Game Rewind: Led by a dominate defense, Tom Brady and the Patriots beat the Broncos 16-3 and in the process won their eighth straight AFC East title. Here are five thoughts on the game.

1. Dominant Defensive Effort: The Patriots absolutely dominated the Broncos offense. Yeah, I know Denver’s offense is putrid but it doesn’t matter. The Patriots got consistent pressure on Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian and they never allowed him to get into a rhythm. 

The Patriots are starting to play well defensively and the timing couldn’t be better.

2. TB12 Struggled: The GOAT struggled today. He finished 16-32 for 188 yards and no touchdowns. It was to be expected against the best secondary in football. That and the Patriots made a concerted effort to run the football. 

We are so used to Brady being great that when he has games like this, it is a bit surprising. It doesn’t matter. The Patriots won today. They didn’t need Brady to be great.

3. Blount Rushing Into Team History: LeGarrette Blount scored his 15th rushing touchdown of the season today. That is a new touchdown record for a Patriots running back. Blount broke Curtis Martin’s record of 14 touchdowns in a season. Martin scored 14 touchdowns in a season twice.

Blount is having a terrific season and his emergence gives the Patriots some much needed balance, especially heading into the playoffs.

4. Defense Forces Three Key Turnovers: The Patriots forced theee turnovers in today’s win. Generating turnovers will be key moving forward for this defense. They can play a bend but don’t break style in the playoffs provided they generate turnovers. 

5. Von Miller Was Negated: Von Miller absolutely abused the Patriots offensive line in the AFC Championship game. 

The Patriots weren’t going to let him be a game plan wrecker again. They doubled Miller and chipped with the running backs, tight ends and receivers. They did not allow him to be a factor and he wasn’t.