Brady, Patriots dominate Manning, Broncos, look like AFC's best

The pregame hype was all about Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.

The result reflected much more.

Brady wasn't just better than Manning in their 16th career quarterbacking duel. Just about every other aspect of the New England Patriots was superior in Sunday's 43-21 rout of Denver at Gillette Stadium.

Offensive line? Check.

Secondary play? Check.

Tight end production? Special teams? Run defense?

Check. Check. Check.

Brady's 333-yard, four-touchdown effort simply made it checkmate.

"This was definitely embarrassing," Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders acknowledged.

And to think the Patriots entered this game as a three-point underdog.

Instead, we got the most lopsided result in the storied history of the Manning-Brady rivalry since the first time these two faced off in Week 3 of the 2001 season. This matchup was essentially over with 11:20 remaining in the fourth quarter after Denver couldn't convert on a fourth-and-goal from the Patriots' 8-yard line.

Manning did extend his NFL record for career 400-yard passing games with a 438-yard effort. However, there isn't a bigger critic of his performance than Manning himself.

"When the quarterback stinks, usually you're not going to win too many games," he said.

The Broncos haven't suffered a beating like this since losing to Seattle in Super Bowl 48. Coincidentally, the Seahawks also scored 43 points in last February's blowout. But unlike against the Seahawks, where the Broncos were dominated from the get-go, Denver actually held a 7-6 lead over New England early in the second quarter.

Then the wheels began to fall off.

Manning didn't see Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich drop in zone coverage when trying to target wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Ninkovich intercepted the throw and returned it 11 yards to the Broncos' 34. Five plays later, Brady gunned a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julian Edelman.

That was just the start of a monster stretch for a player Brady affectionately calls "Mini-tron." When the Broncos punted on their next series -- which was an adventure in itself as Britton Colquitt disrupted the coverage unit's timing by dropping the football before his 53-yard kick -- Edelman proceeded to register the longest punt return for a touchdown in Patriots history. In fact, his 84-yard score seemed like it covered double that span as Edelman weaved his way across the field and into the end zone.

Denver's special-teams woes continued on its next possession as rookie Brandon McManus clanked a 41-yard field-goal attempt off the right upright. McManus, who entered the game with a sore groin, wouldn't get a chance for redemption later in the quarter. Rather than give McManus the chance for a 52-yard attempt with a stiff wind at his back, Broncos head coach John Fox opted to try converting a fourth-and-six from New England's 34. The attempt was stymied by linebacker Akeem Ayers, who looped from the outside through the left guard/center gap to sack Manning for a 9-yard loss.

The Broncos spent heavily in the offseason on three free agents (defensive end DeMarcus Ware, safety T.J. Ward and cornerback Aqib Talib) trying to upgrade their defense. The improvements have paid dividends, but the unit simply had no answers Sunday when Brady began getting hot.

On a second-and-21, Edelman escaped Talib's coverage for a 26-yard reception. Running back Shane Vereen helped Brady continue the onslaught with an 18-yard grab on a wheel route and then a 5-yard touchdown catch just before halftime as Broncos safety Rahim Moore had dropped too deep in coverage to defend the pass.

The Broncos looked as if they might make a run when scoring on their opening third-quarter possession and then limiting the Patriots to a field goal. But another Manning interception -- this one by Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner -- led to another New England touchdown on the next play when Brady connected with wide receiver Brandon LeFell on a 10-yard scoring strike.

Even when the Broncos responded with a touchdown, the Patriots answered again with one of their own. A one-handed grab near the goal line -- left-handed, no less -- highlighted tight end Rob Gronkowski's nine-catch, 105-yard outing. Gronkowski followed that 20-yard reception with a 1-yard TD reception that put the Patriots ahead by 22 points early in the fourth quarter.

Such overall production shows just how far the Patriots have come since a 2-2 start that triggered public debate about whether Brady was still an "elite" quarterback. New England is averaging 40.2 points in its current five-game winning streak. With the exception of Gronkowski, the Patriots are doing this with a group of skill-position players that Brady described as a "bunch of grinders" and an equally superstar-free offensive line that effectively neutralized Denver's pass-rushing duo of Von Miller and Ware.

"There's no magic trick. You've just got to believe in what you're doing," Brady said. "Put the work in and try to execute against good teams. This team challenged us. They have a lot of good players, a lot of good rushers and a lot of good scheme stuff."

What New England's defense accomplished was even more impressive. Tight end Julius Thomas had a touchdown catch, but it was the only time he was targeted in the first three quarters because of New England's staunch coverage. Broncos starting running back Ronnie Hillman generated a mere 16 yards on 10 carries, marking a far cry from last November's matchup when Denver's Knowshon Moreno gashed New England for 224 rushing yards.

Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork credited Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with creating a loud practice environment with faux crowd noise that "made it as realistic as possible for us. We had to force ourselves to communicate in practice. Everybody came to work ready to work and focused."

"We just knew what the game plan was and if we just execute it well and communicate well, then we'll be in good shape," said Wilfork, referring to a Patriots approach that changed coverage looks throughout the game trying to keep Manning off-balance. "We did that. It wasn't perfect. But at the same time, the majority of the time we did what we wanted to do, and we played the game how we wanted to play it."

Brady said Belichick reminded the team in his post-game speech that "seven wins doesn't get you anything." But by dominating a quality team like Denver, this seventh victory invoked memories of those championship Patriots teams that clicked in a complete fashion. There were 17 players from New England's Super Bowl-winning teams of 2001, 2003 and 2004 who were honored at halftime of Sunday's contest.

Maybe the 2014 Patriots (7-2) will someday celebrate a Lombardi Trophy. Securing the AFC's best record and a head-to-head tiebreaker edge over the Broncos (6-2) for home-field advantage during the postseason is a big step toward making their own imprint in NFL history just like Brady and Manning have done themselves.