THE PATS LOST!!!

Just in case anybody didn't know

Great game both defenses played great football against 2 great QBs.

The outcome was great. If that score is the other way then it's one of the worst games of all time.

Seriously, when the WINNING team has SEVEN three and outs it's not a "great" game. Let me put it another way--had the Fins won by this exact same score the exact same way how many posters here would be calling it great? None, I suspect. Instead, I'd be reading about how ugly a win it was and actually provides even more evidence that the team sucks, Tannehill is a bust, etc.

Just checked the Panthers-Cards score on espn.com. This Super Bowl has "ungodly massacre" written all over it. But at least the Pats won't be in it, so in my mind I don't care of that game's score is 60-0, it'll be wonderful

I will say that it's about damn fucking TIME somebody stopped fainting in fear after having a 4th quarter lead against Brady, as opposed to the usual "Oh wait, it's the Patriots, we're not supposed to win!" choke job. I'm convinced that lately (especially lately) opponents lose games more than the Pats win them. And even THEN it still came down to a 2-point conversion. Enough 4th quarter Brady comebacking already!!!

Denver will be better equipped to compete than they were two years ago. This defense is much better, and Wade Phillips was at the top of his game today.

Well balanced team, with Carolina possibly too dependent on one playmaker on offense. I'd favor Carolina to win.

New England's big mistake today? Going for it instead of kicking the FG when it was 20-12. Denver had another three and out afterward, and that last TD could have won the game. Surprisingly, Belicheck and Brady made the key mistakes today. Not that I'm complaining.

The point spread opened Carolina 3.5. Should be 23.5. Manning throwing ducks to that secondary and that game could be over quickly!

This may be a beat down even worse than the last Denver superbowl berth.

If not, I will be very surprised. Carolina looks like an unstoppable beast right now, what they did against Seattle and Arizona was extremely impressive.

Can't remember the thread, but MMQB acknowledges the Fins role in what happened yesterday:

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/01/24/nfl-championship-games-broncos-patriots-panthers-cardinals

Think back to Week 17, when New England could have clinched home-field in the AFC playoffs with a win over the Dolphins, who had nothing to play for. The Patriots put the emphasis on healing for the playoffs, playing passively, almost like a get-through-this-thing-unscathed preseason game. Miami won 20-10, and that was the big difference between playing in Denver instead of Foxboro. Big difference.

Denver did a fantastic job of covering the Patriot receivers and taking away the routes Brady wanted to throw.  And I think that's the key.  Everyone always says that the key to beating Brady is pressure - but pressure doesn't work when the receivers get open immediately and Brady can get the ball out in less than 2 seconds.  What I saw yesterday really was about coverage...Brady tried to hit Gronk, Edelman and White all day and they just weren't open.  That forced Brady to hold the ball longer and then the Denver pressure got to him. 

As for the Super Bowl, I think the Panthers are going to hand the Broncos an epic beatdown.  The Panthers are playing in a different universe than everyone else right now.

So I'm not the only one who thinks Peyton goes out with a whimper, then?

CarsonChris wrote:The point spread opened Carolina 3.5. Should be 23.5. Manning throwing ducks to that secondary and that game could be over quickly!

I don't know what the American duck population has done to deserve Peyton throwing so many of them towards defenders this season

Manning will have to go back in a Time Machine or borrow some magic from Copperfield just to keep this one close. The first two games of the Playoff won't cut it against Carolina.

finskev wrote:Manning will have to go back in a Time Machine or borrow some magic from Copperfield just to keep this one close. The first two games of the Playoff won't cut it against Carolina.

All I can think about is how everybody's raving about the Denver D as if they just had one of the best performances in NFL history-and yet they were a missed extra point away from losing in OT. The sad part is, even if the game IS somehow close Kubiak will just blow it anyway with his prevent offense--if Peyton doesn't pull one of his classic postseason choke jobs first. And it'll only be close if Denver manages to replicate or top the defensive game it had VS the Pats, which seems *extremely* unlikely.

Then again we could all be totally wrong and Peyton goes out with a bang, in a complete reversal of pretty much his entire postseason career. But he's not facing Rex Grossman this time around.

It isn't the greatest defense ever or anything, but this is a much better Denver defense than 2013's.  That defense ranked 17th in yards per play against the pass and 10th against the run.

This year's Broncos ranked first in the NFL in both categories.

They'll get buried if the Peyton of September and October returns, but they have a real shot if he avoids mistakes IMO. I think this defense will keep them in the game.

Even though I wanted Miami to loss the last game against the Pats for a better draft pick, I feel better to know that Miami still can beat the Pats.