Manning puts on clinic and Prater accounts for 14 points

Penalized for holding is greater than risking a sack. Peyton Manning escaped the AFC Championship game without a sack and easily erased penalty yards for an offensive line guilty of holding at least on three occassions.
Manning led an offense which totaled 507 yards, kicker Matt Prater accounted for 14 points, the Broncos’ defense kept Brady in check, and Denver beat the New England Patriots 26-16 on Sunday evening in the AFC Championship Game at Sports Authority Field in Mile High Stadium.
The victory sends the Broncos (15-3) to Super Bowl XLVIII where they will meet the Seattle Seahawks in two weeks in the Meadowlands of New Jersey.
Manning, who has thrown for an NFL record 55 touchdowns and passed for 5,477 yards, nabbed the MVP award on a near perfect day, including his 400 yards of passing on 32/43 attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
He hooked up with several receivers, including main target receiver Demaryius Thomas who finished with seven receptions, totaling 134 yards and a touchdown. Finding Thomas over the middle of the field is where Manning and the Broncos were most effective.
Manning explained, it’s rewarding when you’ve put in a lot of hard work, and the Broncos had to overcome a lot of obstacles.  But this is a great win.
Prater, who accounted for 14 of the Broncos’ 26 points, was clutch on the day, helping add misery to New England’s chances, as he connected on four field goals including 27, 35, 19 and 54 yards.
Covering the wide outs and the sideline seemed most important to the Patriots. 
Unfortunately for Brady, who was 24/38 for 277 yards and a touchdown, wasn’t as crisp as Manning and missed a couple of huge opportunities.
Receiver Julian Edelman caught 10 of Brady’s passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Denver led 3-0 on the strength of Matt Prater’s 27-yard field goal and later built a 10-0 lead after tying its longest possession of the season, capping a 93-yard drive on Manning’s one-yard scoring pass to Jacob Tamme with 7:50 left.
New England (13-5) faced an uphill battle but managed three points after Brady worked down field.   
Brady and company wouldn’t go quietly; driving in the Broncos’ territory, settling for a Stephen Gostkowski 47-yard field goal after defensive end Robert Ayers sacked Brady for a 12-yard loss. That pulled the Patriots within a touchdown, 10-3.
Later, Manning kept the pressure on the Seahawks, tossing a three-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with 7:52 left in the third quarter.
With kind words from Brady, They’re a great team. They play great at home. Manning played great.  
Brady had one more touchdown, a five yarder, but time became a factor.
 
 

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