Patriots Down Broncos In Signature OT Win

Monday, November 25, 2013

Matt LaPan, GoLocal Worcester Sports Reporter

Brady-Manning XIV, the classic matchup between two of the best quarterbacks both in their generation and of all time. The rival quarterbacks met at a frigid Gillette Stadium where winds gusted over 30 miles per hour and brought the wind chill to the single digits. The game temperature was the coldest regular season game in Foxboro since December 26, 1993 at the old Foxboro Stadium.

The weather and sloppy play by New England appeared to ruin the big Brady-Manning matchup as the Patriots looked to be out of the game in the first quarter.

Denver got the scoring started early in the first quarter off of a Stevan Ridley fumble. Ridley took a carry up the middle in the midst of a New England drive that was moving on the Denver defense but Wesley Woodyard was left unblocked by the New England offensive line and got a hit on the ball which jarred it free. Von Miller scooped up the fumble and was escorted 60 yards by a convoy of Denver defenders. The only Patriot to come close to the play was Rob Gronkowski, but he was unable to get to Miller before he reached the end zone. The fumble was the fourth of the season for Ridley.

The Patriots' woes continued just two plays later as Con Miller made a huge play again for Denver, this time strip-sacking Tom Brady and giving Denver the ball on the New England eight yard line. Two Knowshon Moreno runs later and Denver had a commanding 14-0 lead.

But the Patriots' turnover problems did not end there. Just three offensive plays later LeGarrette Blount was hit hard by Duke Ihenacho and lost the ball. The Broncos yet again came away with the football for their third forced turnover of the first quarter. The three turnovers in the first quarter set a new record in the Bill Belichick era.

With the turnover the Broncos looked to take an early three touchdown lead, but a sack by Chandler Jones on 2nd and goal helped the Patriots hold the Broncos to just a field goal and a 17-0 lead with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

If the offensive issues were not enough for the Patriots, the weather then started to effect the play and game clock, knocking both out of commission for an extended period of time. But the first quarter mercifully ended with the Broncos leading 17-0.

The Patriots turnover problems continued into the second quarter when they turned the ball over for the fourth time in the game by Tom Brady not being able to connect with Danny Amendola on a 4th and 5 with 10:38 left in the half.

The Broncos continued the blowout by driving the ball down the field behind a potent rushing attack of Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball. They drove the Broncos into scoring position with a punishing running attack and a huge 32-yard screen pass to Ball on a 3rd and 20. The drive eventually led to a 10-yard Peyton Manning touchdown pass to Jacob Tamme with 6:10 left in the half. Tamme beat Dont'a Hightower down the seam for the easy touchdown.

Denver did give the Patriots one opportunity right before the half expired as return specialist Trindon Holiday muffed a punt with Matthew Slater in his face. The muffed punt was recovered by Marquice Cole with just five seconds left in the half. The Patriots did take a throw towards the end zone as time expired in the half, but with the throw going into a stiff wind, it fell short with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie being the only player in the the area. Redgers-Cromartie was injured on the play, hurting his shoulder while diving for the interception.

The Holiday was the only one of the half for the Broncos and went along with five total fumbles for the Patriots in the half. The 24-point deficit for the Patriots was the largest halftime deficit in Bill Belichick's head coaching career.

But the second half would prove to be a crazy half, and one that both Patriots and Broncos fans will remember for years to come.

The Patriots came out of halftime on the highest note of the game to that point, going on an impressive eight play, 80 yard drive that saw one Brandon Bolden run followed by 7 Tom Brady passes. That included a huge 33-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski and a 5-yard touchdown to Julian Edelman. The passing success came with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on the bench after injuring his shoulder at the end of the first half.

The Patriots then turned the turnover tables on the Broncos on a wild play that saw Montee Ball fumble a screen pass when Rob Ninkovich tied him up and Dane Fletcher knocked the ball free. After multiple players had failed to recover the loose ball, Brandon Spikes fell on the ball for New England. The Patriots then rode their big tight end, Rob Gronkowski who dragged four Broncos defenders all the way to the one-yard line. Two plays later, Brandon Bolden continued his hot game by plunging it in from one yard out to make it 24-14 Denver with 2:39 left in the third quarter.

The Broncos continued the fumble party when Peyton Manning fumbled on a 3rd and five, which he recovered, but the Patriots defense continued to pick up momentum with the defensive series.

The Patriots offense fed off the energy from the defense, connecting on big plays of 16-yards to Kenbrell Tompkins and 43-yards to Julian Edelman as Tom Brady continued to look better with every mounting play. The Patriots then converted a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski to bring the game to 24-21 in the waning moments of the 3rd quarter. The Patriots made a 21-0 run in the 3rd, topping what the Broncos did in the first quarter with all three touchdowns going into the strong wind.

The Patriots defense continued the amazing turnaround as rookie Logan Ryan intercepted Peyton Manning on just the second play of the fourth quarter. That interception led to yet another huge Gronkowski reception and then a 14-yard Julian Edelman touchdown as he spun away from a Broncos defender before leaping into the end zone for an emphatic go-ahead touchdown, making the game 28-24 and giving the Patriots their first lead after trailing 24-0 at the half.

The Patriots defense again shut down the Broncos offense, forcing a 3-and-out by Manning and company. That led to a great 20-yard punt return by Julian Edelman, setting the Patriots up in Denver territory. The Patriots were unable to put it into the end zone with the good field position, as Denver's defense came up with a stop inside the 15 yard line. They forced the Patriots to a 31-yard field goal, making the score 31-24 New England with 7:37 left in the game. Extending the New England run to 31-0 in the second half.

The Patriots missed a golden opportunity to possibly put the game away with just over seven minutes left in the game as an Aqib Talib interception was negated by a Talib hold on Demaryius Thomas.

The Broncos drove down the field behind Knowshon Moreno, who knotted a career-high 224 yards in the game, and converted on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to Demaryius Thomas. That ended the Patriots' 31-0 run in the second half and tied the game at 31. The Broncos were aided by a Rob Ninkovich pass interference on Jacob Tamme on a 3rd and seven that would have fallen incomplete, the touchdown came on the next play, capping a great 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.

After both defenses stopped the opposing offenses, this epic battle went on to overtime.

The Patriots won the overtime coin toss, and took a surprise move by electing to defend. This forced Denver to drive into the wind in the opening possession of overtime. The decision worked in the Patriots favor, as they forced a Denver punt off an Aqib Talib pass defense.

The overtime period was rather uneventful until a Ryan Allen punt with just over 3 minutes left in the game. The punt hit Tony Carter and was then recovered by Nate Ebner as the Patriots took possession back on the 18 yard line with 3:01 left in overtime.

The Patriots bled some of the remaining three-plus minutes before Stephen Gostkowski attempted and made a 31-yard field goal to end the epic clash of AFC teams. The Patriots moved to 8-3 with the win while Denver fell to 9-2.

The 24-point deficit overcome by the Patriots was the largest of Tom Brady's career, who had twice overcome 21-point deficits, most recently in 2011 against the Buffalo Bills. It was also the largest comeback in Patriots history.

Updated Game Notes:

Tom Brady finished the night 34-of-50 for 344 yards and three touchdowns, despite winds that averaged around 20 miles per hour throughout the night.
The teams combined for 11 fumbles and seven turnovers. Three Patriots fumbles lost, three Broncos fumbles lost and a Broncos interception thrown.
Julian Edelman finished the night with a game-high 110 yards on nine receptions with two touchdowns.
Patriots rookies Duron Harmon and Jamie Collins led 11 and 10 tackles respectivley. Patriots rookies combined for 40 tackles and an interception.
Previous to tonight's Patriots win, teams that were trailing 24-0 were 5-485 (Per Marc Bertrand of the Patriots Postgame Show).