New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos Box Score on Dec 18, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 18, 2011

Tom Brady threw two touchdowns and ran for another as the visiting New England Patriots ended the Denver Broncos’ six-game winning streak by building a lead that even Tim Tebow couldn’t overcome in a 41-23 victory on Sunday.

Five different players scored a touchdown for the Patriots (11-3), who recorded a sixth straight win and wrapped up their eighth AFC East title in nine years.

The victory also kept New England in the running for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. It was only Brady's second win in eight trips and the Patriots' third in the last 18 visits to Denver.

The Broncos (8-6), meanwhile, lost for the first time in more than a month but remained one game ahead of Oakland atop the AFC West.

All of the talk leading up to the game was focused on Tebow and his dramatic comebacks, but Brady and the Patriots eliminated the possibility of another improbable rally by scoring 27 unanswered points after Denver grabbed an early 16-7 lead.

Danny Woodhead’s 10-yard touchdown run capped a seven-play, 89-yard drive and gave New England a 34-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter, which has been referred to as Tebow Time.

That's because the second-year quarterback has six fourth-quarter comebacks in 11 starts – the most since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The deficit was too much to overcome this time, though.

Tebow’s second rushing touchdown of the game – a 2-yard score – cut the Patriots’ lead to 34-23 with 8:41 left, but Brady and the Patriots immediately marched down the field. BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ 1-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal sealed the win.

Denver got off to a rare fast start. Tebow led them to an opening-drive touchdown for the first time since taking over as the starter. But the Broncos let a 16-7 lead slip away – literally – in another wretched second quarter.

Rob Ninkovich recovered Lance Ball’s fumble at the Denver 19-yard line midway through the period. That led to a 21-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, giving the Patriots a 17-16 lead.

Three plays later, Mark Anderson stripped Tebow and recovered at the Broncos’ 46 yard-line. Brady converted a fourth-and-1 with a 25-yard pass to Aaron Hernandez and capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge that made it 24-16 with 1:12 left in the half.

Quan Cosby then muffed a punt in the final seconds of the first half and the Patriots recovered at the 17-yard line with three seconds left. Gostkowski’s 34-yard field goal as time expired made it 27-16 at the half.

It all added up to another nightmare second quarter. Denver has been outscored by 110 points in the period.