New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos Review Highlights 2016
The Broncos went into game week 15 of the 2016 NFL season for the playoffs locked after losses by the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos knew that a loss would mean falling to 8-6 and make it harder for them to sneak into the playoffs. Though the departure of Payton Manning from the Broncos made the rivalry (Brady-Manning rivalry) lose some of its lusters, this still promised to be a premiere game especially with the stakes the Broncos had riding on it. It remained to be seen whether Tom Brady would have a stellar game against the lock-down defense of the Broncos. The Patriots ran away with the game 16-3. However, the final score does not tell the story of the whole game, far from it!
- See Denver Broncos Team History.
Game Result & Analysis
The Broncos high energy defense forced Brady to miss on his first six passes and fumble several times before he could finally complete a pass. To put this into perspective, the last time Brady had an entire first quarter without completing a pass was way back in 2009. Brady did not have a very good field day. He ended up only completing 16 of his 32 passes for 188 yards. Nevertheless, and this is where things get interesting, Brady did things that typically do not show up on the stat sheet; that propelled his team to victory eventually. Typical Brady, he worked the pocket, had a stellar throwing game (which I might add is always tough to have against the Broncos) and avoided sacks (thanks to excellent protection by Patriot’s offensive line).
- See also Denver Broncos Super Bowl.
Brady’s performance coupled with a career performance by the Patriot’s running back – Dion Lewis and an above average performance by the Patriot’s wide receiver Julian Edelman (who had one of the catches of the season) gave the Patriots the edge. Lewis ran 18 times for 95 yards displaying his incredible athleticism, excellent vision and shifty moves that had the Broncos’ porous front exposed. Julian had six receptions for 75 yards. The Broncos aggressive defense meant the Patriots had to rely on additional contributions by other wide receivers: Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell who combined for two catches for 32 yards. It would be inhuman not to mention the linebackers’ performance against the Broncos. Van Noy and company offered some strong coverage holding the Broncos to a single field goal.
- See Denver Broncos Game Schedule 2017
Coach’s Remark
For a team to beat the Broncos, it had to win the battle up front and on the day, the Patriots dominated! After the game, Coach Kubiak admitted they unlike their team identity: “we have to find a way to be successful down there and we didn’t do that.”
”we have to find a way to be successful down there and we didn’t do that.”
Find More on New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos Review Highlights
- New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos Rivalry
