On Sunday Night Football, fans will be treated to a hugely important AFC clash as the 10-0 New England Patriots travel to Denver to take on the 8-2 Broncos. There is however, one very important twist to this storyline; fans who were eagerly awaiting the 17th match-up between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be very disappointed, as Manning is due to miss his second straight game with a myriad of injuries. Indeed, Sunday night won’t be the next chapter in this epic rivalry. It won’t be a fight for position among the all-time quarterback greats. It won’t be Brady-Manning XVII.
It will be Brady-Osweiler I.
This match-up might not be nearly as enticing or dramatic as another chapter of the legendary rivalry would have been, but frankly, there are more than enough storylines to keep this game interesting as the 2015 NFL playoffs loom on the horizon.
Broncos-Patriots Rivalry Is About More Than Quarterbacks
The Patriots
At 10-0 they are one of the only remaining undefeated squads in the NFL alongside the 11-0 Carolina Panthers, but suddenly there is cause for a lot of concern for this team. After a dominant start out of the gate, the Pats have faced a lot of adversity in recent weeks, and it no longer looks like winning is coming easily to Bill Belichick’s defending Super Bowl champions. In short, the injury bug has bitten this team, and bitten them hard.
On the offensive side of the football, the Patriots are barely recognizable from the team they were at the start of the season. The offensive line is decimated by injuries and shuffled more times than anyone can reasonably keep track of. Breakout do-it-all running back Dion Lewis is out for the year with a torn ACL. Number one receiver and Brady’s top safety blanket Julian Edelman is out long-term with a broken foot, and likely to miss most of the remainder of the season. Danny Amendola had stepped up and played well, doing his best to fill Edelman’s role, but word emerged Saturday that he didn’t make the trip to Denver and will miss the big game with a knee injury of his own. Meanwhile, the Pats placed wideout Aaron Dobson on injured reserve with an ankle injury, ending his season.
In short, this team is banged up. Tom Brady is one of the all-time greats, and Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in the league, but the fact is, with so many important contributors on the sidelines, the offense could suffer quite a bit. Brady is having an MVP caliber season, but it’s hard to produce at that level with a limited supporting cast, especially against the NFL’s best defenses.
The Broncos
The recipe for success in Denver this year has been a bit different than what we’ve become used to seeing from a Peyton Manning-led team. In short, this team isn’t putting enormous point totals up every week, but is strongest on the defensive side of the football. Incoming defensive coordinator Wade Philips has transformed the Broncos’ defense into the top unit in the league. They haven’t been quite as dominant over the last few weeks as they were at the start of the season, but make no mistake about: this is an elite group, having allowed only 2,843 yards of offense through ten games. They would have presented a tough test to Brady and a full-strength Patriots club, and will certainly be a nightmare for the short-handed offense the Pats will trot out on Sunday night.
A key component that will have a huge impact on the game’s outcome will undoubtedly be the play of Brock Osweiler. The youngster is making only his second career start at quarterback in relief of the injured Manning, and is coming off a very poised, efficient showing in a Week 11 victory over an under-rated Chicago Bears team. Indeed, Osweiler looked like the real deal, and displayed some of the attributes that made him John Elway’s second round pick three-and-a-half years ago. Will Osweiler be able to match that performance against what might be the best team in the NFL on Sunday night?
If he does, it will certainly be quite an accomplishment. While the Broncos’ defense has been tops in the league, the Patriots stop unit has been better than people realize, and will pose a significant challenge for Osweiler and the Denver offense. In spite of the fact that New England’s defense has allowed a lot more yardage than Denver’s, they are currently the only team in the league that is allowing fewer points per game than the Broncos’, even if it’s by the narrowest of margins (18.2 to 18.3). While it bodes well for Osweiler that the Pats are more beatable through the air than on the ground, it’s important to remember that a lot of his success last week was attributable to strong contributions from the running game. If Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson struggle to run the ball on Sunday night, then all the pressure is going to be on Osweiler to put points on the board against the top team in the AFC.
It’s impossible to predict what will happen in any NFL game, especially in a match-up with as many moving pieces as this one. What can be known for certain is that neither team is taking this game lightly. In a highly competitive AFC, this is a very important game for two contending teams. We may miss out on the drama of Manning versus Brady, but there will be plenty of excitement to go around. The stakes are high and the pressure is on. Suddenly, the playoffs don’t seem so far in the future, anymore.
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