- [Narrator] It's January 24th, 2016.
We're in Denver, Colorado
for the closing seconds of the AFC Championship game.
The New England Patriots are set to attempt
a two point conversion that, if successful, forces overtime.
But if the Denver Broncos can get a stop,
then they're off to Super Bowl 50.
If those stakes aren't enough,
today marks what is most likely the conclusion
to one of the most remarkable chapters in NFL history.
You know the drill. Let's rewind.
(light music)
This is Tom Brady.
Perhaps you've heard of him.
Right now, the Patriots' quarterback
is looking to stay alive
in order to ruin the potential storybook ending
for Denver's QB and Tom's longtime rival, Peyton Manning.
This matchup is the storyline.
While he hasn't stated it for himself,
the expectation is that these playoffs
are Manning's last hoorah.
The fact that as part of it,
we're getting another high stakes round
of Peyton versus Brady is far too fitting.
They've had a respectful rivalry,
like the NFL's Magic verse Bird,
two legends battling it out during their prime
and therefore forcing everyone
to question which one is better.
Peyton hit the league first.
The Colts made Manning the number one pick back in 1998.
And while he has had a career loaded
with record breaking performances throwing an absurd amount
of insert whatever passing statistic you want here,
it's Peyton's mental approach to the game
that has allowed him to revolutionize quarterback play.
Manning is the reason that audibling
at the line of scrimmage has become the norm.
That said, no one does it like him.
His incomparable ability to diagnose a defense
then conduct his offense to pick it apart play after play,
it's notable enough to have become a meme
in both senses of the word.
There's a good chance he knows
an opposing defensive scheme better
than some of the defenders do themselves.
And Manning will repeatedly force them
to show their hand before the ball is snapped.
That's part of the reason Peyton has racked up
a ludicrous number of League MVP awards
to go along with the lengthy list of other accolades,
trophies, records, you get it.
Now, if there's been a knock against Manning, it's this,
one Super Bowl victory in three appearances.
That lone win gets minimized further by his contemporaries.
Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh has two.
Little brother, Eli, somehow has a pair as well.
But no one can compare to Brady.
Tom's success has done the impossible
in making it seem easy or even expected
for a great quarterback to win multiple Lombardi trophies.
For many, that is the reason Brady edges Manning
in the great debate.
If you prefer comparing head-to-head record,
Brady's had the upper hand there as well.
Shit, Tom's first career start was a win
over Manning's Colts.
Brady or Bill Belichick's game planning wizardry
became the thorn in Peyton's side.
The Pats even rolled past the Colts
on the way to back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
Those early years though,
rarely could anyone stop the New England juggernaut.
Their first six matchups all went Brady's way
and for the most part, weren't close.
The Pats won by an average 14 plus points.
But after that early run,
the head-to-head began evening out.
Regular season Colt's victories in '05 and '06
set the table for a third playoff battle,
their second AFC Championship showdown.
Not only did Manning lead Indy
to 32 second half points to cap off a wild comeback,
a comeback that gave New England
its first ever AFC title game loss,
but two weeks later, Peyton got his first and only ring.
After a seven year wait to meet again in the post-season,
Peyton notched another win -
his first as a Bronco.
So while Brady from an overall record standpoint
has owned this rivalry,
the tables have turned as far
as who's had the upper hand in the playoffs.
While one more showdown won't change either
of these guys' legacies,
today marks a fitting end to a rivalry
that has pushed each legend throughout his career.
One of these guys will be playing in yet another Super Bowl,
one of them could be playing in his final game, period,
and one of them is facing a do or die two-point conversion.
And as weird as it sounds,
Tom Brady and the Patriots with this play
are trying to prove last year wasn't a fluke.
Yes, this 2015 season marked the 13th in a row
where New England won double digit games.
They captured their seventh straight AFC East title,
they're playing in their fifth consecutive AFC championship,
and most importantly,
they are the defending Super Bowl champions.
That's the sort of shit you think of
when you picture Belichick and Brady in New England.
But after winning three and four years,
a nine year drought followed where the Pats' only pair
of Super Bowl appearances saw Peyton's little brother
pull off some fairly shocking upsets,
and those big stage failures overshadow
some even more embarrassing early exits.
Mark Sanchez, man.
Just consider what the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy
had to say following their latest playoff defeat
in January, 2014.
The AFC East turned the Pats into a mirage.
Yes, they won those early championships,
but their greatness wilted
and fans needed to accept their true modern form.
And then, as you know, they won Super Bowl 49.
So what happened?
Well, for the most part, they just stayed on their course.
Belichick splashed a little bit in free agency,
primarily giving the secondary a makeover
that helped solidify this defense
as one of the best in the league.
Offensively, the biggest thing was getting a healthy
or healthier Rob Gronkowski,
one of the most unstoppable forces in the league.
Brady, wisened with age,
leaned on Gronk and Julian Edelman
to form more or less a three-headed offense.
The main difference between this team
and the ones which forced Shaughnessy to lament,
the breaks went their way.
Yes, the Malcolm Butler goal line interception
being the biggest one,
but they also stepped up to finish off
the Ravens in the divisional round.
That was the sort of game
that New England had struggled most to close out.
So the Patriots of old returned,
but for how long this time?
Well, any questions surrounding this team
were answered very quickly
by a 10 game win streak to start 2015.
This team, once again, or still, is very good
and it's returned to the point
of being boring as to how good they are.
That said, if they're so good,
why are we in Denver right here?
So remember the Pats' 10 game win streak to open 2015?
Well, would you look at who snapped it.
Denver won an overtime dog fight,
which put them one game back of New England
with five to play.
For four weeks, the Patriots couldn't break away,
the Broncos couldn't gain ground
and New England controlled their destiny entering week 17.
But whether the Pats focused on avoiding injuries
or not showing too much before the postseason,
a conservative game plan allowed the five-win Dolphins
to pull off an upset in that finale.
And later in the afternoon
when the Broncos held off San Diego,
the AFC's top seed went to Denver.
That meant once each team got through the divisional round,
the table was set for a rematch right here.
And the NFL's scriptwriters nailed this moment,
considering Denver's identity is their defense.
But part of why this moment means so much to the Broncos
is the legacy of their quarterback.
Yes, he's a surefire Hall of Famer,
but the last few years could leave a little bit
of a stink on that storied career.
The first half of Peyton's time in Denver was incredible.
He came back from multiple neck surgeries
to set passing records within a prolific offense
that marched into the Super Bowl.
But a gut punch from Seattle began to unravel the Broncos.
A season later, in 2014,
if you looked within Denver's impressive 12 and 4 record,
you saw two defined halves.
The first a gun slinging, hyper-efficient,
vintage Peyton Manning.
The second, well, the QB looked much closer to his age,
inevitable, yet hard to digest.
While never mistaken for a mobile quarterback,
Manning struggled to avoid pressure,
which when paired with diminished arm strength,
made for some rough results.
After they lost their only playoff game,
the Broncos saw their window shrinking.
The 2015 offseason proved pivotal.
Denver cleaned out the coaching staff
and incoming head coach, Gary Kubiak,
saw the value in molding his offense
to fit this version of Manning.
But really what helped Manning and the franchise most
was the guy brought in to lead the defense.
Wade Phillips took over a star studded menacing group
that could harass at every level.
Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware crashed down from the edge.
Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall added
a one-two punch at inside linebacker.
And then the true stars of this show,
a terrorizing secondary nicknamed the No-Fly Zone.
Sometimes it's hard to quantify which defense
is number one in the league.
But in 2015, Denver made sure no one
could debate their place at the top.
Unfortunately, for the Broncos
that defense proved extremely necessary.
In week one, they recorded
the only Denver touchdown of the day.
In week two, the offense, again,
couldn't surpass 300 total yards,
but that defense notched five takeaways.
Across the first seven games,
Peyton struggled unlike he ever had since his rookie year,
11 picks to go with just seven touchdowns,
yet Denver kept winning,
seven straight to start the year.
But then Peyton's wheels got tired
of wobbling and just fell off.
During a loss to the Colts,
Manning partially tore his plantar fascia.
And when he tried to play through it a week later,
put together his worst game ever,
which he only needed one half to do
because he's nothing if not efficient.
That's where this Robert Pattison lookalike stepped in.
Brock Osweiler helped buoy the offense.
Perfect? No.
But he did enough while Peyton healed up.
After getting the start in that big win against New England,
he helped Denver edge past another AFC front runner.
A loss to the Bengals there would've cost Denver
their shot at homefield advantage in the playoffs.
Now, Osweiler's follow up performance
did nearly cost Denver that chance.
Three first half turnovers
plus a bum shoulder opened the door
for a now healthy Peyton.
And when Manning led a Broncos comeback
to secure the top seed, there was no going back.
This was his team.
With that defense plus a great ground game,
Denver was built for the playoffs.
Sure, the same could be said a year ago,
but they survived their first challenge this time around.
That's what set up the showdown with New England,
one where Denver actually ended up as home underdogs.
While, Peyton didn't bite leading up to the game,
many wondered about the future on his behalf.
Could his incredible career end in storybook fashion?
Well, if this score doesn't change,
he and the Broncos will have that chance.
Granted, they could have locked up
that Super Bowl trip moments ago.
In the first 17 minutes tonight,
a pair of Manning to Owen Daniels touchdowns
sandwiched a Steven Jackson score.
But from there, the defenses settled in.
Field goals were all either offense could muster,
and as the game crept along,
Denver held an eight point lead
with 10 minutes left in regulation.
That's when all of our main characters turned
into caricatures of themselves.
Cornered with no option but a touchdown,
the Pats' offense finally got things moving again,
11 plays dinking and dunking across 64 yards.
But once everyone faced a fourth and one,
New England went for some razzle dazzle
while Denver just went for the ball.
After the Broncos finally corralled Edelman down,
Brady's expression made it pretty clear for all of us
what it's like to face that defense.
But then it was Peyton and the offense's turn
to play their role in our theatrics.
They delivered their fifth three-and-out of the game.
Again, the Patriots found success,
marching straight down to the red zone.
And again facing fourth down,
the Broncos' defense came up big.
Peyton thanked those defenders with one more three-and-out.
After a 16 yard punt return from Edelman,
the Pats found themselves at midfield
with a minute 52 to score.
First down: incompletion, second down: incompletion,
third down: again, incompletion.
That meant the Pats had a fourth and 10 to stay alive.
If Denver held here, that's game.
But instead, Brady went deep to his favorite target.
Gronkowski somehow burst up the seam
with two defenders trailing.
This is the body language of a guy exhausted
from catching seven for 140,
a monstrous performance that wasn't over.
After a pair of incompletions and a six yard gain,
the Pats faced their fourth fourth-down of this quarter.
17 seconds left, one more chance
for the Broncos' defense to end it,
everyone knew who Brady would be looking for
and the pass rush forced him to toss this duck
which floated towards the end zone
where Gronkowski magically appeared
between a pair of orange jerseys,
somehow staying in bounds on the play.
For as amazing as the Broncos' defense
has been all year and today,
no one had an answer for this guy.
And with that, we find ourselves here,
Patriots needing two to tie,
Broncos needing one stop for a Super Bowl berth.
In a vacuum, today has been a true battle
between two incredible teams.
The defending champions still have a chance
to keep their season alive,
a season they hope can show they're not slowing down.
For the entire Broncos team,
a win marches them one step closer
to finishing what they started a few seasons back.
Lofty hopes that wouldn't have been possible
without their quarterback.
While he's not on the field, this moment is his.
It could be Manning's final battle
with a very familiar rival
or his final chance at capturing another Super Bowl.
Manning and the Broncos need just one more stop.
Against the Patriots, easier said than done.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Commentator] Here's Brady.
Rolling out, rolling and rolling,
it's kept in the air, and it's intercepted.
It's intercepted by Roby.
He lost the football back at the 20, but it doesn't matter.
And the Denver defense saves it at the end.
(subtle ding)
- [Narrator] Hey, thanks for watching
and happy football to you.
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