facing a Denver team that feels it has been disrespected all year. This is also likely going to be Peyton Manning’s final home game in Denver, so I’m taking the Broncos on the +3.
Play: Broncos +3 @ BetOnline.ag
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