Patriots Rounding Into Form; Special Teams Literally Special In Punking Of Broncos In Denver

The Denver Broncos should have known from the very start that they were in for a long night.

Well, from almost the very start - because, you see, the Broncos' defense started the game exactly as their fans (and, sadly, New England Patriots' fans as well) have come to expect and count on, forcing the visiting Patriots into a three-and-out on their first possession and into a punting situation just a minute-and-a-half into their nationally televised showdown in Denver.

Dion Lewis evades tacklers on his way to a kick return for touchdown

But from the point that the football left the foot of Patriots' punter Ryan Allen, the Broncos fortunes plummeted into the toilet, finding yet another creative way to victimize themselves and their fans, sinking further into the abyss of football despair by dropping their fifth straight game, a 41-16 thrashing at the hands of their arch-nemesis.

When Allen's punt reached it's nadir and spiraled down 46 yards later, Broncos' return man Isaiah McKenzie let it slip between his hands and to the turf, Patriots' gunner Jonathan Jones taking him out of the play and trailer Jacob Hollister falling cleanly on the ball to give the ball right back to Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady on the Denver 24 yard line...

...Brady finding running back Rex Burkhead twice in the pattern, the second throw covering the final 14 yards to paydirt and an early lead the Patriots would never relinquish.

New England head ball coach Bill Belichick employs an inordinate number of players on his roster who play primarily on special teams, Jones and Hollister among them, and who make the wholly ignored phase of the game a vital bridge between the offense and defense - often choosing to go against conventional wisdom in order to gain an advantage over every team he faces.

On Sunday night, that advantage came in the form of a dagger.

Leading by seven after the gift from his special teams - and after the Patriots defense did what they always do, giving up almost every inch there is between the twenties then shutting down the Broncos' offense to force them to settle for a field goal - Denver kicker Brandon McManus sent the subsequent kickoff three yards deep into the Patriots end zone...

...fifteen seconds and 103 yards later, Dion Lewis was celebrating with his teammates in the Broncos' end zone after skirting the home team's sideline and dodging weak efforts to shove him out of bounds, the second of three impact special teams plays giving the Patriots a 14-3 lead.

The third special teams standout effort came via a blocked punt four minutes into the second quarter, courtesy of running back Rex Burkhead who exploded between two Broncos blockers like he was shot out of a canon and easily got to Denver punter Riley Dixon, who fell on the ball at the Denver thirty, preventing a gaggle of Patriot rushers from picking up the ball and running it into the end zone.

As it was, the Patriots turned that gaffe into a Stephen Gostkowski field goal, essentially putting the game out of reach.

But the Patriots were far from finished putting points on the board, as tight end Dwayne Allen hauled in a tough grab for his first catch and first touchdown in New England, followed by Lewis displaying his super-human strength in dragging two Broncos into the end zone from seven yards out, culminating with fellow running back James White getting in on the fun, catching a quick out from Brady that left his mirror frozen on the turf.

Denver's offense pretty much had their way with New England's defense between the twenties in the first half, but drives of 58, 64 and 63 yards stalled short of paydirt, forcing the Broncos to settle for three McManus field goals - but quarterback Brock Osweiler led the Broncos down the field on their first possession of the second half, hitting receiver Demaryius Thomas from seven yards out to give Denver a brief spark of hope...

...though that lasted all of three-and-a-half minutes as Brady responded with a big play drive, hitting both Brandin Cooks and Rob Gronkowski with 25 yard heaters to get New England into Denver's red area, then handed the ball to Lewis three straight times to end any hope Denver had of climbing back into the game.

Brady was an ever-efficient 25 of 34 for 266 yards and three scores as his offensive line - despite missing regular right tackle Marcus Cannon - kept him upright nearly the entire game, allowing just one sack on a safety blitz that White matador'd on. In fact, the Broncos' vaunted pass rush got close just a handful of times, under pressure just six times all evening...

...and Brady, as he usually does, made the Broncos pay for generating extra pressure, completing all six throws for 89 yards and the touchdown to Allen for a perfect rating of 158.3.

Despite having just three outside-the-numbers receivers healthy, Brady targeted Cooks, Phillip Dorsett and Danny Amendola on exactly half of his throws, completing 12 of those 17 passes for 126 yards and completing 13 of 17 to his backs and tight ends for 140 yards and all three scores. Cooks led all Patriots pass catchers with six catches on 11 targets, most of them with Denver corner Chris Harris hanging all over him.

Gronkowski led the tight ends with four, first down-producing grabs while the newly-reacquired Martellus Bennett snagged three passes in playing just five snaps. Burkhead and White split the six targets that went to the backs.

Osweiler was 18 of 33 for 221 yards with the touchdown to Thomas and an interception by Patriots' safety Patrick Chung, who had his best game of the season, allowing three catches on four targets for just 14 yards. Most of the damage that Denver did on offense came via Osweiler targeting  receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who caught six of eleven targets for a game-high 137 yards, all but 23 of those yards coming against Patriots' corner Malcolm Butler, who Sanders screwed into the ground repeatedly while running some nifty patterns.

Thomas' touchdown catch and a defensive holding call were the only sore spots on the resume of cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who returned to action after a three week hiatus on the shelf to essentially lock down the 6' 3", 230 pounder to just 44 yards on five catches.

Denver's ground game proved potent, particularly with C.J. Anderson toting the rock for 5.4 yards per shot, but the Broncos were forced to abandon their running game as they fell behind by three scores and went to the air.

Overall, it was a solid effort from a Patriots' team that is starting to round into form and looking every bit the contender they were expected to be after a rocky start to the season, having now won five straight and in a deadlock with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the best record in the conference.

The Patriots will remain in Colorado for the bulk of this week before heading south of the border to take on the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City this coming Sunday.