Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots

photo by Kaitlin Waldron

Tonight at 8:00 PM the 13-3 New England Patriots will kick off against the 9-8 Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Denver’s shocking victory last week over the injured and battered Pittsburgh Steelers earned them the right to come to Foxboro to take on the Patriots.

Denver will need to get off to a quick start like they did in Week 15 by running the ball down the Pats throat. Tebow will need to play better than he did against the Steelers if he hopes to have a chance to beat the high powered Pats. The Broncos also must not turn the ball over like they did at home. The Broncos Linebacker Von Miller and Defensive End Elvis Dumerville will need to pressure Tom Brady and force him out of the protective pocket that he loves to hang out in.  If the Broncos can rattle Brady early and put points on the board at the same time then the Broncos may make it a close game.

The Pats will need to get off to a very fast start as opposed to the last few weeks of the regular season when they found themselves having to come from behind in order to win. In the playoffs you are one and done if you lose. I see the Pats winning the coin toss once again and deferring to the second half. This gives them the ball to start the second half. This also allows them to try and control the clock at the end of the first half to try and score going into halftime.

The Pats need to come out and start strong at defense and stop Tebow on their first possession. If the Pats can do that look for the Pats to go to an upbeat fast pace offensive march down the field. If the Pats can jump out to an early lead I think Tebow’s inexperience will force him to pass a lot and that is not his strong point.

The Pats have a losing record against the Broncos and I think the Pats will win big tonight, 38-17 and then the Pats will be at home against the winner of Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. I would love to see the Texans win that game. The Ravens are undefeated at home this year and are amongst the elite defenses in NFL history.

***UPDATE***

Patriots win 45-10

They lost the coin toss. They started off very fast and kept Dumerville and Miller off of Brady.

Brady breaks the record for most TD’s in a half in the Playoffs.