Pats vs Broncos Prediction (Playoff Edition)

I feel like I have written this post before...oh wait, I have.

It was only a few short weeks ago when these two teams met in Denver. As we all know, the Pats struggled early and then took advantage of some key turnovers, mostly fumbles, en route to a 41-23 victory.

As we all know, everybody is talking about Tim Tebow this week. Everybody seems to say he sucks and can't throw the ball, but when he throws a 10 yard pass to Demarius Thomas (who then sprints 70 yards to beat the Steelers) the man all of a sudden becomes the chosen one. Like he can do anything; walk on water, cure the sick, turn water in wine, blah blah blah. Tim Tebow is still Tim Tebow. He struggles in the passing game. Force him to throw the ball. You can let the Broncos run the ball all they want, but Tebow is going to have to make a couple big plays with his arm to win this game.

Lets start on the defensive side. You need to get pressure on Tebow when he drops back to pass and contain him inside the pocket so he can't scramble. Player to watch on D this week is Big Vince/Kyle Love. You need to get pressure up front from these two, force their guards to block them so Mayo and Spikes (both of whom should make a huge impact in stopping the run game Saturday night) are free to make plays. Plain and simple. Yes, McCourty is still going to have to play a whole lot better than he did during the regular season. Now with Eric Decker out, the Broncos really only have once threat at receiver; Thomas.

On offense, I'm not going to get fancy or cute here. Tom Brady needs to be Tom Brady. The Pats have sucked it up in the playoffs for the past two seasons all because of Tom. He has played like crap, which means the offense can't get going, which leads to three and outs, which leads to a tired defense who gives up tons of points, which leads to a 1 and done in the playoffs. I don't care if they double welker, or take away Gronk, or focus on Hernandez. Like Aaron said earlier this week "they have to pick their poison." The Broncos aren't going to take all three out of the game. Brady will find the open man and lead this offense to a crap ton of points Saturday night. They need to score early and often. If they can accomplish that, this game could be over early.

Pats win 38-10. See you next Sunday for the AFC Championship game.

Oh. And by the way, don't think Josh McDaniels isn't going to have an impact on this game. I love that they brought him back. Absolutely love it. The Broncos can all they want that McDaniels doesn't matter. Come on, this guy was the head of the Broncos like 13 months ago. Of course this is going to be in the back of the minds of John Fox, Tim Tebow, and the rest of the team. Josh drafted Tebow and Thomas, both in the first round. He obviously knows these two inside and out. The facts might not come out about how much impact McDaniels had this week, but you better believe that he is lickin his chops ready to stick it to his old team.

Posted in: NFL,V