First, let us give the Patriots acclaim for their play of the game, an epic effort by tight end Ben Watson that exemplifies the heart, the guts of the Patriots as elite champions.
New England was tossing a pass from the Denver 5-yard line into the end zone for a score that would turn a 10-6 Denver lead into a 12-10 Patriots advantage in the final seconds of the third quarter. Tom Brady to … Champ Bailey. Bailey snatched it, sped down the sideline and looked clear for a 101-yard score. But Watson was willing to run 1 yard farther and faster than Bailey. He caught Bailey at the New England 1. And he knocked Bailey out and flat at the 1.
It was shades of Don Beebe in Super Bowl XXVII running down Leon Lett. It was all hustle and glorious exertion.
Problem was for the Patriots, if your play of the night is an offensive player chasing a defensive player after a turnover, you are in trouble.
And the Patriots were in a mess.
We finally found a playoff game that was too big for the Patriots. A playoff moment too big. An atmosphere too big.
A team too big.
The Broncos.
The Patriots’ reign is over, 27-13, and the Broncos had their hands all in it and over it. After a scoreless first quarter, Denver won every quarter and sailed into the AFC championship game.
They made the Patriots look mortal once again.
New England cracked. The pressure of the game, the pressure from the Broncos, it was too much for a proud team that in the end was forced to submit and step aside.
I say the Patriots cracked because they led 3-0 with 1:51 remaining before halftime. And in those final seconds, they fumbled twice and committed a pass interference that all led to 10 Denver points and the Broncos’ 10-3 halftime lead.
Then the Patriots returned for the second half with Brady throwing two interceptions, with Troy Brown fumbling a punt and Adam Vinatieri missing a 43-yard field goal.
Brady was calling audibles and throwing sideline outs to receivers who were not there.
The New England running game went nowhere (21 attempts, 79 yards).
The five New England turnovers.
All very un-New England like. It is what happens when pressure builds in a game and when the opponent increases that pressure.
“I kept reminding guys this week that this was going to be a different atmosphere for New England,” Broncos linebacker Keith Burns said. “They made their playoff runs with a lot of games at home. We all were going to see how road-tested they were for the playoffs. We pushed them to the wall today. Everybody made a big deal out of the guys they were missing the last time. We played this game where we never wanted to look at the scoreboard. Just keep piling on the pressure.”
The Broncos looked rested and focused.
The Patriots looked weary and worried.
They began to press under the pressure.
“The stage was set,” Broncos linebacker Ian Gold said. “All week long the media talked about the Patriots. The fans talked about the Patriots. We even talked about the Patriots. By the time the game was ready to be played, we were all tired of it. Once you put the pads on, things are different. Now what is the speculation going to be about our team? This defense we have, it’s all right. Maybe there is going to be more buzz about that.”
Maybe, indeed.
Because the Broncos looked into the eyes of champions and quenched their sparkle. They took the will and smarts of the Patriots and matched it and then surpassed it. They viewed Brady’s 10 consecutive playoff victories as a chance to set a new trend.
“It’s just unfortunate that it was our best players making some of the big mistakes,” Brady said.
Vinatieri added: “It was a crappy game. Normally we know how to execute under pressure. But we just didn’t do a very good job of that today.”
And perhaps the Broncos’ best player, Bailey, understood.
“We definitely made more plays than they did,” Bailey said. “We accepted the pressure. This was a bump in the road for us.”
The Patriots a bump in the road?
“It’s just the end of the road for us,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “That is all we see.”
It is what we all saw. The road cleared for a new champion.
Staff Writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
