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SPORTS A19
Tuesday 19 January 2016

Manning, Brady to meet in AFC championship game

PAT GRAHAM At left, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning calls a play during a game in Denver. At right, New England Patriots quarter-
Associated Press back Tom Brady points on the line of scrimmage during a game in Kansas City, Mo. Manning meets Brady for a 17th time this Sunday
DENVER (AP) — The last in the AFC Championship game - with a trip to Super Bowl 50 at stake.
time Tom Brady and the
New England Patriots (AP Photo/File)
came to Denver, Peyton
Manning watched the Osweiler in the season fi- counterpart, but 2-2 in the defense, too. the then-Patriots corner-
game on television from in- nale, leading the Broncos playoffs, including a win “Our defense is guiding us. back out of the game and
side the locker room. to a win over San Diego to two years ago in this sta- Let’s make that clear. They opened up things for Man-
Not next Sunday, though. secure the No. 1 seed. “We dium. played great all season,” ning, who threw for 400
The Broncos quarterback stayed patient tonight. We “I’m honored to be a part Manning said. “They were yards that afternoon.
will take in his customary never really got frustrated of it and I’m looking for- dominant today against a Talib is with the Broncos
spot in the huddle. and that served us well to- ward to playing next week high-powered offense.” now and a big reason for
Manning meets Brady for night and it served me well in the AFC championship,” Manning and Brady were the success of the defense.
a 17th time — with a trip to this season.” Denver sur- Manning said. paired on this stage follow- “We’ve had a lot of differ-
Super Bowl 50 at stake. rendered 339 yards passing But this is hardly the same ing the 2013 season, when ent players contribute to
Perhaps it’s only fitting to Roethlisberger, who en- Manning anymore. He the Broncos held on for a our success when we’ve
these two quarterbacks tered the game with a sore doesn’t rely on his arm 26-16 to advance to the been successful,” Broncos
meet in the AFC title game, shoulder. The challenge nearly as much as his ability Super Bowl. coach Gary Kubiak said.
since Manning didn’t get doesn’t get any easier. to decipher schemes. He It was a game that may “I told them it would take
to suit up against New Eng- Brady has long gotten the also leans heavily on the be best remembered for them all today. It sure did.
land on Nov. 29 because better of Manning, who running game. a hit by Wes Welker on It will continue to take all of
of a foot injury. That game is 5-11 lifetime against his And Denver’s top-ranked Aqib Talib, which knocked us as we move forward.” q
was a thriller, too, with
Brock Osweiler leading the Colts hire Brian Schottenheimer as QB coach
Broncos to a 30-24 over-
time victory. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapo- tenured coach on the team’s staff. the New York Jets for six seasons.
Manning’s foot is healed lis Colts hired Brian Schottenheimer Schottenheimer has been coach- Schottenheimer also has coached
— at least as healed as it’s as their quarterbacks coach Mon- ing for 19 years, 16 in the NFL. He was with the Chargers, Redskins and
going to get for now — and day. Schottenheimer replaces Clyde Georgia’s offensive coordinator and Chiefs.
he guided the Broncos to a Christensen, who is expected to be quarterbacks coach last season and Indy also hired Shawn Terlecky as
23-16 win over Ben Roeth- hired as offensive coordinator of the spent the previous three seasons as defensive quality control coach. Ter-
lisberger and the Pittsburgh Miami Dolphins. Christensen joined offensive coordinator of the St. Louis lecky was Indy’s assistant to the head
Steelers on Sunday. the Colts in 2002 and was the longest- Rams. He held the same position with coach the past three seasons.q
Brady is still vintage Brady,
passing, bootlegging and
QB sneaking the Super Bowl
champion Patriots past the
Chiefs on Saturday and
into the AFC title game
for a fifth straight season.
Brady’s Patriots opened as
a 3 1/2-point favorite over
Manning’s Broncos.
Manning didn’t want to
start reflecting on the rival-
ry with Brady right away.
“We’ll deal with that on
Wednesday,” he said.
Manning is now 12-13 in the
playoffs over his career.
This one, though, possibly
means a little more, given
his comeback from a foot
ailment that sidelined him
for six weeks.
“It’s been a unique season,
a lot of new things have
happened this season,
kind of like tonight,” said
Manning, who replaced