Last Minute Heroics
Sapozink & Lloyd lead game winning drive
PATRIOTS 26 - Broncos 24
Foxboro, MA - This, my friends, was a fun game to watch. Good defensive football with some great offensive numbers. Seeing a rookie QB in Chad Sapozink take on future hall of famer Peyton Manning, this kid will not forget this game.
Patriots had the lead for just about the entire game, but you know about 4th quarters and Peyton Manning. Late in the 4th quarter, with under 2 minutes to play, Manning becomes a field general. First down here, converted 3rd down pass there. Watching this, I already decided that he will score. And he did with 34 seconds left on the game clock. The problem was that he left too much time.
Chad Sapozink took the team from their own 25 and completed 3 balls. One long one to the 50 yard line to Brandon Lloyd, another to Bryant Ford for short yardage, and the last one back to Brandon Lloyd to put them in field goal range with 3 seconds left on the clock. You couldn't ask for a better script. This was like it was back in the days of Brady.
Stevan Ridley played a great part in getting the ground game going. Almost picked up another 100 yard rushing game. He was able to spread out the defense and gave Chad Sapozink the opportunity to show himself as the accurate QB that he is.
Chandler Jones was essential on the defensive side of the ball in grabbing two sacks on Peyton Manning. One of those sacks kept Manning on the ground for a long time, but he was able to come back in on the next series. Justice Caine also came up big with a sack of his own early in the contest. Justice is proving himself to be a starter in this league and we should see some great things from him in the future.
Patriots have the bye next week and have earned it. Ryan Mallett says that he's gonna be back on the practice field this week and we should see him when we come back the week after. Great start for the Patriots, let's see if they can keep this momentum through the bye week.
In Their Sights - Big-time defense by New England allowed them to secure a win 26-24 over the Broncos on strength of 5 sacks.
@MikeHillEA - Down, set, sack. Started to feel bad for Peyton Manning. #Patriots
Not Enough to Win on the Road - The Broncos lost a close game this week versus the Patriots 26-24.
@MattMillerEA - What a great football day. Can't wait until we do it all over again. #Patriots #Broncos
A Ruptured Disk for D. Thomas - It's a ruptured disk for Demaryius Thomas, which means he's done for a significant period of time.
@mortreportEA - Unfortunate turn of events for Demaryius Thomas, he'll be out for a considerable amount of time.
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots |
Oct 6, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
Denver Broncos (2-2-0) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
New England Patriots (3-1-0) | 10 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 26 |
Team Stats Comparison |
| DEN | NWE |
Total Offense | 319 | 470 |
Rushing Yards | 102 | 150 |
Passing Yards | 217 | 320 |
First Downs | 18 | 20 |
Punt Return Yards | 33 | 19 |
Kick Return Yards | 94 | 77 |
Total Yards | 446 | 566 |
Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
3rd Down Converstion | 4-13 | 4-14 |
4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 0-1 |
2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 2-2 | 2-2 |
Penalties | 0-0 | 4-36 |
Posession Time | 24:33 | 35:27 |
Denver Broncos | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | Peyton Manning | 23/41 | 240 | 2 | 0 | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | Willis McGahee | 13 | 60 | 4.6 | 0 | Tim Hightower | 6 | 44 | 7.3 | 1 | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | Brandon Gibson | 7 | 84 | 12.0 | 0 | Jacob Tamme | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | Willis McGahee | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | Demaryius Thomas | 5 | 52 | 10.4 | 1 | Eric Decker | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 0 | Joel Dreessen | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 1 | Dextrell Bashum | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | Andre Caldwell | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | Quinton Carter | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Joe Mays | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Leonhard | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Champ Bailey | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | D.J Williams | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | Matt Prater | 1/1 | 3/3 | 6 | 53 | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | Britton Colquitt | 8 | 388 | 48.5 | 1 | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | Jim Leonard | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 0 | Andre Caldwell | 3 | 70 | 23.3 | 0 | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | Eric Decker | 3 | 33 | 11.0 | 0 |
| New England Patriots | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | Chad Sapozink | 24/36 | 320 | 1 | 1 | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | Stevan Ridley | 20 | 95 | 4.7 | 1 | Brandon Bolden | 9 | 32 | 3.5 | 0 | Shane Vereen | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | Wes Welker | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | Wes Welker | 3 | 77 | 25.6 | 0 | Brandon Lloyd | 9 | 131 | 14.5 | 0 | Rob Gronkowski | 4 | 57 | 14.2 | 1 | Aaron Hernandez | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | Bryant Ford | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | Kenneth Milliner | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | LaRod Stephens-Howling | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | Stevan Ridley | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | Donta Hightower | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Justice Caine | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Kyle Love | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Chandler Jones | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Rob Ninkovich | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | Stephen Gostkowski | 4/4 | 2/2 | 14 | 54 | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | Zoltan Mesko | 5 | 250 | 50.0 | 1 | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | LaRod Stephens-Howling | 2 | 57 | 28.5 | 0 | Derrick Brailsford | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | Derrick Brailsford | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 |
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