The AFC Championship game is set in the NFL playoffs with the Denver Broncos hosting the New England Patriots next Sunday. The Patriots won over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, while the Broncos won over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in the divisional round.
The Patriots won over the Chiefs 27-20 after taking a 21-6 lead in the game, while the Broncos edged by the Steelers 23-16. Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger went back and forth without too much success and the game was 13-9 in the third before Denver added another field goal to take a 16-9 lead. Manning was starting for the first time since sitting down because of a foot injury and while he did not look great, he got the job done with 222 passing yards.
The biggest turning point of the game came when Fitzgerald Toussaint fumbled in the fourth quarter and it was recovered by DeMarcus Ware. The Broncos eventually scored on that drive with a rushing touchdown from CJ Anderson and added a two-point conversion to Demaryius Thomas to take a 20-13 lead.
The Steelers had a chance to tie the game on the next drive, but the team could not convert on fourth down and gave the ball back to the Broncos. The Steelers got the ball back one more time and kicked a field goal, but after that they could not get an onside kick and the Broncos were able to run out the clock to get the win.
Brady and Manning will face off for the 17th time and it comes after the two missed a matchup earlier in the season with Manning injured. Brady had 302 passing yards for the Patriots, while Julian Edelman had 100 yards receiving against the Chiefs. The NFC has the Carolina Panthers playing the Arizona Cardinals after the teams won over the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers over the divisional round weekend.
