Patriots at Broncos, 1:05 p.m., Sunday, KCNC-4
For the record: The Patriots (12-4) are coming off of a 27-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in their AFC divisional playoff game.
Who’s hot: In his first game back from a foot injury, receiver Julian Edelman shook off some early rust and finished the game with 10 catches for 100 yards. The shifty wide out is a key cog out of the slot.
Who’s not: The Patriots haven’t had much of a run game all season, but now they’re not even trying. They only ran the ball 14 times for 42 yards Sunday against Kansas City compared to 42 pass attempts.
Key stat: In their Nov. 29, the Broncos bested the Patriots in total yards (433 to 301), first downs (23 to 16) and time of possession (36:31 to 25:57).
FYI: Sunday will be Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning XVII. Brady leads the series 11-5. The battle is tied 2-2 in the playoffs, but Manning has won the last two.
Injury report: New England got out of the game with their top three offensive weapons, Rob Gronkowski and receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola fairly healthy. They did suffer some new injuries on the other side of the ball. Defensive end Chandler Jones (knee) and linebackers Jerod Mayo (shoulder) and Jamie Collins (back) left the game without returning. Jones is reportedly the most serious of the group.
Coachspeak: “I haven’t really given it any thought at all. Is that going to be the big story for the week?” —Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Peyton Manning quoting him with a “we’re on to New England” comment after Sunday’s game.
