Patriots falter in Denver 27-13

By Hugo Guzman | Sunday, January 15, 2006 | ( 0 )

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It turns out that the New England Patriots are human after all. After winning 10 straight postseason contest the 2-time defending Super Bowl champions fell to the Denver Broncos 27-13.

The Broncos had a handful of heroes on the day, including punter Todd Sauerbrun who forced a key fumble in the second quarter to help Denver take a 10-3 lead into halftime. Champ Bailey also stepped up in a big way, intercepting a Tom Brady pass late in the third quarter when the Patriots were knocking on the door and about to take the lead. Bailey returned the interception 100-yards but was knocked out of bounds inside the 1-yard line by a streaking Ben Watson. Watson came out of nowhere to crush Bailey and very nearly caused a touchback. Belichick actually challenged the ruling on the field to try and get a touchback called, but the original call on the field was upheld. The Broncos punched it in to take a 17-6 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, veteran WR and kick returner Troy Brown inexplicably muffed a punt and the Broncos recovered. A few plays later Jake Plummer found Rod Smith in the endzone for a 4-yard touchdown to give Denver a 27-7 lead.

Tom Brady then led the Patriots on a lightning quick 2-play, 77 yard drive that included a 73-yard completion to Deion Branch (the longest pass play this season for the Patriots) and then a 4-yard touchdown pass to David Givens to cut the lead to 24-13, but that would be the last time the Patriots put points on the board.

The New England Patriots looked very human in this game. Uncharacteristic turnovers, costly penalties, and even a missed chip shot field goal by Adam Vinatieri doomed the champs to failure. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos looked solid on both sides of the ball and proved that they deserved a first round bye in the NFL playoffs.

The Broncos will face the winner of the tomorrow's Colts vs. Steelers matchup. If the Steelers win, the Denver will play at home. If Indianapolis wins, then the Broncos will be the road team.

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