NEW ENGLAND (13-4) at DENVER (14-3)
Sunday, 3:05 p.m. ET, CBS
OPENING LINE - Broncos by 6½
RECORD VS. SPREAD - New England 9-8, Denver 11-6
SERIES RECORD - Broncos lead 27-20
LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Broncos 34-31, OT, Nov. 24, 2013
LAST WEEK - Patriots beat Colts 43-22; Broncos beat Chargers 24-17
AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 5, Broncos No. 2
PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (7), RUSH (9), PASS (10)
PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (26), RUSH (30), PASS (18)
BRONCOS OFFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (15), PASS (1)
BRONCOS DEFENSE - OVERALL (19), RUSH (7T), PASS (27)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - New England overcame 24-0 halftime deficit on Nov. 24. … Patriots coach Bill Belichick 7-10 vs. Broncos. … Game marks 15th meeting between Brady and Broncos QB Peyton Manning. Brady leads 10-4, including 2-1 in playoffs. … New England 7-2 in AFC championship games. Belichick/Brady own most wins (18) by coach/QB combo. … Game marks first AFC road playoff game for Patriots since title game following ’06 season, when Patriots lost to Manning’s Colts 38-34. … Patriots 3-2 on road under Belichick in postseason. … Brady’s 18 postseason wins most in NFL history. … Brady is 1-1 vs. Denver in playoffs. … Brady has most completions (566), attempts (912), yards passing (6,147) in NFL playoff history. … Brady’s 75 passes over last three games lowest total in three-game stretch in his career. … Last week, Patriots joined 1940 Chicago Bears as only teams in NFL playoff history with 200 yards and six TDs on ground. … RB LeGarrette Blount first player to rush for 150 yards and four TDs in playoff game. … WR Julian Edelman had career playoff-high 84 yards receiving last week. Caught nine passes for 110 yards, two TDs vs. Broncos in November. … Defense had four INTs vs. Colts, two by CB Alfonzo Dennard. … Broncos coach John Fox 1-6 vs. Patriots. … Broncos 6-2 in AFC championship games. … Manning has 5,909 yards passing in postseason, second most behind Brady. … Manning is No. 1 with eight 300-yard games in playoffs. … Manning has 15-3 record at home with Broncos, throwing 54 TDs and 11 INTs. … RB Knowshon Moreno had career-best 224 yards in last game at New England. … With 75 postseason receptions, WR Wes Welker needs two to move past Thurman Thomas (76) for sixth place in catches. … Welker had four catches for 31 yards in previous meeting against former team. … Julius Thomas’ 12 TD catches most by TE in team history. … CB Champ Bailey had 100-yard INT return against Brady and Patriots on Jan. 14, 2006. … LB Shaun Phillips had two sacks of former teammate and San Diego QB Philip Rivers last weekend.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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