The Broncos upended Tom Brady and the Patriots, ending their season.
Game Rewind: The Patriots season is over after losing a heartbreaker to the Broncos 20-18. Demarcus Ware and Von Miller dominated a Patriots offensive line that looked over matched from the opening series. New England had no answer for either guy. Needless to say, it was a tough loss for Patriots fans. It’ll be a long off-season for the Patriots as the Belichick, Brady window inches closer to closing. Here are my five thoughts on the game.
1. The Offensive Line Was Awful: Calling the performance of the offensive line awful is the understatement of the year. They were flat out atrocious! Marcus Cannon was a turnstile at right tackle. He’ll have nightmares of Von Miller all off-season. Cannon wasn’t the only one to struggle. Shaq Mason struggled with Derek Wolfe. Josh Kline was handled by Malik Jackson. Jackson overwhelmed Kline on several occasions. Even Sebastian Vollmer, the Patriots best offensive lineman was routinely beaten by Demarcus Ware. It was the worst performance I’ve ever seen by an offensive line in any game, never mind a playoff game.
2. Gostkowski Miss Was a Killer: Gostkowski hadn’t missed an extra point since 2006. The last time he missed one, Denver. His miss reinforces the notion that Denver is a house of horrors for the Patriots. For what it’s worth, I don’t think he cost them the game.
3. Von Miller & Jaime Collins Stole the Show: Miller and Collins were the two best players on the field. Collins did get burned for the two touchdowns but he made up for it by sacking Manning twice and ruining two potential drives. Miller was flat out dominate. He had 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and an interception. He was virtually unblockable and he put consistent pressure on Brady.
4. Gronk Was Unstoppable: Gronk was unstoppable in the second half of the game. The Patriots stopped wasting him by lining him up outside and they lined him up in-line. Gronk was able to get a free release as a result and finished with 8 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. He was the only reason the Patriots were able to stay in this game in the fourth quarter. Gronk made a huge catch down the seam that set up his touchdown later on that got the Pats within two.
5. Denver Truly is a House of Horrors: Bill Belichick is now 3-9 all time in Denver while Tom Brady is now 2-7 in his career at Mile High. Denver truly is a house of horrors for the Pats. Weird things happen to them there! That’s why I felt all along that it was imperative that the Patriots gain home field advantage. When they failed to do so, they made it much harder on themselves.