Broncos Can't Solve Brady

The Denver Broncos entered today's game with the New England Patriots with a new feeling of hope that they now have a quarterback that can compete with the Patriot's Tom Brady.

Both quarterbacks put up big numbers, but Brady's defense came up with stops when it had to, and preserved the win.

Peyton Manning showed that he is still capable of competing with Brady. He finished the game 31/44 for 351 yards with three touchdowns. Denver finished the game with 402 total yards but their lack of a consistent run game and their struggles on third down (7/13) would not allow them to keep pace with Brady and the Patriots.

Tom Brady, on the other hand, was surgeon-like in his dismantling of the Denver defense. Brady finished the game with 223 yards while going 23/31 with a single touchdown. And while his numbers don't seem as big as Manning's, Brady was far more efficient.

The Patriots converted 11 of 17 third downs and finished the game with a whopping 35 first downs.

Patriot wide receiver Wes Welker finished the game with 13 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown and running back Stevan Ridley ran for 151 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

In the past three games against New England going back to last December the Denver defense has allowed 117 points to the Patriots.

The Patriots improve to 3-2 on the season and stand alone in first place in the AFC East. New England will now travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks next Sunday.

Denver falls to 2-3 and continues to trail the 3-1 San Diego Chargers in the AFC West. The Broncos and Chargers will face off in a very important divisional game next Monday night.

Denver 21 New England 31 Final