Broncos vs. Patriots: 4 Things Denver Must Do to Shock the World in New England

The Denver Broncos were big underdogs against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild-Card Round, and that ended up working out just fine for them.

Since the Broncos are big underdogs once again against the New England Patriots, they have 'em right where they want 'em, right?

Not exactly. The Patriots destroyed the Broncos when they played them during the regular season, and they could easily destroy them again in the Divisional Round. They simply have too many advantages.

But nothing is impossible. If the Broncos do what they have to, they could easily pull off a second straight monumental upset.

As for what they have to do, there are four things that strike me as being of paramount importance.

Get the Ball to Demaryius Thomas

Getting the ball to Demaryius Thomas is one thing we know that Tim Tebow can do in the passing game. Thomas is his favorite target, and there is a reason for that.

Thomas is a threat to go the distance every time he catches the ball. That's not necessarily because he's a speedster. Thomas has fine speed, but what makes him dangerous is his knack for getting open and eluding the defense.

To see what I mean, all you need to do is go back and look at Thomas' game-winning touchdown catch in overtime against the Steelers.

Against the Patriots, the Broncos will be going up against one of the flimsiest secondaries in the NFL. The Pats gave up over 290 passing yards per game during the regular season and were routinely torched by stud wide receivers.

Thomas will be given the task of being the next man to do the trick. If he can produce a handful of big plays, the Patriots are going to find things a little too close for comfort.

Give Tom Brady the Ben Roethlisberger Treatment

Like a group of sharks smelling blood in the water, the Broncos really got after Big Ben on Sunday. They were putting the pressure on him the whole game, testing him and his wounded ankle every time he dropped back to pass.

By the end of the day, the Broncos had sacked Big Ben five times and he fumbled the ball once.

The Broncos need to put the same kind of pressure on Tom Brady. They only managed two sacks against him when these two teams played back in Week 15 and Brady ended up throwing for over 300 yards.

Putting the clamps on Brady's array of pass-catchers would be one way to stop New England's offense, but it's much easier to pressure Brady and force him to make bad passes.

However, there is a catch.

Be Careful with Blitzes

Brady is as vulnerable as any quarterback against a good pass rush, but he's better than most against the blitz. He knows when to get the ball out.

It helps that Brady has a number of options when the blitz comes. He can easily get the ball to one of his two great tight ends, and Wes Welker is always Johnny on the spot.

If the Broncos sacrifice coverage to feed their pass rush too often, they're going to pay for it. It will be up to them to determine how many blitzes are too many and how many are just enough, and then they'll have to walk that tightrope all game long.

The one guy the Broncos do want to be aggressive with is Von Miller. There's no reason they should deny him the chance to do what he does best.

Trust in Tim Tebow

Last week, the idea of trusting Tim Tebow to do anything was awfully dicey.

But hey, you have to give credit where it's due, and Tebow deserves credit for his performance against the Steelers. It wasn't as great as some people are making it out to be, but it was pretty solid.

The general notion is that Tebow played a poor game against the Pats the first time around, but he was actually pretty good. He completed half of his passes for 194 yards and racked up an additional 93 yards on the ground. The only mistake he made was losing a fumble.

The Broncos didn't lose because Tebow was awful. They lost because their defense was no match for Brady and the Pats.

If Denver's defense plays better on Saturday, Tebow merely has to do his thing on the offensive side of the ball. The key will be for him to make just enough big plays while avoiding any catastrophic mistakes.

That's what he did last week, and that's what he'll have to do this week.