Tom Brady took his record against Peyton Manning to 11-5 in their 16 meetings as he guided the New England Patriots to a 43-21 victory at Gillette Stadium to take control of the number one seed in the AFC.
The Patriots managed to get on the scoreboard in their second series of the game when a penalty on Bradley Roby moved them into Denver territory. The home side couldn't get a touchdown, but Stephen Gostkowski fired a 49-yard field goal through the posts.
The Broncos finally got into rhythm on offense and Manning fired two completions to Emmanuel Sanders and another to Demaryius Thomas to move his side into the redzone. A penalty on Brandon Browner shifted them to the goalline, where Ronnie Hillman ran in for the score.
New England tried to hit back as Brady moved his side seamlessly down the field, and he fired into the endzone for Brandon LaFell, but he couldn't hold on for the touchdown as Gostkowski kicked a 29-yarder to bring his side within a point.
Manning had the chance to extend his side's lead but his pass to Sanders was picked off by Rob Ninkovich. The interception allowed the Patriots to take the lead as Brady drilled a pass to Julian Edelman in the endzone.
New England upped the ante in the game when they stopped the Broncos on third down, which resulted in a punt. Edelman collected the kick at his 16-yard line and beat a tackle before running the ball all the way back for an 84-yard touchdown.
The Patriots extended their lead just before the break when Brady moved the Patriots downfield, and then notched his second touchdown pass of the match when he found Shane Vereen for a five-yard score.
After the break, Brady was intercepted on his side's first drive of the half when his ball was tipped by Danny Amendola and Roby made the pick. Manning made him pay with an 18-yard touchdown strike to Julius Thomas.
However, Brady and the Pats responded with a drive for a field goal which was put through the posts by Gostkowski.
Matters got even better for the home side when Manning threw his second pick of the game as Wes Welker was drilled by Devin McCourty and Browner made the interception. On the next play Brady found LaFell on a slant for the score.
Hillman gave some life to the Broncos as the home side committed several penalties to allow the visitors into the redzone, which allowed the running back to notch a 15-yard score from a Manning pass down the sideline.
The Broncos defense couldn't stop the Patriots' offense and Gronkowski scored his first touchdown of the game after making an excellent one-handed grab to put his side on the goalline, as Brady fired to him on the next play for the one-yard score.
Manning tried to get his side back in the game late on but his offense struggled to convert on fourth down, leaving the Patriots to run the ball out for the victory.
Simon Sinclair
