Peyton Manning outshined his future Hall of Fame rival Tom Brady, firing two touchdown passes, as the Denver Broncos rolled to a 26-16 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday to secure their first trip to the Super Bowl in 15 years.
The Broncos will learn who they will face at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2 later on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship.
The AFC title game had been hyped as Manning verses Brady 15, a legacy showdown between two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever grace the American gridiron.
But on a perfect day for football in the Mile High city Manning proved he could carry his record-smashing regular season form into the playoffs tossing for 400 yards, including touchdowns to Jacob Tamme and Demaryius Thomas.
The victory allowed Manning to level his playoff record against Brady at 2-2 but the New England quarterback continues to hold a decisive 10-5 edge in their all-time head to head meetings.
The first (Broncos) and third (Patriots) highest scoring offences during the NFL regular season combined for just 16 points in a tight opening half.
But after punting their first possession, Manning had the Denver's high-octane offense humming, scoring points the next six times they had the ball.
Both teams were slow out of the blocks, a 27-yard field goal from Denver's Matt Prater accounting for all the first quarter scoring.
But Manning had the Broncos on the move in the second engineering a time chomping 93-yard, 15 play drive capped by a one-yard strike to Tamme that ate up nearly half the quarter.
On New England's next possession it was Brady's turn to show what he could do, taking the Patriots down to the Denver 30 where the drive stalled and New England settled for a 47-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal.
Backed up on their own 10, Manning went to the air, completing six straight passes to move Denver down to the New England 17 before Prater booted another short field goal to restore the Broncos' 10-point lead going into the intermission.
The Broncos will learn who they will face at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2 later on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship.
The AFC title game had been hyped as Manning verses Brady 15, a legacy showdown between two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever grace the American gridiron.
But on a perfect day for football in the Mile High city Manning proved he could carry his record-smashing regular season form into the playoffs tossing for 400 yards, including touchdowns to Jacob Tamme and Demaryius Thomas.
The victory allowed Manning to level his playoff record against Brady at 2-2 but the New England quarterback continues to hold a decisive 10-5 edge in their all-time head to head meetings.
The first (Broncos) and third (Patriots) highest scoring offences during the NFL regular season combined for just 16 points in a tight opening half.
But after punting their first possession, Manning had the Denver's high-octane offense humming, scoring points the next six times they had the ball.
Both teams were slow out of the blocks, a 27-yard field goal from Denver's Matt Prater accounting for all the first quarter scoring.
But Manning had the Broncos on the move in the second engineering a time chomping 93-yard, 15 play drive capped by a one-yard strike to Tamme that ate up nearly half the quarter.
On New England's next possession it was Brady's turn to show what he could do, taking the Patriots down to the Denver 30 where the drive stalled and New England settled for a 47-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal.
Backed up on their own 10, Manning went to the air, completing six straight passes to move Denver down to the New England 17 before Prater booted another short field goal to restore the Broncos' 10-point lead going into the intermission.
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