Injury UpdateFast-Paced Touchdown Drive Re-Captures LeadThe flurry of scoring came to a brief rest in the second quarter as Baltimore punted twice and Denver once. The Broncos broke the stalemate with an 86-yard touchdown drive to take a 21-14 lead.
The Denver offense came out in a fast-paced no-huddle. Quarterback Peyton Manning hit wideout Demaryius Thomas for 9 yards and then he quickly handed it to Knowshon Moreno who got the first down on a 5-yard burst.
The next play gained 7 on a completion to Moreno, and then rookie running back Ronnie Hillman moved the chains with a 6-yard gain.
Still without huddling, Manning hit wide receiver Eric Decker for a second straight first down, a 10-yard gain across midfield.
Hillman gained 3 with a run on the next play. On second down, Manning faked a handoff and the defense bit. Decker, left wide open, caught a pass in the middle of the field and juked his way to a 32-yard gain down to the Baltimore 14.
Once again, Denver quickly reset and readied for the next play. This time, Manning looked for paydirt. He threw one to the back-corner of the end zone, threading the needle between a pair of converging Baltimore defenders into the diving arms of Moreno, who was lined up out wide.
It was the first postseason touchdown of Moreno’s career, giving the Broncos a 21-14 second-quarter lead with 7:26 remaining. He became the first Broncos running back to catch playoff touchdown pass since Howard Griffith did so in the ’98 AFC Title Game vs. the Jets.
The Broncos didn’t face a single third down on the drive, which took 3:35 off the clock in eight plays and 86 yards.
Broncos Respond to Tie GameThe Broncos responded to the Ravens’ two quick touchdowns with a methodical 74-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 14 on a Manning-Stokley connection.
Quarterback Peyton Manning used his two tight ends to get the offense to midfield. First, he hit Joel Dreessen for 9 yards. Then, on third down, Manning found Tamme on a short pass over the middle and the tight end darted for 21 yards.
After a short run, Manning hit wideout Eric Decker, who leaped in the air to catch a 13-yard first-down in traffic. That completion moved Denver to the Ravens 36-yard line.
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas caught the Broncos’ next first down on an 11-yard completion. Two plays later, Denver faced a pivotal third-and-8 from the 15-yard line.
Manning dropped back and threw a touch-pass to the back-right corner of the end zone. Wideout Brandon Stokley had a step on the defender and made an over-the-shoulder diving grab, touching two feet in the end zone before landing out of bounds.
The touchdown and extra point conversion tied the game at 14 with 4:02 left in the first quarter.
Manning’s 30th postseason touchdown pass tied him for sixth all-time.
Ravens Answer QuicklyFollowing Trindon Holliday’s punt return touchdown, it took the Baltimore offense just four plays to bring the game back to a tie.
Then, the Ravens defense put points on the board with a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the team a 14-7 lead.
Starting from their own 6-yard line, a 25-yard defensive pass interference penalty on third down gave the Ravens some breathing room.
A play later, from the 41-yard line, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco lofted one deep down the middle for wideout Torrey Smith, who made the catch in stride and found the end zone just a few steps later.
The 59-yard touchdown play tied the game at 7 with 10:31 to go in the first quarter.
The Broncos offense took over on the 20-yard line following the Ravens touchdown. It ran two plays before Ravens cornerback Corey Graham intercepted a Peyton Manning pass that was deflected and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown. The pass was intended for wide receiver Eric Decker.
After the defensive touchdown, the Ravens led 14-7 with 9:49 left in the first quarter.
Early Fireworks From HollidayIt didn’t take long for the crowd to erupt at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The first time a Bronco touched the ball, it resulted in a touchdown. Return man Trindon Holliday took the first punt of the game and turned it into the first points of the game, a 90-yard punt return touchdown.
The Ravens gained one first down on the game’s opening possession before the Denver defense forced a punt. On third-and-2, linebackers Wesley Woodyard and Von Miller stuffed Ravens running back Ray Rice at the line of scrimmage.
The defense would return to the field momentarily.
Wide receiver and punt returner Trindon Holliday fielded a 51-yard punt near the right hashmark of the 10-yard line. He found a hole in the Ravens’ punt coverage and surged through it, sprinting to an 90-yard punt return touchdown.
The return was the first punt return touchdown in Broncos postseason history. It came less than three minutes into the game put Denver ahead 7-0 with Matt Prater’s extra point conversion.
With just one punt return, Holliday is now fourth on the Broncos all-time postseason punt return yards list and set a franchise record for most punt return yards in a playoff game. He led the NFL in punt and kick return average (32.5) and punt return average (10.8) since Week 6 in the regular season.
Broncos Win Coin TossRepresenting the team at midfield for the coin toss were the captains: quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, cornerback Champ Bailey, linebacker Wesley Woodyard, guard Chris Kuper and the game captain, linebacker Keith Brooking.
Denver won the toss and deferred to the second half, so it started the game on defense and will start the second half on offense.
Matt Prater sent the opening kickoff through the end zone, and Baltimore opened up the game from its own 20-yard line.
The Broncos came out on defense with four down linemen – defensive end Derek Wolfe, tackles Kevin Vickerson and Justin Bannan and Dumervil at the other end.
The starting linebackers were Von Miller, Brooking and Woodyard.
In the secondary, Rahim Moore and Mike Adams were the safeties with Bailey and Chris Harris at the corners.
After the Ravens touchdown, the Denver offense came out on the field.
On the offensive line, the Broncos came out with Dan Koppen at center, Chris Kuper and Zane Beadles as the guards and Orlando Franklin and Ryan Clady as the tackles.
Wide receiver Brandon Stokley was in the slot and tight end Joel Dreessen was on the line of scrimmage. Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas were out wide.
Manning was the quarterback with Knowshon Moreno next to him at running back.
InactivesThe inactives for Saturday’s playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High have been announced. The following players will not suit up:
BRONCOS:
QB C. Hanie
WR A. Caldwell
CB T. Porter
FB C. Gronkowski
TE J. Thomas
C/G C. Davis
DT S. Siliga
RAVENS:
WR David Reed
S Omar Brown
CB Chris Johnson
OLB Adrian Hamilton
G/T Ramon Harewood
WR Deonte Thompson
DT Bryan Hall
Broncos at Patriots: QuotablesHead Coach John Fox
On the outcome of the game
“I was very proud of them. I thought they accomplished a lot. I thought they came a long ways from a 1-4 start with a football team that had no offseason, no OTAs — really I was as proud of them as any team I’ve ever coached. The New England Patriots had a little bit to do with that. They are a good football team, obviously we played them twice in a month and we’re a work in progress and we’re obviously not up to par to compete with them at this point. Not taking anything away from them – obviously they’re well-coached, they had two weeks to prepare, they were fresh. I think Brady was about as sharp as I’ve seen him. He’s a terrific quarterback anyways, but I thought he had a great night. The fact that we lost a couple safeties didn’t help.”
On bringing pressure
We reached a point there where we didn’t have enough people to match up on their multiple wideout stuff so it limited us to some point as far as playing man coverage. But that’s neither here nor there. I think they were definitely the better team tonight.
On QB Tim Tebow
“Kind of like our football team. I was really proud of where he started and where he brought this team. We are a work in progress. We’ve got a lot of work to do. That hasn’t changed for some time and as I mentioned earlier — with the two matchups we had against the New England Patriots I think it’s evident we have work to do.”
On the offense
“Every year has it’s own personality and we’re officially starting our offseason now and we’ll do whatever it takes to get better. So whether that’s scheme, personnel, all the same things the teams the teams that didn’t make the playoffs are already ahead starting on.”
Broncos at Patriots: Injury UpdatesBroncos at Patriots: Captains and StartersThe Broncos captains today are cornerback Champ Bailey, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and defensive end Elvis Dumervil, running back Willis McGahee, wide receiver Matthew Willis, guard Russ Hochstein. Denver called heads, won the toss and chose to defer to the second half.
The Broncos started in their nickel package with defensive linemen Brodrick Bunkley, Marcus Thomas and Elvis Dumervil, linebackers Von Miller, Joe Mays and D.J. Williams, cornerbacks Champ Bailey, Andre’ Goodman and Chris Harris and safeties Quinton Carter and David Bruton.
On offense, Denver opened with quarterback Tim Tebow, running back Willis McGahee, offensive linemen Ryan Clady, Zane Beadles, J.D. Walton, Russ Hochstein and Orlando Franklin, tight ends Virgil Green, Daniel Fells and Dante Rosario and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.