Tom Brady, a long-time rival of the Denver Broncos, has decided to call it a career.
After three seasons as quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady has somewhat surprisingly decided to walk away from the game. For Broncos fans, his 20 seasons with the New England Patriots stick out.
And regardless of how you feel about TB12, he is arguably the greatest quarterback in the league’s history.
Without Brady, the league may look and feel different, though it’s likely we’ll still hear his voice on Sundays as many speculate that he will head to the announce booth at some point.
So now Broncos fans can give Brady a proper sendoff by looking back at the five most memorable wins the team managed against him. Though wildly successful in the grand scheme of things, Brady did always have as much trouble with the Broncos as any team in the league.
Here are five games we can’t forget.
5. October 11, 2009: Broncos defeat Patriots in OT to get to 5-0
The teams were wearing their throwbacks for this one. The Patriots with the “Pat Patriot” logo on their helmets and the Broncos with perhaps their ugliest uniforms in team history, the mustard and brown look.
This was without doubt the highlight of the short-lived Josh McDaniels era as the rookie head coach got to 5-0 on the season by beating his former head coach and quarterback. Of course, that would all come crashing down soon enough but on this day, the Broncos got the best of them.
The Patriots had two separate 10-point leads in this game but the Broncos scratched and clawed their way back into it, forcing overtime before Matt Prater kicked a 41-yard field goal to win it.
Kyle Orton passed for 330 yards in the game, outdueling the legendary Brady, who had just 215 yards through the air on the day.
4. January 19, 2014: Broncos knock off Pats to reach Super Bowl XVLIII
The 2013 Broncos team was one of the most explosive the NFL has ever seen.
The Broncos set an NFL record by scoring 606 points that season. The offense was literally unstoppable, until they reached the Super Bowl, but we won’t discuss that. Instead, we will talk about how the Broncos beat Brady and the Patriots rather easily in this game.
It was only a 10-point victory but the Broncos were never in danger of losing this game, leading 20-3 at one point and fending off every Patriots attempt to get back into it.
Brady had an average game, completing 24 of 38 passes but he watched as Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Demaryius Thomas had 134 yards receiving and the Broncos went into the Super Bowl as big favorites based on their play that year.
It was always good to see the Broncos beat Brady but it was magnified when they could do it while also preventing him from reaching yet another Super Bowl.
3. November 29, 2015: Broncos get huge win in the elements
This game had it all and it was one of the most important games in the last decade for the Broncos.
It was played on a cold, snowy night in late November 2015. Brock Osweiler was the starting quarterback for the Broncos as Manning was hampered with injuries that season. Osweiler was key in the team’s Super Bowl run and you can make the argument that without this win, they don’t win the Super Bowl that season.
That is because if this game went the other way, the Patriots would have had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and they were extremely difficult to beat at Gillette Stadium at that time.
The Patriots got up 14-0 in the game and then led 21-7 before the Broncos began to mount a comeback.
It took a gusty performance by Osweiler who completed 23 passes in this game and threw for 270 yards. C.J. Anderson rushed for 113 yards, much of which game on this walk-off touchdown run (video) that sent the fans in Denver into a frenzy, even on a cold night.
2. January 24, 2016: Broncos knock off the champs
Two years later, the Broncos and Patriots met in Denver once again for another chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Things were different this time. The Patriots were the defending Super Bowl champions and the Broncos’ offense was a shell of what it was in 2013. But this Broncos team had guts.
Manning was nearing the end of his career and he was certainly playing like it. The defense carried the team to the finish line but there was something magical about what looked like the final run for the sheriff.
Manning hit Owen Daniels for two first-half touchdowns and the defense did its job against a solid Patriots offense. The teams traded field goals several times in the later stages of the game but with the Broncos leading 20-12 with just over a minute and a half to play, Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 40-yard gain on 4th-and-10 from around midfield.
Then on 4th-and-goal with just 17 seconds to play, Brady hit Gronk again for a touchdown pass to draw the Patriots to within two. The Patriots went for the two-point conversion but Bradley Roby picked Brady off to seal the win.
Brady had a good day, throwing for 310 yards and doing everything he could to get the Patriots back to the big game. But Von Miller, as a precursor to what would happen in Super Bowl 50, had 2.5 sacks and an interception of Brady.
This was one of the most intense finishes in AFC Championship Game history and it sent Manning back to the Super Bowl. He made the Super Bowl four times during his career and he knocked off Brady in the championship game in three of those years.
1. January 14, 2006: Broncos hand Brady, Bill Belichick first postseason defeat
Neither of the AFC Championship games gains the No.1 spot on this list? That is because for me, this was one of the best wins in the history of the Broncos for other reasons, mainly sticking it to Brady and the hated Pats.
The 2005 Broncos were severely underrated and though they were the home team in this game, a Patriots win was expected by most. That is because nobody beat Brady and Bill Belichick in the playoffs.
Until this game.
Together, Brady and Belichick were 10-0 in the postseason coming into this game. They had already won three Super Bowls and they were the defending back-to-back champions. The Patriots were on a quest to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row.
The Broncos were the team that spoiled that.
Brady threw for 341 yards in this game and the Broncos seemed to be managing their way to victory quite well, yet if you watched, you sensed a comeback coming from Brady. And the momentum started to shift.
The game changed on the most memorable play in the career of Champ Bailey. With the Broncos leading 10-6 in the third quarter, the Patriots had a 3rd-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Brady dropped back to pass and tried to sail a ball to the right side of the end zone. But it was picked off by Bailey.
Take a look (video) at what ensued.
It ended up being a 100-yard interception return that was not a touchdown. Bailey was pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line. On the very next play, Mike Anderson plunged into the end zone to give the Broncos a 17-6 lead that they never relinquished.
Though the Broncos would go on to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game the following week, this was a huge win against Brady and the Patriots when they were at the height of their team success.