Jan. 24--A relentless Denver defense staved off a furious rally by New England on Sunday, and the Broncos are headed for their eighth Super Bowl.
The Broncos picked off a two-point conversion pass by Tom Brady in the waning seconds to hold on for a 20-18 victory before a euphoric, orange-clad crowd at Sports Authority Field.
The Patriots, providing next to no protection for Brady, pulled into position to tie with 17 seconds remaining when tight end Rob Gronkowski pulled in a four-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to two points.
Then came a huge play on the conversion, with Aqib Talib deflecting a cross-body pass by Brady, and Bradley Roby reeling in the interception.
Denver recovered New England's last-gasp onside kick try, Peyton Manning took one knee, and it was over.
"We've got one more game to go, and then we'll have a parade," elated Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders said, referring to Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara.
Manning is heading to his fourth Super Bowl -- and has a chance to tie his brother, Eli, with a second ring.
But Sunday's game was a tour de force for a smothering Denver defense, and in particular linebacker Von Miller, who set a club postseason record with 2 1/2 sacks in the game.
Both offenses struggled to establish a rhythm. In fact, through three quarters, the two longest runs of the game were by plodding Manning (12 yards) and Brady (11).
The Broncos improved to 8-2 in AFC title games, and 4-0 in home games against the Patriots in the postseason.
Denver held a 17-9 lead after two quarters thanks to two Manning touchdown passes to tight end Owen Daniels, and a 52-yard field goal by Brandon McManus just before halftime.
The Broncos also picked off Brady twice on ill-advised throws -- interceptions by Miller and safety Darian Stewart.
The Patriots got the benefit of a turnover too, and turned it into their only touchdown of the half. Late in the first quarter, Manning dropped back and threw a screen in the direction of Ronnie Hillman that caromed off the turf and was grabbed by a New England defender. That seemed to be the end of the play.
However, the Patriots challenged the call, arguing Manning's was a backward pass and therefore the ball should have been a fumble. The replay backed up their argument, and officials awarded the Patriots the ball at the Denver 22.
Two plays later, Steven Jackson ran behind his right guard and into the end zone -- the first touchdown of his 12-year career. Then came something similarly rare: Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra-point attempt. It was the first such miss for Gostkowski since 2006 -- snapping a string of 523 successful point-after kicks (although the vast majority of those came before those kicks were moved back this season).
