Jan. 25--Peyton Manning has a routine that some people might consider old-fashioned.
Every time a great NFL player retires, the Denver Broncos quarterback sends a handwritten note thanking him for his contribution to the game.
As for Manning, who turns 40 in March, he's not done penning his own football script.
He threw two touchdown passes Sunday to help the Broncos to a 20-18 victory over New England that secured a spot in Super Bowl 50, surpassing Denver great John Elway as the NFL's oldest starting quarterback to get that far.
"There's no question this was a sweet day, a sweet victory," Manning said.
In a game that was showcased as the 17th showdown between future Hall of Famers Manning and Tom Brady, it was Denver's defense that made the difference.
Despite Brady's directing a dramatic comeback down the stretch -- throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on fourth down with 12 seconds left, and putting the Patriots in position to tie -- Denver's defense made a pivotal play that sent the orange-clad crowd into the emotional stratosphere.
Needing a two-point conversion -- and harassed by a relentless pass rush -- Brady took the shotgun snap, rolled a few steps to his right, then tried to throw across his body to Julian Edelman. Denver's Aqib Talib got a hand on the ball, however, and teammate Bradley Roby picked it off.
"It was just tough for us to ever get into a rhythm and finally to score some points here at the end," said Brady, who threw a whopping 56 passes but completed only 27, for 310 yards. "And then for it to come down to a two-point conversion is a tough way, obviously, to end the season."
The Broncos recovered the ensuing onside kick by New England, Manning took one knee to bleed the final seconds off the clock, and Denver was heading to the eighth Super Bowl in its history and the second in three years. Two years ago, Seattle posted a 43-8 victory over Manning and Co. on the game's biggest stage.
Denver improved to 8-2 in AFC title games, and 4-0 in home games against the Patriots in the postseason. The Broncos are exceptional in close games, too, going 11-3 this season in contests decided by a touchdown or less.
Sunday's game was a tour de force for Broncos linebacker Von Miller, whose 2 1/2 sacks set a club record for a postseason game. In the week leading up to the game, a reporter reminded Miller that, on average, Brady got the ball out in about two seconds.
"Sometimes, I only need like one," Miller said at the time.
He wasn't kidding. At times, the New England linemen barely slowed him, let alone neutralized him.
"Being an Aggie, I'm really proud of him," Denver Coach Gary Kubiak said of Miller, the No. 2 overall pick out of Texas A in 2011. "He's a special young man. I've known him since he was a kid. How far he's come, the man he's become, the player he's become . . . today, along with the defense, he was big time."
