AFC Championship Preview: 5 Reasons Denver Will Win

It’s a home game for Denver, and in light of the recent changes to marijuana laws in Colorado, there is every reason to believe the Broncos will be in control of the joint.

If you’re a football fan then this AFC Championship matchup will bring much happiness to your life.  Arguably the 2 greatest quarterbacks to ever throw the pigskin are facing off in what will definitely be a game for the ages. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have built a pretty storied rivalry during their tenures in the NFL.  Brady has dominated the head-to-head matchups winning 10 of the 14 battles the two have endured.  This game has even more excitement behind it because of how Manning just broke Brady’s single season touchdowns record that he had set back in his near perfect season in 2007 (I imagine that every Giants fan will be chuckling after reading that line).  In their one matchup this season, Brady led the Patriots to an impressive 24-point deficit comeback to win 34-31 in OT in what was my favorite game of the season…although I would have preferred to see a different result.  Based on the history of their rivalry and Brady’s playoff dominance year in and year out, there is no logical explanation why I should be picking the Broncos to win but here are my 5 reasons why they will.

Left to right, Peyton’s support team:
“Balls like mellons”
“and a dick THIS BIG!”
“and he can get it up”

1.  Denver’s receiving core is one of the greatest ever:  Denver has assembled a receiving core with talent that hasn’t been seen since the greatest show on turf.   With Demaryius  Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas, it is near impossible to double team anyone.  Add that in with the fact that the best quarterback ever is throwing to them and I don’t even see how this team lost 3 games this year.  With a secondary ranked in the bottom half of the league, the Patriots can expect to see Manning throw for at least 350 yards in this one.

Hey guys – one of you find my glove? Ramirez, what’s that black thing hanging out of your as… Ahhhh Jeeezz!

2.  Peyton needs this win more than Brady:  As a die-hard Jets fan, I find it very hard to write anything positive about Tom Brady, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t the best playoff QB I’ve ever seen.  When Mo Lewis ended Drew Bledsoe’s career and started the career of a no name kid from Michigan there was no looking back.  Tom Brady has proven time and again that he is clutch in every sense of the word.  Peyton on the other hand has had record-breaking season after record-breaking season but outside of his one Super Bowl win, he has been a pretty disappointing playoff QB.  That won’t be the case this year because Peyton knows this will be one if his final chances to match his little brothers ring total.

Yeah, that’s right Peyton, BRYLCREEM! You got something to say?

3.  Home field advantage means a lot:  While Brady and the Pats got the best of the Broncos in a big overtime comeback this season, that game was played in Foxborough.  This AFC Championship game will be played in the Mile High Stadium.  Denver fans are rowdy and will be doing their darndest to get in to Brady and his minions heads.  Peyton will have the calming and quieting respect from the fans so he can audible all fucking day if he wants to and when he has that power he is an unstoppable force keeping defenses on their toes.  While the temperatures aren’t favorable for Peyton’s reputation, he has recently shown that he can put up Manning-esque numbers even in the worst of weather.

What Denver does not want to hear is the Pitty Pats-er of running feet.

4.  Rush defense trumps rush offense:  Who would have thought that the Patriots could put up the type of performance they did last week without Brady throwing even one TD?  Bill “spy gate” Belicheck has found himself in control of a very solid 3-headed running attack with Lagarrett Blount, Steven Ridley and Shane Vereen giving opposing defenses a lot of different looks.  Unfortunately for the Pats, the Broncos have a better than average Rush D that ranked 8th in total yards allowed this year.  With the Broncos front 7 and the fact that Peyton will be running up the scoreboard, Brady will be forced to throw a lot more than he probably would like too and unfortunately for him, he does not have nearly the type of offensive weapons that Peyton has at his disposal.

So I’d like to know where, you got the Knowshon
Said I’d like to know where, you got the Knowshon
To rock the boat, don’t rock the boat, baby
Rock the boat, don’t tip the boat over
Rock the boat, don’t rock the boat baby
Rock the boat-t-t-t-t.

5.  Knowshon Moreno is going to go off:  This is simple; the Patriots have the 30th ranked rush defense in the NFL and Knowshon Moreno has been showing off his talents that none of us have seen since his years in Georgia.  With the amount of spread formations and 4 wide receiver sets that the Broncos offense presents, Moreno will find himself in a very favorable situation quite often.  I am expecting Knowshon to go off for over 120 yards in this game and in my mind he will be the ultimate deciding factor for the Broncos to get that W.