Two words and an abbreviation: Brady vs. Manning. Yes Brady can win and not cover but there is a reason why he is 22-8 straight up in the postseason, while Manning is under .500 with enormous talent around him. Remember Denver won a playoff game with Tim Tebow at QB before Manning was handed the keys. Pittsburgh was ravaged by injuries as Denver had a much easier game last week as a result, but still Pittsburgh covered. Manning has a TD/Int ratio of 38-24 compared to 56-25 in the postseason.

Julian Edelman, who broke a bone in his left foot Nov. 15 and returned for the first time Saturday, did not play in the Patriots 30-24 overtime loss to the Broncos on Nov. 29. He is back. He was targeted a team high 16 times in his first game back. The gap between Brady and Manning is wider than ever as Manning had 17 interceptions in the regular season the second highest total among quarterbacks.

Denver won a lot of close games thanks to good fortune. They are actually only outscoring foes by 3.7 points per game compared to 9.2 for New England. The season and possibly the career of Peyton Manning ends with another failure.