At age 45, Tom Brady has (hopefully) announced his retirement for the last time. Brady and the Denver Broncos have clashed many times over the years, most of the games resulting in classic quarterback duels, championship matchups and memorable moments. Brady finished his career 9-9 against Denver, 8-6 in the regular season and 1-3 in the postseason.
Broncos fans love to hate Brady, whose face often makes appearances on the Ball Arena Jumbotron to make fans boo louder.
In honor of Brady’s retirement, we’re taking a look back at his five most memorable losses to Denver.
We will not do this series again, in the chance that Brady pulls a Brett Favre, which is immortalized by this hilarious This is SportsCenter sketch.
2005 AFC divisional game
The New England Patriots were just coming off of their early 2000s dynasty, winning Super Bowls in 2001, 2003 and 2004. The Broncos were coming off of their first AFC West title since the 1998 Super Bowl season, and the Patriots came into Denver with championship confidence.
The Broncos proceeded to dismantle New England, a 27-13 affair highlighted by Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey’s third-quarter interception of Brady, which resulted in a 100-yard, goal-line-to-goal-line sprint that led to a Mike Anderson touchdown that put Denver ahead for good.
2009 Week 5 game
In former Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniels’ first matchup against the Patriots after Mike Shanahan’s dismissal, Denver limited Brady to 19-of-33 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-17 overtime win. Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton finished 35-of-48 for 330 yards passing with two touchdowns to receiver Brandon Marshall and one interception. Kicker Matt Prater booted a 41-yard field goal in overtime to secure the W.
The jerseys for this Week 5 game were inspired by the AFL inception of both clubs.
2013 AFC championship
The 2013 Broncos were the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, eclipsing the 2007 Patriots’ record. It comes as no surprise that this game marked yet another milestone in the Peyton Manning-Tom Brady rivalry. Manning came out on top, leading the Broncos to Super Bowl XLVIII against the Seattle Seahawks. Manning finished the game 32-of-43 for exactly 400 yards and two touchdowns; one to Demaryius Thomas and one to Jacob Tamme.
2015 Week 12 game
It was a cold and blustery night the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2015 when the Broncos met the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler got the start against New England, and rallied the Broncos back after a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, to pull even at 24 at the end of regulation.
The game went to overtime, where CJ Anderson tiptoed the sideline on a 48-yard touchdown run that won the game. This win was crucial en route to the final game on our list…
2015 AFC championship
The final Brady-Manning showdown was one to remember. The 2016 AFC Championship game was held in Denver by virtue of the November overtime win. Who knows if history changes if this game is played at Foxboro. Of teams that Brady faced more than twice in the postseason, the Broncos had the second-best record against him (3-1), with only Eli Manning’s Giants having a better win percentage (2-0).
Denver’s defense was in Brady’s face at all times, sacking Brady four times and forcing two interceptions by Von Miller and Darian Stewart. The game came down to the wire, then the Broncos thwarted a Brady throw on a two-point conversion to seal the win. This win propelled Denver to its most recent Super Bowl victory.
