Remembering last years epic comeback against Denver
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| Tom Brady celebrates with Rob Gronkowski, via SBNation |
There's practically a seasons worth of games to pick from, but one of the most legendary of the Brady-Manning saga came last year on a bone-chilling Sunday night in late November.
There's a lot of nostalgia in remembering this game.
My buddy, and fellow Patriots Life writer Josh Powers, won two tickets. I woke up on that Sunday morning to a picture message of the two tickets. I texted him back jokingly angry that he would tease me with such a thing on a Sunday morning. So he called me up and told me if I got to Boston by 5pm I could come.
Naturally, I got on the next train to Boston and put off a paper that was due the next morning.
This was my first Patriots game, and talk about a horrific start to your first one. The Patriots couldn't stop turning the ball over, and before you knew it they were down 24-0 at the end of the first half.
There was some reason to have hope, because they would move the ball a little bit on each drive, and then turn it over. Eliminate the turnovers, and maybe some good things would happen.
Our seats were 5 rows back in the end zone, so we were mostly surrounded by season ticket holders. By the end of the first half, my entire row, and section for that matter, had exited the stadium, sick of both the Patriots play and the uncomfortably cold temperatures.
Half jokingly, I was yelling, "don't leave, they're going to comeback!!"
The Patriots came out hot, capping a quick drive with a Julian Edelman touchdown. Then the Patriots scored quickly on a Brandon Bolden TD following a Denver fumble. 24-14.
For myself and the fans who stayed, our hope was beginning to turn into a belief that they might actually pull this off.
Following a Denver punt, the Patriots drove up the field and finished it off with a Rob Gronkowski touchdown. 24-21, and the third quarter wasn't even over.
This belief that the Patriots were going to comeback became an affirmation, a deep conviction that any fan, there or watching at home, could feel.
Peyton could feel the heat, and after the Patriots got it to within three, he threw a crucial interception to Logan Ryan in their own territory. Brady hit Edelman for the go ahead touchdown in just a couple plays. In just over a quarter, the Patriots erased a 24 point deficit.
What was at first a cold, frigid night, turned into a warm, electric night at Gillette Stadium. Fans from the 300's level made their way down close, and even though it seemed like half the fans had left, the place was rockin'. I can assure you nobody there could feel the cold anymore.
The Patriots added a field goal, and had it not been for a questionable defensive holding call that negated an Aqib Talib interception, the game wouldn't have made it to overtime.
Instead, Peyton took them up the field and tied it up. After going back and forth with punts in overtime, one final punt would seal the deal.
Wes Welker was back to receive, and he made a late call telling everyone to get away from the ball. The ball struck a Denver player who didn't have time to get away, and the Patriots recovered the fumble deep in Denver territory. A short Gostkowski field goal made it 34-31, completing the greatest comeback in franchise history.
It was one of the most memorable games in Patriots history, let alone the Brady-Manning era, and one that fans, both those who stayed faithful and those who left, will remember forever.
Anytime these two are on the same field, there's always a chance that something special could happen, so Sunday afternoon will be one to watch.
-Brian Thibodeau
Follow me on Twitter - @b_thibs34
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