The Comeback

Patriots 34, Broncos 31 in OT. This game was a tale of 2 halfs. The Pats were totally inept in the 1st half, falling behind 24-0. 3 turnovers, including another fumble by Stevan Ridley, made life for Peyton Manning's Broncos pretty easy. But the Pats roared back in the 2nd half with 4 straight touchdowns & a field goal to take a 31-24 lead. Manning got the Broncos a tying score at 31-31 before the end of regulation. In OT Bill Belichick declined to receive the ball first & opt for field position with the wind, allowing Peyton & company the first chance to win. It was not to be. In fact neither team could score on it's first 3 possessions. The winning field goal by Gostkowski was set-up by a huge error on a punt to Wes Welker & his teammates. Instead of fair catching the ball, Welker let it bounce & the ball hit his teammate. Nate Ebner landed on the ball to recover for the Pats. 2 plays later it was over, a hard fought 34-31 win. The post-game shows criticized Welker for not fair catching the last punt in traffic & with a tricky wind. They also criticized Manning for not trying to win the game in OT when Aqib Talib went out for a few plays. Instead, Manning stuck to a safe ground game which produced no points. A very courageous, blue-collar effort by every Patriot player on both sides of the ball, many whom were fill-ins for the injured. Even Belichick said there were many heroes. High praise from Bill. A great come-from-behind win. Spot Denver 24 points again & that result would never happen in another 99 out of 99 times. This was our 1 out of 100. We are getting spoiled in New England.