Tom Brady is set to begin yet another playoff run. (Matt Slocum/AP Photo)

The Denver Broncos travel to the depths of Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. Denver is coming off of an emotional 29-23 win over the defending AFC Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers while New England had a bye in the first round. The Patriots won the last meeting in mid-December 41-23. The Broncos are 2-0 against the Patriots in the playoffs with both games being played in Denver (1986, 2005). Once again the Broncos are the heavy underdogs in this matchup. However, the Patriots have shown in the recent past that they’re not indestructible at home in January. They have lost their last two playoff games in the divisional round at Gillette. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. MST on CBS.

Offense

Broncos: If the Broncos can not turn the ball over, and get their run game going, they will be able to keep this game close. In fact if Tim Tebow plays like he did against the Steelers (312 passing yards, 2 TDs, 50 rushing yards, 1 TD), the Broncos cannot let up off the gas. The Miami Dolphins were up 17-0 at halftime in week 16, yet the Pats won it by 3 points. The major key for the Broncos is to get the run game going like they did in December when they had 252 yards on the ground. That will eat the clock and keep the Patriots’ potent offense off the field. If the Broncos had not turned the ball over three times in the last meeting, we could easily be talking about a Broncos win in December. The Broncos need to end their drives with 7 points, not 3.

Patriots: We’ve heard the same story many times over the past week. The Pats’ offense is Tom Brady and his deadly receivers. They get into a quick rhythm and they get the ball out fast. Brady will sit in the pocket as comfortably as someone reading the Sunday morning newspaper over a pot of coffee. His receivers can run after the catch, and accounting for Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez on every play can take a toll on even the best defenses. The Patriots dominated the time of possession, holing on to the ball for 33:41. They had 72 plays on offense compared to the Broncos’ 58 plays.
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