Denver Broncos 20
New England Patriots 18
The Denver Broncos are the first team through to the Super Bowl after ending the Patriots’ hopes with a 20-18 win at Mile High Stadium.
The Broncos got off to a brilliant start with their defence showing why they finished the regular season as the first seed in the AFC Conference.
The home side were dominant and kept the Patriots at bay finishing the first half with the 17-9 lead.
The third quarter was relatively quiet with the game evenly contested however, the Broncos struggled on the injury front with their defensive line falling apart.
Like the previous, the final term of the game was quiet with no real chances of scoring until late in the game when the Patriots came close to scoring. A strong defensive performance from DeMarcus Ware and Brandon Marshall gave the Broncos the ball back however the Patriots were given one last drive on-goal.
Gronkowski scored a touchdown with Brady looking for a two-point conversion only to be tipped by Aqib Talib and intercepted by Bradley Roby.
The Denver Broncos will face the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium.
Will the Denver Broncos‘ home advantage help steer them to the AFC Championship or will the New England Patriots earn a chance to defend their crown at Super Bowl 50 with a win? Join The Roar from 7am (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
The Patriots will hold no surprises with the reigning AFC Champions set to rely heavily on quarterback Tom Brady and their offensive line.
New England have one of the best offences in the NFL and Tom Brady works very well against top teams. Brady has Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola by his side with the trio having never lost when all playing together.
The Patriots are fourth in the league for red zone scoring with a 66 per cent conversion rate and are set to put plenty of pressure on Denver’s defence.
The Broncos will not be pushed around however as they have a case of their own.
New England have given away more sacks than any other team in the league with 38 total. Denver have the highest total sacks of any franchise with 52 for the season and will definitely give Tom Brady a rough time.
In fact, last time the two teams met the Patriots only converted two third downs of a possible thirteen attempts, an alarming statistic for the franchise with one of the best offences in all of the NFL.
Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware will no doubt step up once again with the Broncos the only team to have allowed less than 200 pass yards per game in 2016.
They cannot rely solely on their defence however and require Peyton Manning to step up and play the deep ball.
Denver’s offence has been a major liability for the franchise having produced just 52 plays of over 20 yards this season, tied last in the league.
Manning has been seen to struggle in creating big plays and now is the time the veteran needs to show what he is capable of and guide his team to a Super Bowl berth.
Last time the two franchises met was back in week 12 with the Broncos winning 30-24 after the game went into overtime and the Patriots’ unbeaten record was ended.
Prediction
The Denver defence will be far too much for the Patriots to handle which will see the Broncos head to Super Bowl 50.
Broncos by seven
Join The Roar from 7am (AEDT) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
Nate
Guest
Brady only started finding holes in the secondary once we were down both starting safeties. Up to that point there had been very little there for him.
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
I am writing them off, and here's why. The Broncos' strength is their D-Line, the Panthers' is their O'Line. Those will cancel each other out. Brady showed today that with a little bit of time the Broncos' secondary is vulnerable, and Newton is way more elusive than Brady. Also, the Panthers' "weakness" on defence is their secondary, which is (unfortunately) the area that the Broncos can't take advantage of. In all honesty, it could be worse than SB48.
Brando Connor
Guest
I dont agree with you there. I think Denver's defence would do a very good job against Arizona's offence. And given they did okay at limiting the damage from Brady and Gronkowski. They should do okay against Newton and Olsen. I think it will be close between Carolina and Denver. And probably will be decided by how many times Manning throws interceptions to Kuechly.
Craig Tinney
Roar Rookie
Sad to see Pats crash out. Good effort from Brady at the end, just not enough
pete bloor
Guest
Yep and that's why the defensive guys get paid their salary right. If it was just a bunch of traffic cones the Patriots would be racking it up!
Scuba
Guest
If there is, I can't name it at the moment!
jenny lopez
Guest
were bad baby
Nate
Guest
First everyone said Denver had no chance at the #1 seed, they got that. Then everyone said that Denver had no chance against the Steelers, they won that. Then apparently they were guaranteed losers against the Pats, they just won that. Feel free to dismiss them though. Will be interesting to see who we come up against as well as how our defense returns from injury in the next couple of weeks. Must have both starting safeties back at full health if we are taking on that Cardinals passing game.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
That's all folks, Joel Erickson is live with coverage of the NFC Championship between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
The Denver Broncos are the first team through to the Super Bowl after ending the Patriots' hopes with a 20-18 win at Mile High Stadium. The Broncos got off to a brilliant start with their defence showing why they finished the regular season as the first seed in the AFC Conference. The home side were dominant and kept the Patriots at bay finishing the first half with the 17-9 lead. The third quarter was relatively quiet with the game evenly contested however, the Broncos struggled on the injury front with their defensive line falling apart. Like the previous, the final term of the game was quiet with no real chances of scoring until late in the game when the Patriots came close to scoring. A strong defensive performance from DeMarcus Ware and Brandon Marshall gave the Broncos the ball back however the Patriots were given one last drive on-goal. Gronkowski scored a touchdown with Brady looking for a two-point conversion only to be tipped by Aqib Talib and intercepted by Bradley Roby. The Denver Broncos will face the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium.
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
Well, that pretty much guarantees that the NFC will win the Super Bowl. As weird as it sounds, the Pats would have matched up better against both the Panthers and the Cardinals.
Nate
Guest
Glad to say I tipped my team to win this game. I just thought our defense would be dominant and Peyton would be able to do enough and that was the case on both counts. Let's go Broncos!
1st&10
Guest
Manning = legend. Cheaters never prosper -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
DENVER BRONCOS ARE 2015 AFC CHAMPIONS AND THROUGH TO SUPER BOWL 50! Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18
Nate
Guest
lol at Ruby!
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
FINAL Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
Q4 0:11 Manning kneels, -1 yard Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18
Kaks
Roar Guru
WOOOO get in broncos! Is there a sight better than seeing NE/Belichick lose?
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
Q4 0:12 Gostkowski kicks short, downed by Keo. Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
TWO-POINT CONVERSION UNSUCCESSFUL Q4 0:12 Brady INTERCEPTED by Ruby, tipped by Talib. Denver are AFC Champions and through to the Super Bowl! Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18