Broncos 20, Patriots 18
It took nearly every second of the game to preserve a two-point victory that would deliver an NFL record-tying eighth trip to the Super Bowl, but the Denver Broncos defense again showed why it is one of the best in the NFL this season and perhaps the best in franchise history.
Asked to make five stops with only an eight-point lead on Tom Brady and the defending world champion New England Patriots, the defense allowed just six points in the game’s final 19-plus minutes. Their stop on a potentially game-tying two-point conversion with only 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter will no doubt go down as one of the greatest plays in franchise history.
This space, usually reserved for objectively highlighting both the highs and lows of a Denver Broncos performance, will today be dedicated only to the championship performance that delivered Denver’s second AFC title in three years and another chance for a world title.
Ronnie Hillman and Demaryius Thomas get a free pass this week. Here’s the AFC Championship edition of “Studs & More Studs.”
