Sunday, 2:25 p.m., CBS
OPENING LINE: New England by 3
RECORD VS. SPREAD: New England 10-3, Denver 8-5
SERIES RECORD: Denver leads 30-21
LAST MEETING: Broncos beat Patriots 20-18, AFC championship, Jan. 24 ,2015
LAST WEEK: Patriots beat Ravens 30-23; Broncos lost to Titans 13-10
AP PRO32 RANKING: Patriots No. 1, Broncos No. 10
PATRIOTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (7), PASS (4).
PATRIOTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (6), PASS (15).
BRONCOS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (27), PASS (19).
BRONCOS DEFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (29), PASS (1).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: Broncos are only team Tom Brady has losing record against. He’s 6-9 against them, 2-7 in Denver. … Coach Bill Belichick is 7-10 against Denver and Gary Kubiak is 2-3 against Patriots. … Brady leads league with 113.6 QB rating. … RB LeGarrette Blount leads NFL with 14 rushing TDs. He’s Patriots’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2012. … With win, Patriots would become first team in NFL history with eight consecutive division titles. … Brady’s 52 wins in December are tied with Hall of Famer Brett Favre for most by a starting QB in any month in NFL history. … In last 10 games vs. Broncos, Brady had 2,814 yards, 21 TDs and two interceptions for 96.0 rating. … WR Julian Edelman has 199 receiving yards and three TDs in last two games against Denver. … Rookie WR Malcom Mitchell has four TD catches in last four games. … LB Rob Ninkovich has four sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception in last six meetings. … Broncos QB Trevor Siemian averaging 303 yards passing in last five games. He’s had two 300-yard, zero-interception games in last two starts. … Broncos managed 18 yards on nine carries last week, but rookie RB Devontae Booker has two TD runs in last three games at home. … RB Justin Forsett rushed for 129 yards in last game against New England (Jan. 10, 2015 in playoffs with Baltimore) … WR Demaryius Thomas has 100-plus receiving yards in three of last five games against Patriots. … Since ‘12, Thomas ranks second in league with 478 catches. … WR Emmanuel Sanders has 362 yards in past three meetings. He had 11 catches for 100 yards last week. … Broncos close season with three teams with double-digit win totals: New England (11), Kansas City (10) and Oakland (10). Those three are a combined 31-8. … LB Von Miller’s 13½ sacks tied for NFL lead. In last year’s AFC championship, Miller had 2½ sacks, four QB hits and an interception in prelude to Super Bowl 50 MVP performance. Fantasy Tip: Brady coming off 406-yard, three-TD performance at Baltimore, but Broncos hit him career-high 23 times in conference title game and intercepted him twice.
Associated Press
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