AFC Championship Game First Half Thoughts

As the New England Patriots head into halftime of the AFC Championship Game down 17-9, here are some first half thoughts:

Getting Beat At Their Own Game- In the first half the Patriots' defense got beat at their  own game. Coming in, the focus was on making Denver quarterback Peyton Manning beat them with his arm by bottling up the Bronco running game. Surprisingly, the beleaguered Manning was up to the task multiple times in the first two quarters. The New England defense dominated the Denver run game, but came up short on multiple third down passing plays and yielded a couple of scores.

Line Problems- The New England offensive line has been horrendous in the first half. Quarterback Tom Brady has been sacked only twice, but has not had nearly enough time to get rid of the ball and subsequently has had trouble completing passes. Also, a bonehead, dead ball foul by center Bryan Stork cost the team really good field possession on their third drive of the game. The line must be far better in the second half, for the Pats to win this game.

2 Picks- Brady has been intercepted twice in this game, the first of which ended up giving Denver tremendous field position and, ultimately, their second score of the game. Both of Brady's picks were pretty ugly looking. The first was touch pass that didn't have enough to get over linebacker Von Miller, who Brady clearly didn't see prior to releasing the ball. The second was a throw off his back foot, into double coverage. The big issue in both picks, however, was quick pressure in the face of Brady.

Proven Wrong- In my game preview, I said that with both the Denver defense and New England offense healthy for this game, the Patriots should have the edge. Through two quarters, the Broncos defense has proven me wrong. They've been tenacious in getting to Brady and have shut down the New England offense. The New England defense needs to figure things out during the break and find a way that they can expose the Denver defense.

Need A Stop- The Patriots won the opening coin toss and, contrary to their usual choice, decided to get the ball to start the game. That means the Broncos will get the ball to open up the second half, with an eight point lead. The New England defense must make a quick stop and get the ball back into their offense's hands, early in the third.

The Pats have played like crap so far and are still down just eight points. If the line can sure things up a bit and give Brady a better chance to complete some passes, they'll have more than a shot to comeback and win this game.