NFL Game Recap - New England at Denver
Sun Nov 12, 2017 8:30 PM EST

SEA
22
ARI
16
F
MIN
38
WAS
30
F
CIN
20
TEN
24
F
NYJ
10
TB
15
F
LAC
17
JAX
20
F OT
PIT
20
IND
17
F
CLE
24
DET
38
F
GB
23
CHI
16
F
NO
47
BUF
10
F
HOU
7
LAR
33
F
NYG
21
SF
31
F
DAL
7
ATL
27
F
NE
41
DEN
16
F
MIA
21
CAR
45
F
TEN
17
PIT
40
F

Nov 12, 2017, 8:30 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

New England (7-2)

14

13

7

7

41

Denver (3-6)

6

3

7

0

16

Brady, Patriots send Broncos to fifth straight loss, 41-16
Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:16 AM

DENVER (AP) Denver is no longer Tom Brady's House of Horrors and the Broncos sure don't scare anybody anymore.

Brady threw three touchdown passes and the New England Patriots matched their own AFC record with their 12th consecutive road victory, pummeling the Broncos 41-16 on Sunday night.

Brady's 86th regular-season road win broke a tie with Peyton Manning for most all-time.

"It's always hard to win in the NFL, certainly on the road," Brady said. "We found a way to do it last year and we're off to a good start this year."

Not so the Broncos.

These teams have represented the AFC in the last four Super Bowls, and the Broncos (3-6) were hoping a visit from their rivals would help shake them from their funk. Beat Brady, suggested Aqib Talib, and "the swag, the energy in this locker room, it'll skyrocket."

Instead, the Broncos fizzled.

They lost their fifth straight game, their worst skid in seven seasons, and they dropped back-to-back games to the Patriots (7-2) in Denver for the first time since 1966.

Avoiding Von Miller all night and throwing for 266 yards on 25-of-34 passing, Brady improved to 8-9 against the Broncos, the only team he has a losing record against, and he won for just the fourth time in 11 trips to Denver.

The Patriots also won a dozen consecutive road games from 2006-08. The NFL record is 18 set by the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers from 1988-90.

Speaking of historic, the Patriots for the first time since 1979 had a special teams takeaway , a blocked punt and a kickoff return for a touchdown , a trifecta that fueled a comfortable 27-9 halftime lead.

The Patriots went three-and-out to start the game but rookie Isaiah McKenzie's muffed punt led to Brady's 14-yard TD toss to running back Rex Burkhead.

"That's not the first punt McKenzie has muffed this year," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Indeed, it was his fifth fumble, including four muffs.

"It puts us in a big hole," McKenzie said. "I put the blame all on me. If I would've caught that first punt, did anything with it, besides turn it over, then probably ... things would've changed for us."

The Patriots had five touchdowns and a pair of field goals before they'd punt again.

"We knew McKenzie had muffed a couple so we told our gunners to get down there and make it tough on him," Patriots DB Devin McCourty said. "Then we get the blocked punt return."

He's getting ahead of himself, but who could blame him?

After kicking a 39-yard field goal, Brandon McManus failed on the ensuing kickoff to get in front of returner Dion Lewis, whose 103-yard return down Denver's demoralized sideline made it 14-3.

"How are you supposed to win against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots when you're starting off" like that? wondered Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe. "You can't."

Then, Burkhead sliced through the line to block Riley Dixon's punt at the Broncos' 30-yard line, leading to Stephen Gostkowski's second field goal and a 20-6 lead.

"I have not," Broncos coach Vance Joseph replied when asked if he'd ever seen a worse special teams performance. "That wasn't the only issue we had. We were 1 for 4 in the red zone. We moved the ball better tonight but we didn't score touchdowns. And defensively they scored on seven straight possessions."

When the Broncos finally forced another punt in the fourth quarter, they were whistled for 12 men on the field, giving the Patriots a fresh set of downs. Brady took advantage of that gaffe by throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to James White, capping both the blowout and a 16-play, 94-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes.

"Besides that first series, we couldn't stop them," Miller said.

BROCK ON: Brock Osweiler hooked up with Emmanuel Sanders five times for 114 yards in the first half but Denver stalled twice in the red zone and also at the Patriots 21, settling for field goals while the Patriots were scoring touchdowns. Sanders finished with six catches for 137 yards.

Joseph refused to say if Osweiler (18 of 33, 221 yards) would stay the starter.

"We're going to watch the tape tomorrow as a staff and determine who the quarterback is next week," Joseph said.

BENNETT'S BACK : Tight end Martellus Bennett was active - and productive - for New England just a few days after he accused the Green Bay Packers of pressuring him to play through a shoulder injury. Green Bay waived Bennett with the designation that he "failed to disclose a physical condition," but Bennett said the Packers were aware of his balky shoulder when they signed him. He said it got worse during the season and he elected to have surgery. When the Packers waived him, the Patriots grabbed him.

His first catch covered 27 yards and he finished with three catches for 38 yards.

"He did a great job to have come in on Friday," Brady said. "I love having Martellus on our team. He adds a lot, he's a great player, and he was for us last year."

MILESTONE WIN: Belichick moved into a third-place tie with Tom Landry on the all-time head-coaching list for wins, with 270. He trails only Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324).

INJURIES: Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater went out in the first half with a pulled hamstring.

Broncos tight end A.J. Derby was knocked out with a shoulder injury.

Umpire Jeff Rice was carted off in the third quarter after hitting his head on the ground when Patriots linebacker Trevor Reilly bowled him over on during a Denver punt.

UP NEXT

Patriots: At Raiders at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca (elevation 7,280 feet). The Patriots are staying in Colorado all week, practicing at the Air Force Academy (elevation 6,621) feet to acclimate to the altitude.

Broncos: Host the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

Passing

NE Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
T. Brady 34 25 73.5 3 266 27 0 125.4 1
B. Hoyer 3 3 100.0 0 37 27 0 118.1 0
DEN Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
B. Osweiler 33 18 54.5 1 221 38 1 72.9 0

Rushing

NE Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Lewis 14 55 3.9 9 1
R. Burkhead 10 36 3.6 8 0
DEN Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
C. Anderson 10 54 5.4 21 0
J. Charles 8 38 4.8 11 0

Receiving

NE Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
R. Gronkowski 4 74 18.5 26 0
B. Cooks 6 74 12.3 27 0
DEN Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
E. Sanders 6 137 22.8 38 0
D. Thomas 5 44 8.8 17 1

Team Stats Comparison

NE DEN
Points For 41 16
Total Yards 396 339
Rushing Yards 99 118
Passing Yards 297 221
Passing Completions / Attempts 28/37 18/33
Turnovers 0 2
Interceptions Thrown 0 1
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 1/1
First Downs 28 17
Rushing Touchdowns 1 0
Passing Touchdowns 3 1
Penalties - Yards 1/5 5/28
Time Of Possession 29:43 30:17
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 4/11 8/15
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/3 0/0
Red Zone Conversions/Attempts 4/6 1/3
Sacks Against 1 0
Punts - Average Yards 1/43 3/32
Punt Returns - Average Yards/Punt Return 0/0 1/0
Kickoff Returns - Average Yards/Kickoff Return 1/103 7/19

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter NE DEN
NE 02:24 TD Rex Burkhead 14 yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick) 7 0
DEN 06:21 FG Brandon McManus 39 yd FG 7 3
NE 06:36 TD Dion Lewis 103 yd kick return (Stephen Gostkowski kick) 14 3
DEN 09:42 FG Brandon McManus 33 yd FG 14 6
2nd Quarter NE DEN
NE 01:22 FG Stephen Gostkowski 25 yd FG 17 6
NE 06:13 FG Stephen Gostkowski 28 yd FG 20 6
DEN 12:24 FG Brandon McManus 36 yd FG 20 9
NE 14:35 TD Dwayne Allen 11 yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick) 27 9
3rd Quarter NE DEN
DEN 07:06 TD Demaryius Thomas 7 yd pass from Brock Osweiler (Brandon McManus kick) 27 16
NE 10:24 TD Dion Lewis 8 yd run (Stephen Gostkowski kick) 34 16
4th Quarter NE DEN
NE 05:56 TD James White 6 yd pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick) 41 16

Game Information

Stadium: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 76,820
Game Time: 3:0
Weather: