Flashback: Re-visiting the Broncos last two AFC Championships
By Jordan Lopez
Arguably the best victory in Broncos history happened at Denver in front of 77,112 fans in the 2015-16 season.
The Broncos finished 12-4 in the season, finishing on top of the division and securing a first-round bye. They would later face Pittsburgh in the Divisional Round at Mile High, defeating the Steelers 23-16 to move onto the AFC Championship game.
Waiting for them… Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
In the first half, the Broncos’ defense, led by Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and the “No Fly Zone,” was keeping the Patriots’ offense in check. They allowed one touchdown, which came off a turnover by the offense, placing New England in the red-zone.
Denver’s two touchdowns were both caught by Owen Daniels. The first one was down the middle from Peyton Manning, making it the first score of the game. The second one came off a Von Miller INT, putting the Broncos’ offense in a great position to score. Manning led Daniels down the right sideline to increase the lead.
Denver will go into halftime with the lead, 17-9.
To start the second half, the Patriots hold the Broncos scoreless in the third quarter. Brady and Gronkowski connected multiple times but Denver’s offense could not get anything going. On the other side, Von Miller was having himself a day. He made more than a few big plays only in that quarter. New England will go on to cut the deficit to five going into the fourth quarter.
The Broncos go down the field to start the fourth quarter and gets into the red-zone. On a 3rd-and-Goal, Manning misses Jordan Norwood down the seam for a TD. Denver has to settle for a field goal, making it 20-12. Then it all comes down to the two-minute warning.
Denver’s defense has the Patriots on a 4th and 10 with 1:30 left on the clock and Tom Brady connects with Gronkowski down the seam to extend the game and put them into the red-zone. Then again the two connect for a 4 yard TD pass with 12 seconds left and they have to go for a 2 point conversion to tie.
The Broncos then deflect the pass from Brady to Edelman and forces the Patriots to attempt an onside kick for them to have any chance of winning. Denver then recovers and ends the game.
18. 47. 20. 45. Final
On the defensive side, Von Miller finished the game with 2.5 sacks, an INT, 4 QB hits, and 2 TFL. Manning on the offensive side completed 17 out of 32 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Next. George Paton wants to keep good young players. dark
The Broncos will go on to face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 at Levi Stadium and the rest is history.