Time: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, KOBF, KUSA, KRSJ 100.5 FM.
Opening Line: Broncos by 2½.
Record vs. Spread: Denver, 7-3; New England, 5-5.
Series Record: Broncos lead 27-19.
Last Meeting: Patriots beat the Broncos 31-21, Oct. 7, 2012.
Last Week: Broncos beat the Chiefs 27-17; Patriots lost to the Panthers 24-20.
AP Pro32 Rankings: Broncos, No. 2; Patriots, No. 6.
Broncos Offense: overall (1), rush (20), pass (1).
Broncos Defense: overall (23), rush (4), pass (28).
Patriots Offense: overall (11), rush (9), pass (16).
Patriots Defense: overall (20), rush (27), pass (12).
Streaks, Stats & Notes
Peyton Manning is 4-9 in his career against Tom Brady, 0-1 since moving from Indianapolis to Denver last season. Brady is 4-6 against Denver but has won the last three meetings.
Manning’s 34 touchdown passes project to 54 for the season, which would break the NFL record of 50 set by Brady in 2007.
Manning has been sacked just 13 times this season, the second fewest of any quarterback who has started all his team’s games. Only Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, with 12 sacks, has been dropped fewer times.
The Broncos are 20-1 in the regular season since losing to the Patriots in Week 5 last year. Former Patriots and current Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker had 13 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown for Patriots in that game.
The Broncos are coming off a victory that gave the Chiefs their first loss.
Denver interim head coach Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville’s former coach, is 0-5 in his career against the Patriots. He’s filling in for John Fox, who recently underwent heart surgery.
Julius Thomas’ 10 touchdown catches are tied with Shannon Sharpe for the most by a tight end in Broncos’ history.
Denver leads the NFL with 455.5 yards and 39.8 points per game.
Denver tops the NFL with 13 fourth-quarter takeaways.
Since Bill Belichick became the Patriots’ head coach in 2000, the Broncos are the only team he doesn’t have a winning record against (5-5).
Brady’s 83.6 passer rating is his lowest since he became the starter in 2001. His rating is 111.3 rating in his last two games vs. the Broncos.
The Patriots are 3-3 in their last six games but are 5-0 at home this season.
Their loss to the Panthers dropped the Patriots to 24-2 in the second half of the season, starting in 2010.
Placekicker Stephen Gostkowski needs one point to set the Patriots’ record by scoring in 102 consecutive games. He shares the mark with kickers Josh Smith and Adam Vinatieri.
Defensive end Chandler Jones leads the Patriots with 9½ sacks, including 6½ in the last six games.
Running back Stevan Ridley has at least one touchdown in five consecutive games.
The Patriots’ streak of 36 games with a takeaway ended at Carolina.
Associated Press
