What We Learned: Patriots vs. Broncos

Courtesy of The Associated Press

People always make so much of being the hot team at the right time. While I don't disagree with that as far as this game is concerned, you really have to look at everything that the New England Patriots had to overcome.

There wasn't a great receiving corps. Names like Edelman, Slater and Amendola don't strike fear in the hearts of secondaries in the NFL. I'd bet my savings on it. They just didn't have that one weapon that could keep them in today's game where Peyton Manning made Demaryius Thomas look like Marvin Harrison out there. Crucify me for that comparison if you want. It's what I saw.

Photo Courtesy of The Associated Press

The Patriots just had too many injuries to overcome. Losing Aqib Talib hurt a secondary that already didn't have answers with him on the field. Guys like Tommy Kelly and Jerrod Mayo were also missed severely as the Patriots didn't have much of a pass rush against one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Still, you can say all of that about New England. But Denver still had to capitalize on the opportunities given. The defense didn't give Brady much of a chance to make plays. Sure, he did have a few overthrown passes, but there weren't many opportunities to get the ball down the field. The Broncos' passing game was just hard to stop. Period. By the time the middle of the third quarter came, the Broncos were already clicking on all cylinders.

Congrats to the Denver Broncos and their fans! Enjoy these next two weeks and be sure to bundle up. It's going to be cold in MetLife Stadium.