Overtime, 15:00: Stephen Gostkowski‘s kickoff busted through the end zone, and the Broncos will take possession at their own 20-yard line.
Start of overtime: Vince Wilfork called tails, and the coin landed on heads. The Broncos will receive the kickoff to start overtime. The first team to score wins the game, and in case Donovan McNabb is reading this, yes, ties do exist in the NFL.
End of regulation. Patriots 17, Broncos 17: Bonus football in Denver. The Patriots couldn’t hold a 10-point lead, but a late defensive stand helped them bring the game to overtime.
Fourth quarter, 0:07: How about that Patriots defense? New England forced the Broncos to move in the wrong direction, and Tom Brady gets the ball back at his own 5-yard line. Brady will likely just take a knee, though, and this game will head to overtime.
Fourth quarter, 1:37: Tom Brady‘s nightmares in Denver continue, and he just fumbled the ball away in New England territory. Brady was stripped by Vonnie Holliday, and the Broncos have the ball at the 45-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 2:27: Cornerback Shawn Springs just made a big-time play to knock away a pass intended for Jabar Gaffney on third down, and the Patriots are taking over at their own 30-yard line after Denver’s punt.
Fourth quarter, 3:49: Another uninspiring possession for the New England offense, and the Broncos are taking over at their own 26-yard line. Let’s see if Kyle Orton has it in him to cap off a very impressive day.
Fourth quarter, 5:15: The Patriots are taking over at their own 21-yard line after Julian Edelman‘s kickoff return.
Patriots 17, Broncos 17. Fourth quarter, 5:21: Kyle Orton hit Brandon Marshall on a short route to the left side, and Marshall broke Leigh Bodden‘s tackle on his way to an 11-yard touchdown that tied the game. Tom Brady has another chance to lead a game-winning, fourth-quarter drive, but he’ll first have to resurrect an offense that has looked out of sync in the second half.
Fourth quarter, 9:59: Matthew Slater downed Chris Hanson‘s punt at the Broncos’ 1-yard line. Denver already has a 90-yard touchdown drive Sunday, and it’ll need a 99-yard drive to tie the score on this possession.
The Patriots have announced Matt Light has a right knee injury, and his return is questionable, although he looked to be in serious pain when walking to the locker room earlier in the quarter. Also, tight end Ben Watson has a head injury, and his return is also questionable.
Fourth quarter, 12:30: Are you kidding me? The Broncos were called for a neutral zone infraction when the Patriots’ punt team was on the field, and they’ve allowed the Pats to extend their drive for a second time this possession because of a special teams penalty. If Broncos special teams coach worked for a different AFC West team — say, the Raiders — he might have a broken jaw by now.Mike Priefer
Fourth quarter, 14:50: Patriots left tackle Matt Light hit the ground after the first play of the fourth quarter, and the team’s medical staff was checking out his right leg. This will be a big spot for rookie Sebastian Vollmer.
End of third quarter. Patriots 17, Broncos 10: It’s never easy in Denver, and the Patriots are going to have to really earn this one. They were lousy on offense in the third quarter, and the Broncos have found their way back in this game with 15 minutes remaining.
Third quarter, 0:22: Speaking of mistakes, Broncos defensive lineman Darrell Reid was flagged for running into the punter, and the Patriots will keep the ball.
Third quarter, 1:23: After a great punt from Brett Kern, the Patriots take over at their own 4-yard line. Two things stuck out about the Patriots on their last defensive series: One, offenses have to execute without flaw to put together extended drives, and little mistakes have really been drive killers against the Patriots’ stingy defense. Two, rookie cornerback Darius Butler was directing members of the defense during the Broncos’ final third-down play. Butler has the ability to earn consistent playing time, and he’s apparently smart enough to direct other members of the secondary.
Third quarter, 5:15: Wow, Stephen Gostkowski hooked a 40-yard field-goal attempt, and his streak of 12 consecutive conversions has come to and end. More importantly, the Broncos are taking over at the 30 and have a chance to tie the score for the first time since their second possession of the game.
Third quarter, 7:12: Crafty rookie Julian Edelman returned the kickoff to the New England 34-yard line. After stalling on their initial possession of the second half, the Patriots are looking to regain the offensive swagger they had in the first two quarters. Let’s see if they can finally get Randy Moss involved, too.
Patriots 17, Broncos 10. Third quarter, 7:22: Matt Prater kicked a 24-yard field goal to get the Broncos within one possession of the Patriots’ lead. Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork made a key stop on third down to halt the drive deep in New England territory, and Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels made the smart call to kick the field goal instead of going for it on fourth down.
Third quarter, 9:40: The Broncos just benefited from another tipped pass, which resulted in a 14-yard gain for Jabar Gaffney on third-and-13. Brandon McGowan got his hands on Kyle Orton‘s pass, and the ball deflected high in the air to a crowd of defenders. Darius Butler was in position to pull in the pass, but Jonathan Wilhite reached over and tipped the ball up again and it ended up in Gaffney’s hands for a first down.
Third quarter, 13:54: Eddie Royal called for a fair catch at the Broncos’ 27-yard line, and Denver takes over after the Patriots went three-and-out to open the second half. So far, Tom Brady has missed Randy Moss with his only two passes thrown in his direction, while Moss has hauled in the only pass has thrown to him.Kyle Orton
Third quarter, 14:54: Julian Edelman returned the second-half kickoff to the New England 26-yard line, and the Patriots will look to pad their 10-point lead.
Halftime. Patriots 17, Broncos 7: Give credit to Denver’s defense for holding Randy Moss without a catch in the first half, but Denver’s offense can’t say the same. Kyle Orton‘s Hail Mary attempt before the break was intercepted by Moss just shy of the end zone. It was the first interception Orton has thrown this season.
Patriots 17, Broncos 7. Second quarter, 0:05: That was a cool drive from Tom Brady, who threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ben Watson on third down. It’s Brady’s second touchdown of the day, and both have come on third down.
Wes Welker left the game with back pain earlier in the drive, but he returned after missing just one play.
Second quarter, 1:17: Wes Welker left the game after his last reception with a back injury. He stayed on his hands and knees for about a minute but quickly walked off the field once he stood back up.
Second quarter, 4:23: Julian Edelman returned the kickoff to the New England 26-yard line, and the Patriots are back in business.
Patriots 10, Broncos 7. Second quarter, 4:31: Let the Brandon Marshall love fest continue. Marshall turned around cornerback Shawn Springs and hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton. No receiver has played Springs that badly this year. The play also capped off a 10-play, 90-yard drive.
Second quarter, 7:07: Just a great play from Brandon Marshall, who came running from a good 10 yards away to swat down a batted ball that looked like it would result in a Patriots interception. Marshall gets criticized for being a me-first player — rightfully so, on many occasions — but that was an excellent hustle play to save his offense.
Second quarter, 8:50: Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall just showed how strong he is, remaining upright after getting rocked in the open field by Brandon Meriweather. Earlier this week, compared Marshall’s size and strength to that of a tight end, which is scary because his speed is also of the elite level.
Second quarter, 9:31: Another thing Josh McDaniels has in common with Bill Belichick: a questionable use of the challenge flag. Chris Baker hauled in a three-yard reception, but the ball clearly hit the ground. McDaniels threw the flag and will win the challenge, but now he’s out of challenges for the remainder of the game. Maybe he won’t need another as the day goes on, but that doesn’t seem like a logical gamble to take over three yards on a relatively meaningless second-down play in the second quarter.
Second quarter, 12:15: It’s been a tough week for Laurence Maroney, but he just picked up back-to-back strong runs. He burst forward for two yards on third-and-1, and then he made a nice move to pick up 10 yards on the following play.
Second quarter, 13:31: Kevin Faulk made a nice block at the tail end of Brett Kern‘s punt, and it allowed the ball to bounce into the end zone. After the touchback, the Patriots take over at their own 20-yard line.
End of first quarter. Patriots 10, Broncos 0: Jabar Gaffney, who could play for my football team any day of the week — if I ever get one, of course — closed the quarter with an 18-yard pickup threw the air, and the Broncos have the ball at the New England 44-yard line. Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods missed a tackle on the play, and he’s had a couple of miscues in the passing game so far Sunday.
First quarter, 0:07: The Patriots went three-and-out, and the Broncos are taking over at their own 38-yard line after Chris Hanson‘s punt.
First quarter, 2:17: Julian Edelman returned a punt to the Patriots’ 23-yard line, and the New England offense will try to score on its third consecutive possession to open the game. The Patriots’ defense saved some face with their third-down stop on Denver’s last series. The Pats were caught with the wrong personnel group on the field after Denver’s timeout (a rare, inexcusable mistake) and had to burn a timeout as a result.
Patriots 10, Broncos 0. First quarter, 3:51: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal to extend the Patriots’ lead, but they know it could be more. Tom Brady missed a wide-open Randy Moss for a long touchdown on the previous play. While Brady has really improved his accuracy in the short game over the last couple of weeks, he is still fighting it with the long ball, and his overthrow on third down cost the Patriots four points.
First quarter, 5:18: That was Brandon McGowan‘s second fumble recovery of the season. The playmaking safety also has one forced fumble.
First quarter, 5:18: Welcome back, Jerod Mayo. The linebacker jumped in on Knowshon Moreno and forced a fumble that was recovered by — who else? — Brandon McGowan. Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels has thrown his challenge flag, but the play will stand.
First quarter, 6:39: Kenny McKinley returned Stephen Gostkowski‘s kickoff to the Broncos’ 19-yard line, and Denver will try to replicate the early success it had on its first drive.
Patriots 7, Broncos 0. First quarter, 6:44: Tom Brady hit Wes Welker for an eight-yard touchdown on third-and-3, and the Patriots have started strong in Denver. The Broncos entered the afternoon leading the league with 6.5 points allowed per game, and they had only surrendered two touchdown through four weeks. Brady became the first quarterback to throw a touchdown pass on the Broncos this season.
First quarter, 11:00: Necessary timeout by the Patriots there after a forgettable six plays to open the game. The defense comes out and executes flawlessly on second down to stop the Wildcat play and then again on third down to knock away Kyle Orton‘s pass attempt. Matt Prater then missed a 48-yard field goal, and the Broncos’ initial burst of momentum has disappeared.
First quarter, 14:58: Stephen Gostkowski‘s opening kickoff went for a touchback, and they’re underway in Denver.
4:14 p.m.: The fashion police are bringing in the fashion SWAT team for backup at Invesco Field. The Broncos’ throwback uniforms have lived up to the hype. The brown and yellow combination is just grotesque.
4:00 p.m.: It’s up to the Patriots to save some of New England’s sanity Sunday afternoon after the Red Sox’ crushing defeat at Fenway Park. There’s about 15 minutes until kickoff between the Patriots and Broncos at Invesco Field in Denver.
2:48 p.m.: Linebacker Jerod Mayo will return to the lineup Sunday after injuring his right knee in the first game of the season, and wide receiver Joey Galloway is a healthy scratch for the second consecutive week.
The rest of the Patriots’ inactives are running back Fred Taylor, cornerback Terrence Wheatley, safety James Sanders, guard Rich Ohrnberger, guard Kendall Simmons, and defensive tackles Terdell Sands and Ron Brace.
8:39 a.m.: There are no shortage of reasons to get excited for Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
With mentor Bill Belichick coaching against understudy Josh McDaniels, the Patriots visiting their undefeated rivals and snow in the forecast, the afternoon’s showdown has all the makings of an exciting October slugfest.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had his struggles against cornerback Champ Bailey and the Denver defense, which is statistically the best in the NFL this season. Brady has shed his rust during the last couple of weeks, completing 46-of-74 passes for 535 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions during a pair of victories.
Something will give Sunday, so stay with NESN.com’s live coverage throughout the day for complete coverage and analysis.
