Patriots Trounce Broncos 45-10
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP/CBS4) - Tom Brady threw for a record five first-half touchdown passes, three to Rob Gronkowski, and the New England Patriots blew out the Denver Broncos 45-10 .
The Patroits opened a 35-7 halftime lead and never looked back in the second round of the NFL playoffs.
Tebow struggled to move the Broncos, completing just nine of 26 passes for 136 yards in the first half. He was also strip-sacked on Denver's sixth play from scrimmage to set up Gronkowski's diving 10-yard touchdown catch that gave New England a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Broncos' only first-half score came after Quinton Carter intercepted Brady, giving Denver the ball at the New England 24 yard-line. Four plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, Willis McGahee ran it in from the 5 to cut the deficit to 14-7.
But Brady hit Gronkowski from 12 yards out to make it 21-7 and then, just before the 2-minute warning, Brady connected with Deion Branch on a 61-yard TD pass down the left sideline to take a 28-7 lead. The four touchdown passes were already a Patriots franchise record for a playoff game.
But Brady and Gronkowski weren't done yet.
After Denver went three-and-out to give New England the ball back at its own 42 with 69 seconds left in the half, Brady led the Patriots into scoring range and hit Gronkowski at the goal line for a 19-yard score that made it 35-7.
Gronkowski's three touchdown catches in the half tied an NFL record for an entire game; Brady's five TD passes were a record for a playoff half. He then tied the NFL record for touchdown passes for a quarterback in an entire postseason game is shared by Steve Young and Daryle Lamonica, with six, with a TD pass to Aaron Hernandez early in the third quarter.
With a wind chill of 12 degrees and a strong wind from the north, the Patriots tried to earn their first playoff victory in four years and -- for a second time -- end Tebow's remarkable run. The Denver quarterback, who won his first six starts before losing 41-23 to New England on Dec. 18, led the AFC West champion Broncos to a 29-23 overtime victory over Pittsburgh in the opening round on the first play of overtime.
But this time, it was the AFC East champion Patriots (13-3) who struck quickly.
On their first drive, Hernandez lined up in the backfield, took the handoff and ran the ball to the 7; Brady connected with Wes Welker on the next play to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The Broncos took over and moved the ball well before Tebow was strip-sacked by linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who also recovered the ball.
It took Brady only seven plays to take New England 59 yards, hitting Gronkowski on a diving catch for the 10-yard touchdown.
Brady completed his first eight passes for 79 yards before throwing an incompletion -- and then an interception that set up the Broncos at the Patriots 24.
New England has not won a playoff game since losing the 2008 Super Bowl to the New York Giants to blow a chance at a 19-0 season. The Patriots have lost at home in the postseason in each of the last two years.
The Broncos (9-8) beat New England in the 2005 divisional round -- Brady's first career postseason loss -- but missed the playoffs in each of the next five seasons. Denver ended its slump last weekend with a 29-23 victory over the Steelers that lasted just 11 seconds into overtime, when Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas on a short pass and the receiver ran the rest of the way for an 80-yard score.
- By Jimmy Golen, AP Sports Writer
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