NFL Divisional Picks and Tips: Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots
Friday, January 13, 2012
by Frank Martin
Tom Brady is hardly ever knocked out of the spotlight, which is saying something when you're married to a supermodel. However, the husband of Gisele Bundchen and quarterback of the New England Patriots – has been relegated to second billing this weekend with the arrival of Tebowmania in Foxborough.
Media lightning rod Tim Tebow will look to pull off a second straight stunning upset when he leads the visiting Denver Broncos against Brady and the Patriots on Saturday night.
It will be a rematch of a Week 15 game in Denver, in which the Patriots erased an early deficit and rolled to a 41-23 victory – the first of three straight losses to close the regular season for the Broncos. Denver rebounded from the late swoon to shock the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 last week on Tebow's 80-yard scoring pass on the very first play of overtime.
- Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 14, 2012
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
TV: CBS, 8 p.m. ET.
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SBG Global Sportsbook currently have the Patriots listed as 13½-point favorites versus the Broncos, while the game's total is sitting at 50.
Denver Broncos (8-8): Tebow rose from the ashes of two dreadful performances by throwing for a career-high 316 yards in the upset of the Steelers. Pittsburgh dared Tebow to beat him with his arm – and he did with four completions of at least 30 yards, including tosses of 51, 58 and 80 yards to Demaryius Thomas, who had four receptions for 204 yards. RB Willis McGahee rushed for 70 yards on seven carries before he was hurt in the first meeting with New England. The Broncos gashed the Patriots for 252 yards on the ground, including 167 in the opening quarter, but three lost fumbles that forced them into catch-up mode. Leading WR Eric Decker is not expected to play due to a knee injury.
New England Patriots (13-3): Despite an eight-game winning streak and last month's comfortable victory at Denver, New England has plenty of reasons not to feel overconfident. The Patriots have lost their playoff opener – at home – in each of the past two seasons and developed a disturbing habit of falling behind early in their last three games of the regular season. New England fell behind 17-0 to Miami and 21-0 to Buffalo – both at home – before rallying. The one constant has been two-time MVP Brady, who threw for 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns while getting picked off only 12 times. He has 19 TDs and two interceptions during the winning streak. The main concern is a defense that ranks 31st in the league, getting trampled for 411.1 yards per game.
1. The No. 1 seed is no guarantee of success in the AFC, compiling a 12-9 record since the playoffs expanded to 12 teams in 1990.
2. Brady is tied with Terry Bradshaw for the best postseason record (14-5) by a quarterback with at least 15 starts.
3. Ex-Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who drafted Tebow and Thomas, joined New England’s staff this week.
NFL FOOTBALL PREDICTION: Patriots 27, Broncos 17. The magic finally runs out on Tebow as Brady guides New England into AFC title game.
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demaryius thomas - denver broncos - eric decker - gillette stadium - gisele bundchen - josh mcdaniels - new england patriots - terry bradshaw - tim tebow - tom brady
