Patriots 45 - Broncos 0
The Pats move one step closer to a division title with another strong performance from their offense and defense, which notched a second consecutive shutout (and 5th of the season). The story of this game for the Patriots was big plays, which occurred early and often. The Broncos actually held a time of possession advantage in this one, to give you some idea of how quickly the Patriots scored. They had TDs of 71, 52, 80, and 61 yards.
Tom Brady was 5 of 6 for 254 yards and 3 TDs.
Brian Hoyer, who played the entire 2nd half, was 1 of 3 for 61 yards and a TD.
Adrian Peterson, who also played only in the first half, carried 12 times for 117 yards and two scores. The rest of the backs were a mixed bag filling in, most notably BenJarvus Green-Ellis fumbled the ball on the goal line on the Pats' 2nd drive, which would be his first career NFL fumble (I was just as shocked). Stevan Ridley also put the ball on the ground later but recovered.
It was the Tight End show once again on offense. Aaron Hernandez was unbelievable, catching 3 passes for 200 yards (a staggering 66.6yard average), all of which went for TDs. Rob Gronkowski's lone catch was a 71 yard TD.
The Pats' D sacked a combination of Orton and Tebow 3 times, forced 3 picks, and recovered a fumble, while allowing only 162 yards of offense.
The Pats' move to 10 wins and one step closer to clinching a playoff birth, which they can do next week with a win or a Bills loss. They could also clinch the division outright with a win and a Jets loss to the Giants. They seem to be rounding into playoff shape at the right time, Tom Brady in particular.
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gg itlnstln! I appreciate you filling in, even though I doubt this game was much fun. It's tough stepping in to an unfamiliar roster/playbook for sure. I hope you didn't mind me pulling my starters in the 2nd half, I didn't want to risk any freak injuries headed into the playoffs.
[quote name='siradam134']45-0 Bv...really? Wow.... lol.... i should have played you ;-/[/QUOTE]
That's with Brady/AP/Welker only playing the first half. I was definitely in the zone, but I didn't have to sustain much when almost every pass Brady threw went for a TD. You'll get your chance next week.
