Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick knows all of the different challenges that Peyton Manning will pose to his defense on Sunday.

One of those challenges is the way Manning utilizes the run, knowing exactly when and where to hand the ball off.

“I think Peyton has always used the running game well,” Belichick said in a conference call Wednesday. “He certainly understands how to attack defenses and where defenses are light, whether it’s in the running game, or the outside passing game, or play action or down the field or misdirection plays — whatever it happens to be — Peyton does a really good job of anticipating them, seeing them and getting his team in place to attack them. Certainly the run game is a part of it. I think he’s always used that as a good weapon against the defense, and it has complemented the passing game.”

The Broncos have run the ball 113 times this year, an average of nearly 30 times per game. Willis McGahee has led the way with a pair of 100-yard performances and a trio of rushing touchdowns.

The 10th-year veteran has spent his entire career in the AFC — including his first five years in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills — so Belichick is very familiar with him.