The Patriots said this week that they wanted to stop the Broncos run game.
They accomplished that on the opening drive of the game. The Broncos passing game was enough to put Denver on the board first, however.
Peyton Manning hit Owen Daniels for a 21-yard touchdown pass halfway through the first quarter to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead. It’s the second touchdown pass that Manning has thrown in Denver this season and both have gone to Daniels.
The Broncos came out throwing after forcing a Patriots punt and Manning got a first down to Emmanuel Sanders after two incompletions. He would hit Jordan Norwood and Andre Caldwell for first downs and a Logan Ryan pass interference penalty gave Denver a fourth first down on the way to the end zone.
Manning was 4-of-6 for 60 yards overall on the drive, including the 15-yarder to Caldwell that came on a play action bootleg that seemed to catch the Patriots off guard.