AFC Championship Capsule
NEW ENGLAND (13-4) at DENVER (13-4)
Sunday, 3:05 p.m. ET
OPENING LINE - Patriots by 3 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD - New England 8-7-2, Denver 9-7-1
SERIES RECORD - Broncos lead 29-21
LAST MEETING - Broncos beat Patriots 30-24, OT, Nov. 29, 2015
LAST WEEK - Patriots beat Chiefs 27-20; Broncos beat Steelers 23-16
AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 5, Broncos No. 2.
PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (30), PASS (5).
PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (9), RUSH (9), PASS (17).
BRONCOS OFFENSE - OVERALL (16), RUSH (17), PASS (14).
BRONCOS DEFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (3), PASS (1).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - New England making 12th appearance in conference title game, including fifth straight. Only teams with more appearances are Pittsburgh and San Francisco (15), and Dallas (14). ... This is meeting No. 17 between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Brady is 11-5 against Manning's teams and 2-2 in postseason. ... Brady is 2-6 in Denver. ... Denver is 3-1 in postseason against New England and beat Patriots 26-16 in AFC title game on Jan. 19, 2014. ... Bill Belichick and Brady have most postseason wins (22) by coach-QB tandem. ... Brady is all-time postseason leader in yards passing (7,647), TDs (55), completions (711) and attempts (1,127). ... Rob Gronkowski only tight end in NFL history with five seasons of at least 10 TDs. ... LB Jamie Collins led New England in tackles for second straight season, hurt back in win over Chiefs. ... WR Julian Edelman has 52 catches for 554 yards and two scores in past six playoff games. ... Owner Robert Kraft has won four Super Bowls since purchasing Patriots in 1994. His team has 25 career postseason wins, third most by an owner behind Rooney family with Pittsburgh (34) and Green Bay Packers (32), who are community owned. ... K Stephen Gostkowski has 126 points in postseason, fourth all-time among kickers. Adam Vinatieri leads list with 234. ... Broncos looking to earn eighth Super Bowl berth, which would tie Dallas, New England and Pittsburgh for most. ... Broncos are 16-5 at home in playoffs. ... Manning is second in postseason history in yards passing (7,022), completions (619) and attempts (972). ... Manning tied Brett Favre for most regular season wins (186) by starting QB this season. ... WR Demaryius Thomas had 105 catches and 1,304 yards receiving in regular season to become first in team history with four straight 1,200-yard seasons. ... Broncos were No. 1 in total defense (283.1 yards per game) and pass defense (199.6). ... Broncos' roster contains 45 players who've appeared in combined 206 playoff games. ... Broncos are 7-2 in AFC championship games. ... Denver is 10-3 in games decided by seven or fewer points this season. ... Since GM John Elway took over in 2011, Broncos have second-most wins (58) in regular season. ... Vernon Davis is one TD away from tying Gronkowski for most in postseason by tight end, eight.
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