Later today at 4:40 pm ET, the fourth seed Indianapolis Colts will be taking on the second seed Denver Broncos as the winner will be taking on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
But before those two teams can think about New England, one of them has to win today’s game. In a game that pairs, the heir apparent of the Colts franchise, Andrew Luck against Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, it should be a shootout and the team that has the ball last might win the game.
This is not the first time these two teams have played each other this season. In week 1, on Sunday night football, Luck and the Colts traveled to Mile High to take on Manning and the Broncos. Peyton and co. dominated the first half leading 24-7 but the Colts came storming back in the second half scoring 17 points to only lose 31-24.
When it comes to this particular game, the Colts cannot afford to be down that much and expect to beat Denver. Last Sunday, the Colts defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard round 26-10 as their defense and offense was clicking on all cylinders. Luck threw for 376 yards and a touchdown, while the defense was able to shutdown the Bengals offense holding rookie running back Jeremy Hill to 47 rushing yards and quarterback Andy Dalton to 155 passing yards. In the game, Dalton was missing his top two targets in wide receiver A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham but the Colts defense did their job.
On Sunday afternoon, the Colts better be prepared for a Broncos offense that still has a dynamic passing game but also has established the run. Late in the season, running back C.J. Anderson has been a God sent for the Broncos offense finishing the season with 849 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. In his last three games, he has rushed for 80 yards or more.
Also, we cannot forget about the Broncos passing game which has been outstanding the entire season. Both wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders had over 100 receptions and 1,000 yards receiving and tight end Julius Thomas had 12 touchdowns.
This game promises to be a good one and despite the offensive playmakers in the receiving game for both teams, it will come down to the two quarterbacks. This season, Manning has been phenomenal with 4,727 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions, while Luck has 4,761 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.
Today’s game will be a high scoring affair and the quarterback that does not make that crucial mistake will win the game. Will Luck come out on top for his first AFC championship game appearance or will see another Manning-Brady AFC championship game? Those questions will be answered later this afternoon on CBS.
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